Oedipus’ Tragic Flaws: An Analysis of Oedipus Rex In Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex‚ first performed sometime in the 430s B.C.E‚ the scene opens in front of the palace of Oedipus‚ King of Thebes. As Oedipus enters‚ he finds many children and priests praying to the gods. Oedipus questions the oldest of the priests as to why they are praying. The priest tells him that there is a plague of sorts that has befallen on the city of Thebes causing the destruction of crops and livestock and also caused
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Oedipus Tyrannous When half human monsters walked the Earth and mythical Gods ruled all of creation‚ one man was destined to suffer the worst fate ever imaginable. Oedipus Tyrannous is a classic Greek tragedy written by Sophocles around 470 BC. According to Aristotle’s Poetics‚ Greek tragedies should follow certain guidelines in order to be effective tragic drama. Many of Oedipus’ character traits ultimately justify his place as a perfect specimen of Aristotle’s tragic hero. According
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EXERCISE FOR READING‚ COMPREHENSION AND INTERPRETATION Prologue (1-150) - Oedipus‚ Priest and Creon What is the dramatic purpose of the prologue? How does Oedipus characterize himself (8)? What is his attitude toward the suppliants (13-14)? What conditions in Thebes does the Priest describe (25-30)? How do the suppliants view Oedipus (31-34;40;46)? The Priest refers to Oedipus’s saving of Thebes from the Sphinx (35-38)‚ a monster with human female head and breasts and a lion’s body with wings
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Oedipus Throughout the course of time‚ the definition of the word "tragedy" has changed significantly from what the word originally meant when the Greeks were writing their famous plays. The word has gone from meaning "A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow‚ especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw‚ moral weakness‚ or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances‚" to the modern meaning of the word‚ "a lamentable‚ dreadful‚ or
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1. Is Oedipus a strong ruler/leader? Oedipus displays confidence and he is a strong ruler. Not necessarily a great leader because his own hubris takes him down later on. The people of Thebes were worried about the plague and Oedipus had a plan to mitigate the issues. His intelligence is shown when he solves the Sphinx’s riddle in a short amount of time. 2. Is Oedipus the “worst of men” as he calls himself? He asks “was I not born evil? Am I not utterly unclean? is he evil? Unclean? Oedipus
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Thompson English II – 6 17 April 2014 Compare and Contrast Creon and Oedipus In the plays Oedipus the King and Antigone Creon and Oedipus both are similar‚ but are different in many ways too. They both share in common their overbearing determination‚ but different in their care for the people of Thebes. Initially‚ both Oedipus and Creon exert an overbearing determination that can be the tragic flaw that destroys their lives. Oedipus was determined to find the killer of King Laius saying‚ “As for
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Oedipus endured many different experiences on his search for the truth that he was not aware even lingered. Each one of these experiences had a polarity of sorts paired along with it in some way. Oedipus’ intellect throughout the play showed both his great strength and his ultimate downfall. Throughout the play of Oedipus the King by Sophocles‚ there was evidence of great polarities in his search for truth ranging from fame and shame‚ and sight and blindness‚ to ignorance and knowledge. The most
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Oedipus’ hot temper was a major factor in his undoing. On many occasions‚ his quick bursts of fury backfired on him. For instance‚ when Tiresias keeps refusing to reveal the identity of the killer to Oedipus‚ Oedipus becomes aggravated. “‘You won’t talk? Nothing moves you? Out with it once and for all!’” (Fagles 276). The king’s prodding got under Tiresias’ skin‚ and Tiresias releases the truth. Oedipus is quick to deny the prophecy‚ but if not for Oedipus’ hasty temper the awful truth wouldn’t have
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is defined as a literary character that makes an error of judgment or has a total flaw‚ that combined with fate and external forces‚ brings on a tragedy. This pertains to Oedipus‚ as his brash decisions and unwillingness to accept the truth‚ along with his doomed fate‚ leads to his demise. The first thing that makes Oedipus a tragic hero is that he makes some large errors of judgment. This occurs when he decides to announce the punishment for the murderer of the late King Laius in front of all
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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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