ipl-logo

The Chorus In Sophocles 'Oedipus The King'

691 Words3 Pages

The Reliability of The Chorus In Sophocles’ well-known tragic play, Oedipus the King the Chorus is only reliable at the end of the play. The Chorus is not reliable due to their change in opinion of the power of the g-ds and their inability to see the truth due to their bias towards Oedipus. The Chorus is reliable due to their ability to think logically, making them Oedipus’s voice of reason. Firstly, the Chorus is not a reliable source of information due to their constant change in opinion of the power of the g-ds. At the beginning of the play, when Thebes is in suffering the Chorus believes the g-ds are their only source of hope. The Chorus announces that “we calls upon you, immortal Athena, daughter of Zeus. And your sister Artemis, the protector of this land” (13) This quote shows how dependant the Chorus is on the g-ds. As the play continues the Chorus has a completely different opinion and they now believe the g-ds are not powerful. This is seen when the Chorus announces that, “the old …show more content…

The Chorus extremely respects Oedipus due to his noble actions for Thebes, “we all saw how the Sphinx came against him- there his wisdom was proved.” (27) This quote proves how proud and passionate the Chorus feels towards Oedipus. Due to their high level of pride for Oedipus they are incapable of judging Oedipus as guilty despite Tiresias’s reveal of truth, “but nether a mere man knows the truth - wether a human prophet knows more than I do - who is to be the fair judge?” (27) This quote is to display the Chorus questioning Tiresias’s honestly even though he known for always telling the truth. The Chorus is blinded by the truth due to their admiration for Oedipus, “my heart will never judge him guilty of evil action.” (28) This quote proves the Chorus is completely bias towards Oedipus therefore an unreliable source of

Show More
Related

  • Why Is Creon Wrong

    777 Words  | 4 Pages

    To begin with, in the beginning of the second episode, Sophocles establishes a conflict between Creon and Oedipus. When Oedipus sees Creon at his palace, he scolds, “You-here? You have the gall / to show your face before the palace gates? / You, plotting to kill me, kill the king- / I see it all, the marauding thief himself / scheming to steal my crown and power!”

    Read More

  • Homer's Troy And Ransom

    963 Words  | 4 Pages

    This then provides great strength to succeed in the highest during the Trojan War to persevere with the responsibilities associated in the texts as Achilles quotes “I chose nothing. I was born and this is what I am”. Some may argue that these individuals are as to why the events occurred events right from the beginning. This consistently draws the audience in to replicate the involvement within men and women, through exploring the classifications of each god or goddess. Through reading and watching the extracts, I became to comprehend the understanding of key features that are displayed using the characters and the way they react to certain effects and how their actions are perceived by others around them.

    Read More

  • Sight And Blindness In King Oedipus The King

    628 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus learns that you can’t control everything in life and also things come and go, they never stay. So instead seeing the truth and believing the lies, it’s best to see the lies and believe in the truth. Otherwise

    Read More

  • Examples Of Dishonesty In The Odyssey

    1122 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, some might argue that Odysseus’s dishonesty and deceit cause loss of trust and negative consequences. However, Odysseus’s dishonesty and deceit do not always have bad intentions, it can be seen when Odysseus and his men escaped out of Polyphemus’s cave to get out of trouble and when Odysseus received help from his men to get closer to their objective. While lying is looked down upon, people

    Read More

  • Archetypes In Epic Of Gilgamesh

    1362 Words  | 6 Pages

    In The Identity of Oedipus the King, Alister Cameron proved Oedipus as a tragic hero. He specifically wrote, “[f]or whatever his faults, Oedipus is noble. And after all, the acts he performs he is condemned to perform in ignorance. Therefore, whenever he acts, necessarily he acts blindly. Blindness is given him in his situation” (Cameron 140).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Kleos In The Odyssey

    1161 Words  | 5 Pages

    The central theme of the Greek epic narrative, kleos (“heroic fame”), has presented many conflicting perspectives within the Odyssey. As the vocaliser of his own fame, Odysseus’ kleos gains both a subjective and objective aspect. Kleos, the far reaching fame “heard among men” is projected through the voice of the bards, not the hero himself. As Walter Marg states, this kleos is “the great desire of the Homeric hero” , and this desire may only be satisfied by the repository of knowledge that is the bard. Hesiod, analysing the epic tradition, further suggests that these muses have the ability to speak “falsehoods that resemble truth”.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Compare And Contrast Essay

    1008 Words  | 5 Pages

    “We haven’t come to beg at your hearth because we think you’re the gods’ equal. We’ve come because you are the best man at handling trouble or confronting gods” (38-41). The people of Thebes are showing their respect in devotion to King Oedipus because the trust him as their well respected leader. They speak and think highly of king Oedipus based on this verse from the story. “We’ve lost almost everything, because we don’t have Odysseus to protect our house.

