Free Essays on Oedipus Rex

; speaking to Tiresias he says, referring to Tiresias’ blindness, â€Å"Living in perpetual night, you cannot harm me, not any man else that sees the light.† Oedipus himself is too blind to see that he is truly the one living in darkness; his past and his future both shrouded in obscurity. These images are mirrored in Oedipus’ relationship with the city of Thebes itself. Oedipus comes to Thebes a hero; solving the Sphinx’s riddle and setting Thebes free from her curse. In dealing with the Sphinx, Oedipus shows his mind’s capacity for brightness. â€Å"From you, bird-lore and god-craft were silent. Until I came- I, ignorant Oedipus, came- and stopped the riddler’s mouth, guessing the truth by mother-wit, not bird-lore.† Oedipus takes pride in his intelligence, bragging about the cleverness with which he answered the Sphinx. Later, in talking to Tiresias, Oedipus is faced with riddles more pertinent to himself; and this time his mind is dark, unwilling or unable, because of ... Free Essays on Oedipus Rex Free Essays on Oedipus Rex The contrast between light and dark, and blindness and sight plays a large role throughout Oedipus Rex. The light and dark imagery that pervades the play is used as a metaphor for Oedipus’s spiritual blindness. The darkness represents his inability to see the truth about his life. Oedipus Rex is a play full of paradox. The imagery of sightedness and blindness highlight the contrasts between the characters. Tiresias, a prophet, who can see the future and knows what will happen to Oedipus, is physically blind. During the exchange between Tiresias and Oedipus near the beginning of the play, constant reference is made to Oedipus’ sight and Tiresias’ blindness. The irony here lies in the fact that Tiresias’ sight is far greater than Oedipus’; despite his physical handicap, Tiresias can see the truth about who Oedipus is and what will happen in his life. Oedipus, however, is unwilling to listen to Tiresias and ignores the truth of his words; speaking to Tiresias he says, referring to Tiresias’ blindness, â€Å"Living in perpetual night, you cannot harm me, not any man else that sees the light.† Oedipus himself is too blind to see that he is truly the one living in darkness; his past and his future both shrouded in obsc urity. These images are mirrored in Oedipus’ relationship with the city of Thebes itself. Oedipus comes to Thebes a hero; solving the Sphinx’s riddle and setting Thebes free from her curse. In dealing with the Sphinx, Oedipus shows his mind’s capacity for brightness. â€Å"From you, bird-lore and god-craft were silent. Until I came- I, ignorant Oedipus, came- and stopped the riddler’s mouth, guessing the truth by mother-wit, not bird-lore.† Oedipus takes pride in his intelligence, bragging about the cleverness with which he answered the Sphinx. Later, in talking to Tiresias, Oedipus is faced with riddles more pertinent to himself; and this time his mind is dark, unwilling or unable, because of ... Free Essays on Oedipus Rex In Sophocles’s play â€Å"Oedipus Rex† Oedipus Even though "fate" seems to determine Oedipus' life, . he does infact have a free will. His choices brought the prophecy to life. Only his decisions (not influenced by anybody) he made. Of course those decisions were in side of the limits set by fate. When Oedipus heard a prophesy that his going to kill his father and sleep with his mother he ran away, even when he new there were suspicions of him being the real son of his parents. There some lines from the play: "†¦There was a man dining with us one day who had too much wine and man shouted at me-half drunk and shouting that I was not rightly called my father's son. †¦ Without my parent's knowledge, I went to Delphi, but Apollo did not say what I had gone to hear. Instead, he answered questions I had not asked and told of horror and misery beyond believe - how I would know my mothers bad †¦ and cause the death of my own father." The prophecy drove the Oedipu s away from home; the terror of the predictions was too much to live with. Oedipus tried everything not to meet the prophecy, and still when he came to Thebes and became a king Oedipus married an older lady. It was his choice, even when he knew there was a danger of him to know mothers bad, he made it. Oedipus' quest for truth was his choice. When the Teiresias tried not to reveal the truth, The Oedipus was the one, who made the priest to talk: "This city gave you life and yet you