Preview

How Has Oedipus Rex Has Been Simplified Over Time?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
512 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Has Oedipus Rex Has Been Simplified Over Time?
“There once lived a man named Oedipus Rex
You may have heard about his odd complex.
His name appears in Freud’s index
‘Cause he loved his mother.”

To what extent do you think the tragedy of Oedipus Rex has been simplified over time?

The way in which the tragedy of Oedipus Rex is interpreted has changed significantly since its first presentation to audiences in ancient Greece. The ways in which audiences over many years have interpreted it have changed because of changes to society in matters such as culture, religion and morality and the . At the time Oedipus Rex was written, audiences saw Oedipus’s marriage to his mother and murder of his father as moral sins even though he was fated to do so. As a result of their moral code ancient

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Knox, Bernard M.W. "The Oedipus Legend" Readings On Sophocles 56.2 (Sep. 2008): 85-88. Gale. Niceville High School Lib., Niceville, FL. 14 Sept. 2008 <http://find.galenet.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>. In Bernard’s critical essay, he examines the multiple elements that make up the Oedipus legend (such as novelty, myths, and plot) throughout the whole story and provides a summary of the story as well. Novelty was the major attraction of audiences for Greek tragedies. This is why the story of Oedipus is so strange and rather unusual to attract a larger crowd. According to Knox, another element of Oedipus was that of the myths. Uses of gods such as Apollo were intertwined with Greek tragedies in order to influence the audience to recognize that their will isn’t the most powerful thing in existence. When the story first begins, the background is not instantly given. In fact, the majority of the background story isn’t given until later in the middle. Irony, a major theme in Oedipus, is witnessed in multiple segments of the story. One of those examples is when the blind sight seer has more sight than the fully capable eyes of Oedipus. The dramatic irony comes into play when the audience knows what the truth behind Oedipus’ story is, while the characters are still uninformed. The ignorance of Oedipus’ parentage is what causes the dramatic outbreak. (197)…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The logic of Oedipus' transgression is actually quite obvious, and Oedipus' father, King Laius, also has an analogous methodology and transgression. They both had unfortunate destinies: Laius was destined to be killed by his own son, and Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. This was the ominous decree from the divinatory Oracle at Delphi. King Laius feared the Oracle's proclamation and had his son, the one and only Oedipus, abandoned on a mountain with iron spikes as nails so that he would remain there to eventually die. And yet, his attempt to obstruct fate was a failure, for a kindly shepherd happened to come upon the young Oedipus and released him from the grips of death. The shepherd then gave the young boy to a nearby king who raised him as his own, and consequently named him Oedipus, which meant "swollen…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Faith In Oedipus Rex Essay

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Oedipus Rex had many different ironies portrayed throughout the play. Some would say faith played a huge part of the story also. Oedipus rex was a tale of a man that had to overcome adversity through his journey. His parents left him as an infant and never looked backed. As the time went on he got older and wiser. When he got older an oracle told him that he was going to kill his father and impregnate his mother. These were the two main ironies portrayed in the story. The slaughter of Oedipus’ father, the incestual relationship with his mother, and his faith of being able to defy fate played a huge role in Oedipus Rex.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    People read literature because it teaches about humanity, both the positives and negatives. Sometimes, they learn more from reading about the mistakes and flaws of characters. Oedipus Rex is one of these characters, flawed even though he thinks he is divine. According to Bernard Knox, “these attributes of divinity – knowledge, certainty, justice – are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he was the perfect example of the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice.” In Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s untimely fall is caused by his false certainty of knowledge, his rash actions done without that certainty, and his injustice toward those trying to warn him.…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Complex Analysis