    Read More

  • Denial In Oedipus The King

    509 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone tries to convince themselves that it is all lies when you receive bad news about anything that you don’t believe in. In the play Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles in 430 BC, Oedipus is in denial about who killed the previous king, Laius. The town has asked Oedipus to save them from the disease that has spread killing all the life in town by finding the person who killed Lauis. Oedipus tells the people he will find the culprit and do whatever he needs to do to punish them. When he is given the truth, he is unwilling to accept the truth.

    Read More

  • The Chorus In Sophocles Electra

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    I will also discuss how does the Chorus represents the Athenian audience. The role of the Chorus is like the role of a narrator. It gives detail and insight into the events and help to guide the audience. However, as Electra being a

    Read More

  • Oedipus Tragic Hero Quotes

    411 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis:In Sophocles play ‘Oedipus the king’,Oedipus is an example of a tragic hero because he changed from a hero at the beginning of the play into a tragic hero by the end by experiencing power,tragic flow,downfall and death. Oedipus changes into a person no can believe of,because in the beginning he was a hero for the city of thebes by solving a riddle to defeat the monster that was killing and taking over thebes. Claim:Before the play Oedipus defeats sphinx and becomes a powerful king,At the beginning of the play people rely on Oedipus’s power and help. Data:For example the priest says “Oedipus greatest in all men’s eyes We pray,find some strength again and rescue or city”. Warrant:From this quote readers can see that how empowered oedipus feels like and how people in thebes rely on him,Clearly this scene represents the power stage of the tragic hero.

    Read More

  • The Chorus In Sophocles Antigone

    1410 Words  | 6 Pages

    “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” said historian Lord Acton. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Oedipus the King of Thebes newly departs after disgracing his people, and his successors to the throne, Polynices and Eteocles die in battle, thus leaving his brother Creon to inherit his throne. From the beginning, Creon uses his newfound power to impose excessive punishments against not only the people of Thebes, but also his family. As a result, the Thebans recognize his abuse of power, and express their fears through not only the chorus, but also his son. To finalize his play, Sophocles exposes how Creon uses his power to manipulate the hierarchy in Greek society; consequently offending the gods.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Hubris In Oedipus Rex

    1286 Words  | 6 Pages

    Oedipus Rex Henry Rollins once stated, “Weakness is what brings ignorance, cruelty, and pride, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor.” In Sophocles play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, weakness is his fate. Throughout the play, Oedipus is trying to outrun his fate because he feels the gods are subordinate to his powerful figure. Oedipus is seen as a god throughout Thebes because he defeated the mighty Sphinx, who was once haunting over the city. After defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus took over as king by killing his father and coupling his mother as his hubris blinded him from reality.

    Read More

  • Choruses In Aeschylus's Oresteia

    1391 Words  | 6 Pages

    In Aeschylus’ trilogy, Oresteia, three different choruses support each play in their unique ways. A group of male elders communicate with principal characters and comment on the action in Agamemnon, while slave women offer advice to Orestes and Electra in Libation Bearers. Yet throughout The Furies, the title chorus develop their own plan to avenge Clytemnestra’s murder by chasing down Orestes and bringing him before Athena and her jury. As Aeschylus’ style and characterization of a chorus develops over his trilogy, each group gains more independence and serves a greater role in terms of the play. The furies ultimately present their own conflict in the play’s exposition and continue to act as a free entity to achieve their own goal.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Chorus In Antigone

    1206 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Chorus connects the play to other myths and Sophocles uses the Chorus to expound upon the plays central themes such as morality, women, power, fate and free will etc. One such incidence we see in the play is towards the beginning when the Chorus describes the situation at Thebes and talks about the fate that killed the brothers. “And the common fate that slew them” This is seen when the Chorus says “Daughter of (Edipus ! Hapless child, of a hapless father! ” Here they bring out the character of Antigone by comparing her to her father by calling her passionate and wild and her actions to be a reflection to that of her

    Read More

  • Chorus In Antigone

    584 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The chorus plays a massive role in the overall development in all Greek tragedies, without them it would be much more difficult to understand.” (UK Essays arch 23, 2015). From this quote, we can see that the Chorus does play a huge role in the creation of background knowledge and introduction to the many new scenes. In Antigone by Sophocles, the audience can see this idea put to use. The main roles of the Chorus in personal opinion is the settlement of confusion, laying out of scenes, and the representation of the people of Thebes.

    Read More

More about The Chorus In Sophocles 'Oedipus The King'

Open Document