ipl-logo

Free Will In Sophocles Oedipus Rex

711 Words3 Pages

Sophocles was one of the greatest playwrights of antiquity, and this of course is not without reason. In his play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses a catastrophic tale to both teach and tell us that no matter what we do, our fate cannot be avoided. Oedipus is the wisest mortal man in Thebes, so it is up to him to find out who killed Laios, a fact unknown to him though, is that he is the murderer of the ex-king Laios. Both his hot temper and the endless pursuit of truth will lead Oedipus into a sticky situation. In order to find the killer of the old king and save his city, Oedipus will learn things about himself he wishes he never had, and in the process fulfill an old prophecy. While Oedipus may have been raised by mere Shepards, that doesn't not …show more content…

The Queen who was Laios' wife, is also Oedipus's mother, who he will marry as the new king of Thebes and contribute even more to his eventual downfall and death. Oedipus was taught to believe his parents were Polybus and Merope, when he hears word that those may not be his parents he decides he must know the answer. Oedipus decides to go to Thebes and find the truth of his origin. During the journey he ends up fulfilling an earlier prophecy that he would kill his father. Later on in the plat, Oedipus decides he must find the truth about who killed king Laios and ironically enough it is he who killed the king. Oedipus also married the kings wife who turns out to be his mom. So even with everything they did to change it, everyone fell victim to Destiny. Although Oedipus was the smartest man in his city, he still had certain tragic flaws that would eventually least to his own demise. Trying to trick Destiny still ended is catastrophe for everyone involved. The most prevalent pitfalls we're Oedipus's hot temper, and he seek for the truth. Sophocles' famous tale teaches a classic lesson and will remain to teach for thousands of

Show More
Related

  • Oedipus Vs Hurston

    1501 Words  | 7 Pages

    Oedipus’s duty as King is to resolve any conflicts, including the mystery of the murder of King Laius. His pride takes over, and Oedipus becomes very single-minded. His cynical stubbornness writes the story itself, “Let the storm burst, my fixed resolve still holds, / To learn my lineage, be it ne’er so low. / It may be she will all a woman’s pride /

    Read More

  • Blindness And Vision In Oedipus The King

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus the King is a tragedy that was written by Sophocles that emphasizes the irony of an irony of a man who was determined to trace down, expose and punish an assassin who in turn became him. Oedipus the King is also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus. The art is an Athenian play that was performed in ages approximated to be 429 BC. Oedipus the King would later in the play fulfill the prophecy that he would kill his father and later on marry his mother. There is a twist of an event in the play where Oedipus is looking for the murderer of his father to bring to a halt the series of plagues that are befalling Thebes but only to find he is in search of himself (Rado, 1956).

    Read More

  • Complexity In Oedipus, By Sophocles Antigone

    1529 Words  | 7 Pages

    Oedipus killed his father Laius unknowingly in a quarrel and married his mother Jocasta when he assumed the throne of Thebes. In the conclusion of Oedipus, he had learned what he had done and in order to end the unbalance/plague that had erupted within Thebes, he left. He had given his two sons the throne of Thebes to share. However, they quarreled ultimately killing each other in battle. From this, begins the story of

    Read More

  • Is Oedipus Guilty Or Innocent Essay

    1255 Words  | 6 Pages

    Violet Falgout Carrie Crockett English II Honors 2/28/23 Oedipus: Guilty or Innocent? Whether Oedipus killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, is intended to have an obvious answer: “Yes!”. But while all the evidence provided in the play points to it, if you examine the work more closely, it can be found that all the evidence presented is purely circumstantial, and in the context of Greek culture murder (not of one’s parents) was not taken as a grave offense as it is in contemporary culture, leaving Oedipus’ true guilt at most indeterminable if not innocent.

    Read More

  • Who Is Oedipus The King

    462 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oedipus was a very prideful man that was sure of his past and of himself as a man, husband, father and a King. He looked after his country and over his people and made all attempts to take care of everyone in Thebes. Oedipus was the people's protector and wanted to rid Thebes of the plaque and vowed to find and deal with the murderer of Laios. Oedipus never hinter or acknowledged that he had a past where he murdered a man and seems to have put that out of his mind. Oedipus becomes more arrogant and becomes very defiant when Kreon, Teiresias and the Messanger try to talk to him about the prophecy and the oracle when attempting to find out the true murderer of King Laios.

