Oedipus The King A Master Of Tragedy - 889 Words

Sophocles were well-known as a master of tragedy. Sophocles was born at Colonus, not far from Athens. Sophocles wrote over 100 different dramatic stories. â€Å"Oedipus the King† is one of his great stories that has a mix of heroics to it and yet, we feel sorry for Oedipus and his fate that was handed to him. We ask ourselves after reading â€Å"Oedipus the King† who was this man and why did he think he could run from his destiny of fate. Was Oedipus responsible for his final fate and could he have changed his fate? We are going to talk about Oedipus and how his life unfolds from his birth. Then you, the reader will decide if you feel empathy for Oedipus and was this story about a tragic hero? Oedipus life sets in motion before he is ever born. The King Laius and his wife Jocasta are expecting a child; the Oracle told them that their son will kill his father and marry his mother. The king and his wife do the unthinkable to their child in fear for their lives. The King â€Å"pieced his little feet and tied them together† (Ed Friedlander) and leaves him in the mountains to die. First, we need to analyze this situation. Was this the norm in this era to do such drastic harm to their child? Could the King and Queen have done something differently that would have spared their child and their lives? We ask ourselves what if they had kept their son but, maybe told him about the prophecy when he was older. According to the research from Friedlander, this was normal for parents to leave a defectiveShow MoreRelatedEssay about Oedipus the King1183 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus the King Oedipus the King is the perfect example of a tragedy. It contains a complete combination of all the features of a tragedy. Aristotle in his Poetics[1] defines Oedipus as being a definite example of the form and purpose of tragedy. In tragedies the Greeks dramatized climactic events in the lives of heroes, and Oedipus story is no exception. By using many different literary devices it brings moral dilemmas of action and motive to the public stage. The action is set outRead MoreOedipus Rex by Sophocles889 Words   |  3 PagesSophocles’s Oedipus the King, fate is primary theme in the play. The influence of fate goes beyond the play but how Greeks viewed fate entirely. Also, Oedipus somewhat represented the Athenian political system and the people of Athens by his leadership. And lastly, having the play unfold, one is able to sympathize with Oedipus and strike pity and fear rather than disgust from his sins. The power of fate in Oedipus the King was one that shaped the entire story. In the beginning of the play, Oedipus heardRead MoreOedipus Rex As Tragedy : The Philosopher Must Be Crazy845 Words   |  4 PagesOedipus Rex as Tragedy: The Philosopher Must Be Crazy Throughout the ages many scholars have agreed with Aristotle s assessment of Oedipus Rex (the Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles) as the truest form of tragedy; however, modern viewers might remark that it is unworthy of such praise and instead should be exemplified as the proof that an addition to Aristotle s ideal of tragedy itself is required: the element of timelessness. Throughout history, many have believed that man s ability to produceRead MoreOedipus As A Tragic Hero1724 Words   |  7 PagesIn the story of Oedipus, Oedipus is considered a â€Å"Tragic Hero† because of the tragic fate and effect that he had upon his life. My definition of a tragedy is a great loss that has a unhappy ending to which concluded me to state that Oedipus falls under that category. Throughout the book, Oedipus is leading himself to his own destruction when trying to find the killer of the late King Laios. So when a journal article I found published by The John Hopkins University Press st ated that a â€Å"tragic heroRead More The Iron Hand of Dramatic Irony Essay1571 Words   |  7 PagesThe Iron Hand of Dramatic Irony Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus is considered by many scholars to be the most significant masterpiece of Greek drama. Through Oedipus Tyrannus, Sophocles is able to develop and establish dramatic irony, a theatrical device that allows the audience to understand the hidden meanings of the words and actions of the characters, though the characters themselves remain oblivious. Therefore, the behavior of the characters become ironic because they are unable toRead More Blindness In Oedipus The King Essay725 Words   |  3 Pagesin Sophoclesamp;#8217; tragedy amp;#8220;Oedipus the King.; First, Sophocles presents blindness as a physical disability affecting the auger Teiresias, and later Oedipus; but later, blindness comes to mean an inability to see the evil in oneamp;#8217;s actions and the consequences that ensue. The irony in this lies in the fact that Oedipus, while gifted with sight, is blind to himself, in contrast to Teiresias, blind physically, but able to see the evil to whi ch Oedipus has fallen prey to. TragicallyRead MoreEssay about Oedipus the King1164 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Websters Dictionary, fate is defined as A power that supposedly predetermines what is to happen (257). In the play Oedipus Rex each character is touched by fate directly or indirectly. The author of the play Sophocles pens the story of a man who was destine from birth to be both martyr and hero, he could never be one without the other. Another view of Oedipus Rex is that some critics view him as a tyrant and not a hero because he did not come into power by natural succession, butRead MoreMWD Oedipus Rex1701 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Title: Oedipus Rex Author: Sophocles Date of Publication: around 430 B.C. Genre: Dramatic Tragedy Biographical information about the author: Born at Colonus, son of Sophilus. Sophocles was a playwright and served as a priest. He had a son with Nicartrata, who was also a playwright. And he also had a son with Theoris. Wrote 123plays but only 7 survived: Ajar, Antigone, Trachinian women, Oedipus Tyrannoss, Electras, Philocetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. Also increased the number of chorus fromRead MoreOedipus Essay788 Words   |  4 Pagesto the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles. In this play, Sophocles gives Oedipus the tragic flaw, hubris (excessive pride in oneself), which eventually causes him to run into his fate that he wanted to escape. Excessive pride in oneself has been the downfall of multiple characters like Oedipus. Oedipus wont accept the fact that he cannot escape his fate because of his uncontrollable arrogance. Pride has played a role in his life when he was first told about his fate. Oedipus once went toRead MoreThe Role of Fate in Oedipus the King Essay1051 Words   |  5 Pagesshown in Sophocles play Oedipus Rex Sophocles lived during the Golden Age of Greece. He is renowned as one of the greatest dramaticist of western literature. He was a greek through and through as he held important political positions, and he even served as the priest of the haling diety Amynos. During his life tragedies were popular plays of the greeks, and Sophocles noted for his writing abilites of the time, made one such play about tragedy. This play has been the