Often in works of literature a character’s life is affected by a single act or mistake…
As for the blind prophet Tiresias, who have contributed in half the tragic events regarding Laius, the king of Thebes, and his son Oedipus in Sophocles Oedipus the King , he's unable to avoid tragedies just because, although he is aware of the long run and urges mythical being to listen to the signs disclosed by his art then conform him, as mythical being is “poised on fortune's razor-edge”, he cannot modify the course of events, however solely provide mythical being many hints on a way to act, by lease him absolve to do what he desires.…
For example, in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor is biased when thinking about Fortunato. Early in the story, Montresor writes, “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe). This shows that once Montresor was insulted by Fortunato, there was no hope for forgiveness. Montresor ignores the possibility of Fortunato’s apology. He is inflexible, and decides to painfully kill him, claiming, “It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe). Montresor explains there is only one way to kill someone when you are seeking revenge, and that is inflicting a death excruciating pain. Montresor is so narrow minded that he has a specific set of rules to gain revenge, and believes you cannot break said rules during the act of revenge. A character like Montresor, is oblivious to the flaws in his or her…
Some individuals are blind to who they actually are, this is displayed when Oedipus in defense mocks Teiresias. This quote reads, “it has no strength for you because you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes”. Oedipus does not realize that his statement about the prophet really is more true to what is wrong with him. The irony in this is Oedipus comes to this man for insight obviously because the prophet is much wiser than Oedipus himself. Surely this is the first display of his tragic flaw which is being blind to the reality of his situation.…
Flaws are an essential part of who people are and how they think. Flaws can’t be ignored and the best thing to do is understand what they are and embrace them. Narrators of stories are also flawed and inherently biased. No one can know and see everything, which leaves the reader without knowledge. A narrator’s flaws will flaw the perspective of the reader, leading to a less complete, or less understood story.…
In literature, blindness has come to be associated with insight and highly sensitive perception. While Oedipus gains awareness to the truth, no longer blind to his past, before blinding himself, he gains a more spiritual sight after blinding himself. Amidst the terror that strikes in the last few scenes of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is finally able to take control of his fate by stabbing brooches in his eyes and therefore is able to master the goal of deciding his destiny he had been trying to achieve in his life. It’s this blindness that allows him to live spiritually uplifted and no longer concern…
Sophocles’s use of both plot and character within his classic tragedy “Oedipus the King” portray the religious and ethical views of the Classical period of Ancient Greece to such an extent that Knox goes so far as to say that “the audience which watched Oedipus in the theatre of Dionysus was watching itself.” Marlowe uses similar tools of character construction and plot in “Dr Faustus” to reflect the beliefs and moral attitudes held in Elizabethan England. The playwrights both use the conceptions of their protagonists to present contemporary beliefs; for example, the initial portrayal of the characters of Oedipus and Dr Faustus demonstrate ideological characteristics of a man within their respective contexts. On the other hand, with the…
“Ignorance is bliss.” Many times I have thought this to be true. But now that we have read Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, I’m rethinking my thoughts on this idea. What if Oedipus was better off not knowing his true parents? Could this predicament have been avoided if Oedipus hadn’t known his “true calling” of killing his father and sleeping with his mother? His life, in my eyes, would have been better being ignorant. He would’ve lived a great and long life in Corinth and Thebes would still be under the control of King Laius, whom the people of Thebes adored? Ignorance is certainly bliss.…
A tragic hero is defined as “a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake” (“Aristotle”, n.d.). Therefore, a tragic hero has some sort of tragedy that surrounds their life. A tragic hero also makes dramas more interesting and makes readers think. Dramas sometimes either exemplify or refute Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Oedipus by Sophocles exemplifies Aristotle’s definition in four different aspects. The first aspect involves both Oedipus’ ignorance and knowledge of his life situations, the second involves his hamartia, the third involves the actual plot itself, and the fourth involves the characterization of…
Oracles and seers are prominent figures in both historical works, such as Herodotus' Croesus and poetic works, such as Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos. The hero usually asks for an oracle's guidance before he makes a major decision on behalf of his nation, such as going into a war or saving his people from a plague, but he also consults the oracle for personal or familial issues, such as the fate of a son. Oracles' words are taken for granted because they bring a message from the gods, hence they are conceived as the infallible agencies of truth. Yet in both of the aforementioned works, the oracles mislead our heroes, Croesus and Oedipus. This is not due to the oracles' failures though; the heroes misinterpret or avoid their messages. Both Croesus…
In the play written by Sophocles, Oedipus the King, there are several instances of irony. Dramatic irony, or tragic irony as some critics would prefer to call it, usually means a situation in which the character of the play has limited knowledge and says or does something in which they have no idea of the significance. The audience, however, already has the knowledge of what is going to occur or what the consequences of the characters actions will be. The degree of irony and the effect it has depends upon the readers' grasp and recognition of some discrepancy between two things.…
The Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a play about a Greek emperor who was brought to ruin and had no one to blame other then his character. This Greek emperor embodied all traits' a ruler in his position would be blessed to have. Oedipus was a compassionate honest man who cared for the people he lead. Even as wonderful of a leader as he was, Oedipus was brought to his ruin because of his anger, impatience and blindness of fate.…
All throughout the play, Oedipus the King, Sophocles builds the entire story using dramatic irony. Despite Oedipus’s ignorance about who he is, Sophocles uses dramatic irony to let the readers know who Oedipus truly is and to hint at what all will take place throughout the entire story. Sophocles uses many different scenes throughout the play that portray dramatic irony. Although, the three most important are Oedipus’s curse towards himself, Oedipus’s insult to Tiresias, and the fortune-teller’s prophecy about Oedipus.…
Irony is a fundamental part of Greek tragedies. This irony is created when the audience knows something that the characters in the play do not. As a result, the audience feels more engaged with the story, creating feelings of suspense and foreshadowing later events. In the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, Sophocles’ use of irony does just that. He uses three different types of irony, dramatic, verbal, and situational, in telling the story of the journey of Oedipus.…
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the themes of sight and blindness are developed in a way to communicate to the reader that it is not eyesight itself, but insight that holds the key to truth and, without it, no amount of knowledge can help uncover that truth. Some may define insight as the ability to intuitively know what is going to happen, or simply as the capacity to understand the true nature of a situation. Both definitions hold a significant role in the play, not only for more obvious characters such as Oedipus and Teiresias, but also for Iocaste, whose true character is rather questionable considering her reactions to the events of the play, however, one can only speculate. With these themes in mind, one can see how Sophocles portrays each character to suit these themes and communicate his own definition of the term "sight."…