Blindness In Oedipus Essay

How does Sophocles explore the use of contrast in his play King Oedipus?
¬The use of contrast by Sophocles in his play King Oedipus allows the audience the ability to see into the multifaceted layers that possess his characters. Being both physically and metaphorically blind is a motif that is both ironic and somewhat cruel in nature, due to the circumstances to which this physical blindness is acquired, and the latter is bygone. The contrast between the piety and god fearing nature of Creon and the impious temperament of his sister, Jocasta, is a point of interest, as it reflects the attitudes of the majority of the characters. Originally, belief in the gods in minimal, however, as the dramatic and tragic event occur, it is to be known that the gods are rulers over all things, including one’s own moira.

Through Sophocles’ recurring use of the motif of blindness, he elicits sympathy and understanding in the audience, as well as foreshadowing the graphic climax. Initially, Oedipus is ignorant or ‘blind’ to the verity that it was his actions that caused the ‘death in the fruitful flowering of her soil; death in the pastures; death in the womb of the woman; and pestilence’ that had befallen Thebes. This is
Sophocles illustrates the instability of Jocasta through her fluctuating belief in the gods. When she feels as though there is no truth behind the prophecy, blaspheming ‘a fig for divination’. Her impiety is not always present, however, as she continues to pray to the gods and visit the holy temples, as well as give gifts to Apollo, begging him to ‘save us from the curse of this uncleanness’. Once her prayer is answered in the form of the messenger, her hope is regained as her belief that Oedipus has not fulfilled the first requirement of the prophecy, and through her renewed optimism, she becomes complacent and insults the gods ‘where are you now, divine