Unraveling the Riddle of Oedipus Study Guide PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER’S STUDY GUIDE Oedipus the King by Sophocles Translated by William Butler Yeats September 28 – October 29‚ 2006 TABLE OF CONTENTS SOPHOCLES Sophocles’ Life 3 Works by Sophocles 4 THOUGHTS FROM THE DIRECTOR 5 OEDIPUS THE KING Synopsis 6 Characters 7 Glossary 8 The Translator 9 Themes 10 The Riddle of the Sphinx 11 ANCIENT GREECE Daily Life 12 Why Ancient
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PROLOGUE OEDIPUS My children‚ scions of the ancient Cadmean line‚ what is the meaning of this thronging round my feet‚ this holding out of olive boughs all wreathed in woe? The city droops with elegaic sound and hymns with pails of incense hang. I come to see it with my eyes‚ no messenger’s. Yes‚ I whom men call Oedipus the Great. [He turns to the PRIEST] Speak‚ Elder‚ you are senior here. Say what this pleading means‚ what frightens you‚ what you beseech. Coldblooded would I be‚ to be unmoved
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Truth When Oedipus and Jocasta begin to get close to the truth about Laius’s murder‚ in Oedipus the King‚ Oedipus fastens onto a detail in the hope of exonerating himself. Jocasta says that she was told that Laius was killed by “strangers‚” whereas Oedipus knows that he acted alone when he killed a man in similar circumstances. This is an extraordinary moment because it calls into question the entire truth-seeking process Oedipus believes himself to be undertaking. Both Oedipus and Jocasta act
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Oedipus The Great..Not!! In the book Oedipus The King‚ there was a curse that stated that Oedipus was to kill his father‚ Laius‚ and marry his mother‚ Jocasta. So when Oedipus’ parents find out that Jocasta is pregnant they have the baby and give it to a man to take to the top of a mountain. But instead of the man taking the baby‚ Oedipus‚ to the mountain top he gave him to a family and the family then raised Oedipus. When Oedipus was older he was traveling to the town of Thebes when he ran
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The story of Oedipus is a tragic story. The story starts out with Oedipus being cursed by Apollo with a prophecy. The prophecy said that Oedipus will kill his father and sleep with his mother. Later‚ Oedipus leaves his parents and heads for Thebes. Along his way‚ comes a man in the center of a three way road way. Oedipus tells him to move and he refuses and Oedipus kills Laius‚ the king of Thebes and Oedipus real father. Then later on Oedipus becomes the King of Thebes and marries Jocasta‚ the Queen
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must be smiling at Oedipus Blindness In the play written by Sophocles “Oedipus the King‚” is depicted as one who is blind to his own ego‚ pride stubbornness‚ anger and lack of knowledge. First written in Greek mythology this play is about a King of Thebes whose ego overshadowed his ability to focus on his the necessary things to stabilize his kingdom; his anger and pride eventually led to his down fall. Having solved the riddle of the Sphinx‚ (an evil creature) King Oedipus was able to succeed
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Composition August 8‚ 2011 What makes Oedipus the King of Tragedy? How did Oedipus bring about his own destruction? Or is he the victim of a greater force such as fate or the gods? How does pride affect his actions? How do you feel as you watch him fall? Fate is a theme that is often occurring in Greek plays and tragedies in particular. From the beginning of Oedipus‚ the King‚ we know that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry with his mother. Oedipus discovers that his past is very different
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Oedipus The King Essay Ever wonder if you’ve already met the person that you’ll someday marry? In Oedipus The King by Sophocles‚ it seems that Oedipus married someone that once knew him well. As a matter of fact‚ a little too well. In this play‚ a man named Oedipus became king in a very fascinating way‚ from having a very out of the ordinary kind of past. From a baby he was orphaned‚ left to die a very brutal death‚ because of a prophecy too unbearable for his true
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How Fate and Oedipus’s own essential nature combine to make him a tragic hero? “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a very good play which talks about a guy who was fated to kill his father and married his mother. Aristotle defines “tragic hero as a person of great stature and virtue who becomes aware of a mortal defect within himself.” This defect leads to great tragedy. Oedipus’s own essential nature makes him a tragic hero because his ignorance (lack of knowledge) led him to his own destruction
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In this play‚ Oedipus the King‚ there are any references to eyes‚ sight‚ and the lacks thereof are made throughout Oedipus the King. There are parts where characters have limited physical sight‚ such as Teiresias’s blindness‚ and there are also parts where their sight‚ in the form of perception‚ is limited. Most importantly‚ sight is used in the play as a symbol for knowledge‚ such as the how the oracles and the "seer" (16)‚ Teiresias‚ can ’see’ the truth. The play is about Oedipus’s quest for knowledge
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