    Read More

  • How Does Oedipus Show The Power Of Fate

    768 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the tragedy of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, a man becomes the king of a country and tries to find his true identity. Then he tries to find the former king 's murderer and runs into more than he can handle like dealing with the horrible plague. Oedipus seeks the most information he can get about the former king 's murder. Oedipus doesn 't know who his real parents are. When he finds out he stabs his eyes out and his wife/ mother hangs herself.

    Read More

  • Oedipus Pride Quotes

    657 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the people of Thebes find out Oedipus is the killer of Laius, the former king, Oedipus goes through his tragic downfall of great suffering. Oedipus boosts himself up and degrades others, but it turn he ends up suffering greatly and pitying himself for it. Oedipus’ display of pride throughout the story causes him to feel great pity for himself as he suffers his ultimate downfall.

    Read More

  • Fate And Agency In Sophocles Oedipus The King

    408 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and agency are very strong throughout the play.  Both sides of the argument can be greatly supported.   The attributes of a person have either a positive or negative affect on the choices that they make.   For Oedipus, his main attribute was the desire for knowledge and understanding about his own life. Because of this strong will and desire, this was Oedipus’ driving force in the play to lead him to the truth of his beginnings.

    Read More

  • Tragic Flaws In Oedipus The King

    1159 Words  | 5 Pages

    Introduction The story of Oedipus the king is gloomy, yet captivating. Going from a child bond around the feet and abandon by the mountainside, to marrying his mother, his story is intriguing. In search of the truth about the prophecy and putting an end to a plague Oedipus, search for king Laius’s killer, did somethings inadvertently, making him a tragic hero. His search for truth in the death of Laius the king, as well as his birth led to the ultimate destruction and downfall of his life.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Play Analysis

    696 Words  | 3 Pages

    First of all, I what to talk about the characters of Oedipus the King. First of all is the main man himself Oedipus the king of Thebes. (Sophocles pg.1070) He goes on the quest to find the man who killed the old king, and stop the plague on his city of Thebes. But on the journey he finds out about from his wife the prophecy of the old king to be murdered on the crossroads by his son.

    Read More

  • Moral Ambiguity In Oedipus Essay

    637 Words  | 3 Pages

    The vagueness about Oedipus’ intellectual state can be interpreted as unconscious knowledge, which may make him morally culpable. Guilty

    Read More

  • Oedipus Rex Self Discovery Essay

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.

    Read More

  • Sight Vs. Blindness In Sophocles Oedipus The King

    1063 Words  | 5 Pages

    First, he was blind to the truth about his own life. Oedipus had no idea that his real parents were Laius and Jocasta, he was so blind that he got mad at anyone that would even suggest an idea such as that. As the story went on though, Oedipus could no longer run from the truth; he was forced to open his eyes to the reality and truth of his life. Oedipus killed his father and married his mother; he is the brother to his own kids and the son of his own mother. Oedipus was the one that was causing all of the downfall and bad times in Thebes.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Persuasive Analysis

    852 Words  | 4 Pages

    In many people’s eyes, it is seen that fate is something that one can not escape. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus gives a speech to the citizens of Thebes, about the murder of their previous leader, Laius. And in this speech, he explains the hardship that the murderer will have to eventually face. In Oedipus’s speech from Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses the literary device of dramatic irony to develop the central idea that fate is destined to happen, and can possibly bring more intensified consequences when avoided. If one tries to escape their fate, the conflicts that occur can be more severe than they were supposed to be. One can infer that what Oedipus is stating will eventually happen to him in the end of the play, if he is classified as the murderer.

    Read More

  • Oedipus The King Research Paper

    1224 Words  | 5 Pages

    Oedipus the King is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who kills his father and marries his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would murder him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, had a son, he exposed the baby by first pinning his ankles together. The infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife was then brought up as their very own.

    Read More

More about Free Will In Sophocles Oedipus Rex

Open Document