Oedipus the King Essay - 1073 Words

Oedipus the King The ancient Greeks were famous for their tragedies. These dramas functioned to â€Å"ask questions about the nature of man, his position in the universe, and the powers that govern his life† (â€Å"Greek† 1). Brereton (1968) stated that tragedies typically â€Å"involved a final and impressive disaster due to an unforeseen or unrealized failure involving people who command respect and sympathy. It often entails an ironical change of fortune and usually conveys a strong impression of waste. It is always accompanied by misery and emotional distress† (20). The play, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles definitely demonstrated the characteristics of an impressive disaster unforeseen by the protagonist that involved a character of†¦show more content†¦The audience recognized that Oedipus did not intend to do this horrific act and they felt sympathy for him. Aristotle believed true tragedies evoked catharsis from the spectators (Brereton 6). Tragedies usually involve people that demand respect and sympathy (Brereton 17). The plots of tragedies are usually based upon myths or legends about individuals of high rank (New T-350). In many plays, characters of royal decent are utilized because this implies a position of stature from which they can fall (Mandel 103). In the case of Oedipus, he was born into a royal family and was also eventually raised by another royal family. Oedipus who was a respected king came to recognize his true self. In the end, he was demoted to an exiled, penniless peasant. This caused the audience to recognize that if someone with this much greatness can experience catastrophe then they can also. The third characteristic typically seen in Greek tragedy was that of irony. Irony has been defined as an â€Å"incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs† (â€Å"Irony† 692). Oedipus heard from the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother, s o he decided to leave the town of Corinth to avoid this calamity. Oedipus’ decision to leave â€Å"his parents† actually led him into a collision course with his true father and mother. The prophecy was fulfilled despite Oedipus’ attempts to thwart it and this demonstrated aShow MoreRelatedOedipus The King Of Oedipus868 Words   |  4 Pageschallenge that waits upon one. Confidence overpowers cockiness. The cocky trait is heavily represented in the story â€Å"Oedipus the King† (c. 430 B.C.) by Sophocles. In the story, Oedipus the king of Thebes has the cocky trait and it results in torture for life. Oedipus’s arrogant personality shows throughout the story as he tries to find the killer of the former king of Thebes, his father. Oedipus tends to deem himself as a god throughout the story which plays a big role in interaction with people around himRead MoreOedipus The King : Oedipus1328 Words   |  6 PagesOedipus the King Oedipus had a lot of different character traits both good and bad. He had a good conscience; he cared deeply for the people in his life and protected them. He was very empathetic, smart and a dependable man who lived his life with great integrity. He was an honest man with strong moral principles and lived a righteous life. He found it difficult to live anything less than a righteous life; when he realized what had become of his life, his guilty conscience consumed him. He was filledRead MoreOedipus The King Of Oedipus1019 Words   |  5 Pageswhat makes Oedipus actions in his quarrel with Teiresias and also throughout the play so dramatically compelling, is the fact that the audience knows the outcome of the story. We know Oedipus fate even before he does, and there is no suspense about the outcome itself, instead, the audience anxiously awaits Oedipus to reveal his fate unto himself in his desperate quest to rid his city of the terrible plague, or maybe even more so, to simply d iscover his own unfortunate tale. Oedipus is relentlessRead MoreOedipus the King1125 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus the King by Sophocles is about Oedipus, a man doomed by his fate. Like most tragedies, #8220;Oedipus the King#8221; contains a tragic hero, a heroic figure unable to escape his/her own doom. This tragic hero usually has a hamartia or a tragic flaw which causes his/hers#8217; downfall. The tragic flaw that Sophocles gives Oedipus is hubris (exaggerated pride or self-confidence), which is what caused Oedipus to walk right into the fate he sought to escape. Pride like that of Oedipus hadRead MoreOedipus the King1065 Words   |  5 PagesSophocles’ use of irony is amongst the greatest of all time, as demonstrated masterfully in Oedipus the King. He displays both ambition and understated humour by using irony in diverse ways, both cosmic and dramatic, as well as verbal irony to add a greater level of wit. Every word spoken holds great symbolic weight and those words contribute to a narrative that reflects the gods plans. Adversely the work of Johnathan Swift takes the form of a social satire, combining economic arguments with a sociopoliticalRead MoreOedipus the King1164 Words   |  5 Pagesmen of high reputation and good fortune such as Oedipus.† This attitude, commonly found in men of high station is not specifically identified as pride in the case of Oedipus and, indeed, different readings can place Oedipus’ great flaw in a number of areas. It seems as if Sophocles intended to emphasize the more common interpr etation of Oedipus’ flaw being excessive pride, but other interpretations, such as Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1967 film Oedipus Rex, present other possibilities as the main characterRead MoreOedipus the King773 Words   |  4 PagesThe Greek drama Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, is regarded as one of the most perfect tragedies ever written. The tragedy Oedipus the King is highly esteemed partly due to its use of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony means that facts or events, which are not known to the characters on stage or in a fictional work, are known to the audience or reader. Sophocles uses dramatic irony to demonstrate how little the protagonist really knows. The main dramatic irony in Oedipus the King contrasts Oedipus’sRead MoreOedipus The King, Or Oedipus Rex1249 Words   |  5 Pagesmost famous probably being Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, or Oedipus Rex. For a play to be considered a tragedy, it must have a tragic hero. According to Aristotleâ €™s definition of a tragic hero, they must be a decent moral person, of high social standing who eventually meets with a tragic downfall, of their own doing, suffering more than deserved, and realizing their error too late. In the play Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the epitome of a tragic hero. Oedipus Rex was generally a â€Å"good† person; heRead MoreOedipus The King And Oedipus At Colonus1567 Words   |  7 Pagesworks of Sophocles and particularly evident in Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus, not only exalts the Greek nationalism present at the date of composition but dictates the course of the story, evolving as its tragic hero works through his fated anguish. Hubris, defined as exaggerated pride or self-confidence, is the earmark character trait of Oedipus and perhaps Creon. However, it is the abandonment of his sanctimonious nature that distinguishes Oedipus as a true hero. The theme of the evolutionRead MoreOedipus The King, And Oedipus At Colonus1343 Words   |  6 Pages Oedipus, a play written by Sophocles, has become a staple in the study of a Tragic hero in classic literature. When this was written in the fifth century, theatre was more than a means of entertainment but almost a religious event. Robert Fagles goes even further by saying tha t†theatre was not only a religious festival; it was also an aspect of the city’s political life.† (Fagles) . Greek dramas were presented only twice a year during religious festivals that honored Dionysus, the god of wines