refuse to answer! You speak as if you were her enemy. †¦ For God's sake, if you know, don't turn away from us! We are pleading. We are begging you. †¦ You will not tell? You monster! You could stir the stones of earth to a burning rage! You will newer tell? What it will take?" As the truth is getting revealed: "†¦ You, Oedipus, are the desecrator, the polluter of this land." Oedipus does not believe (his choice). He (Oedipus) start to accuse Creon of truing to take his powers away (king). An d still want... Free Essays on Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex This classical tragedy takes place in the ancient city of Thebes. The city of Thebes has been gripped by a crisis. The plague has transformed the city of Thebes into a barren land. This tragedy by Sophocles unfolds into a sterile and desolate land of Thebes. -King Oedipus He is the king of Thebes. He is a man that is ruled by fate. He is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. He is unaware of the fact that he has already fulfilled the prophecy about his fate. He is intelligent, short of temper, and is hasty. -Creon Oedipus’ brother-in-law. He is judicious, rational, and consistent in nature. Oedipus accuses him of trying to steal his title because Creon supports Tiresias, which angers Oedipus even more. He counters by saying he owns a third of Thebes; but chooses not to rule it. When Oedipus is exiled, he leaves his two daughters in the hands of Creon. -Queen Jocasta Oedipus’ wife and mother. She is also Creon’s sister and previously wife to Laios. She is a good and loving wife and freely speaks her mind. Although she wants the city of Thebes to get better, she does not want Oedipus to find out why Thebes is sick, in fear of what the oracle prophesized becoming true. One of the major themes in this play is that fate and character are intertwined. Oedipus is not only destined to perform these acts but the nature of his behavior also leads to his fate. The crimes that he committed against his mother and father was not only disgusting but he ignored the very signs that could have helped him avert his own befall. By not respecting the oracle or by ignoring the rumors about his origins, he started on a path that fate would have him fulfill. Self-knowledge is also a theme in this play. When Oedipus inquires about his heritage it is when he finds out about the painful of who he is. Although he gave up his throne, abandoned his family, and destroyed his family as well as he ability to see, he earned ... Free Essays on Oedipus Rex As scene 1 to Oedipus Rex opens, Oedipus is speaking to Choragos. He has already been told that he must rid the city of old king Laios’ murderer. Sophocles uses dramatic irony in Oedipus’ opening speech, showing Oedipus’ naivety toward his situation and foreshadowing the tragic end of the play. After Oedipus’ highly ironic speech, where he relates himself even to being like Laios’ son ( which, of course, he really is), Choragos suggests that he see the blind clairvoyant Teiresias. Oedipus’ scene with Teiresias is filled with dramatic irony, making the intended crowd (who already knew the story well) see and pity the imminent and tragic downfall of Oedipus. As Teiresias enters he warns Oedipus to leave the matter be, for though he is blind he can see Oedipus’ terrible fate and knows the curse that Oedipus has already unknowingly cast upon himself. On Teiresias’ line 315, â€Å"No; I’ll never tell you what I know. Now it is my misery; then, it would be yours.†, Sophocles uses dramatic irony to foreshadow the tragic misery Oedipus refers to when he blinds himself. The irony that Sophocles uses makes the reader pity Oedipus even more, as he damns himself with his words on almost every line. Even though the audience already know Oedipus’ fate the pity that they feel from the effect of the irony makes them wish that, this time, the ending will be different. This time Oedipus will heed everyone’s repeated warnings to cease and desist his â€Å"search† for the murderer, and he will be spared. Eventually, Teiresias tells Oedipus the truth, â€Å"You yourself are the pollution of this country.† (line 338) and more clearly after Oedipus says he didn’t understand, â€Å"I say that you are the murderer you seek.† To the audience Oedipus is making a great fool of himself, for he is to arrogant to believe Teiresias. This irony makes the truth even more tragic. It makes the audience think, poor Oedipus, he is falling ...