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The most common theory for the actions of Oedipus in his story is the Oedipus complex, theorized by Freud. In the story Oedipus, it was his fate to marry his mother and have children with her, and kill his father. The Oedipus complex says that this must happen at a young age. However, this complex doesn’t apply to Oedipus, because of the different circumstances in which these actions occurred.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The thing that struck me about Oedipus was the changing emotions throughout the story. At the beginning of the story the overwhelming emotion is desolation and panic as the kingdom seems to be dyeing this turns to hope when they are provided with what seems to be a cure. They must find Laius's murderer to restore favor in the gods eyes. What follows is a sense of urgency as they try to right the wrong before all is lost. This pressure leads Oedipus to make some rash accusations against Tiresias and Creon which results in an angry dispute. However, after Jocasta calms the argument, the feeling of urgency is renewed as the wait for the shepard who holds the answer to not only who the murderer is but also who Oedipus' parents were. Once everything…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Adade-Yeboah, Ahenkora, and Amankwah (2012), “Tragedy is of action and not character as Aristotle puts it” (p. 10). Therefore, Oedipus’ tragedy deals with his ignorance and not his character. Oedipus is ignorant in the fact that he does not realize he is committing patricide or incest (Adade-Yeboah et al., 2012, p. 11). Oedipus grows up knowing two opposite people that he thought were his parents, which leads to him killing his biological father and marrying his biological mother. Oedipus then goes on to search for his biological father’s killer and soon realizes that it was he himself who committed the atrocious acts toward his family. He came to this realization after it was revealed to him by an oracle. Originally, Oedipus believes that the man he originally kills is only just a shepherd, when in return it is his biological father. According to Greenburg (2012), “Oedipus has been told, and has come to believe, that at the end of his life and in death he will have the power to protect the city that has taken him and buried him” (p. 52). Oedipus maintains the belief that things will always be the way he knew them to be and he would be in charge of the city he knew and loved. He maintains this belief until an oracle reveals his misfortune. At first, Oedipus and his wife (biological mother) refuse to believe that what they were told is true. According to…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of a life, an action…” (Aristotle). Greek Tragedy was invented five hundred years Before Common Era, and focuses on the actions of characters. These actions emphasize the harsh reality in which the innocent mankind lives in. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is defined as one with great potential, but has a hamartia leading to the ultimate demise of himself. Oedipus’ actions are tragic, as he tries to make the right choice but fails. He was dealt a hand that would only lead him to lose. Furthermore, Sophocles develops Oedipus as a relatable character which allows for catharsis to occur. Aristotle’s, The Poetics, explains the necessary components to create a powerful Tragedy. Oedipus the King is a powerful representation of Aristotle’s ideas on tragedy, so the purpose, protagonist, fall, and plot elements in Oedipus the King demonstrate the concepts of tragedy written in The Poetics.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero and the reader gets to witness all of the disastrous events coming down on him. He is then revealed to be more tragic than anyone imagined and to be pitied instead of worshipped. Oedipus’ tale is a prime example of a…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The adaption of the tragedy Oedipus The King to cinema is a big leap in the history of film making. However, there are certain aspects of the movie that could have been beter adapted. The main reason why these points have been missed may be due to the fact that Pier Paolo Pasolini meant to make a movie that carried a myth of the past to today and even tomorrow by starting the movie in Italy and carrying it to the past. What really bothered me while watching the movie was that Oedipus is too young compared to what we see in the tragedy and even more disturbing, he does not act like a king that he is presented to be in the tragedy. I am not criticizing the way how he acts before becoming a king because in my opinion that part of the tragedy is well adapted to the movie but the way how he behaves afterwards is not a good adoption of the text. The reason why I make this claim is because the king sounds more caring in the text. This change is not well demonstrated in the movie. Moreover, the costume that the king wears should not be presented that way. In my opinion Oedipus should have had a more glorifying costume than Creon but that was not the case. Another aspect of the tragedy that was not in the movie was the real reason why Oedipus was named after which is the club foot. It was missing in the movie. According to the tragedy Oedipus should have been nailed at his foot at birth and that is why he is given the name Oedipus which means swollen foot. Apart from these, I believe that the story was told in a way that it could not be told any better. Some may say that the story does not match the tragedy due to the lack of following the same storyline but in my opinion that is why it is a movie and not a demonstration of the tragedy…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In whole, the story of Oedipus the King was a trying story of the human condition and the anthropological fact of human blindness to their own destruction. Personally, I enjoyed the tragic play. I think that is an accurate, yet slightly dramatic, depiction of the things that people in a society will do to save themselves. I think that in every person there is a problem they are ignoring or trying their hardest to run from; but in reality, it is always the problem they are running from that is their…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Who Is Oedipus Selfish

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the tragedy Oedipus Rex, Oedipus commits several immoral acts. Typically, society views these as evil and unjust. However, although Oedipus commits several licentious deeds, Sophocles makes the reader sympathize because Oedipus is oblivious to the incriminating facts.…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Due to Oedipus being so clueless about his past events, he should not be held accountable for his actions. Oedipus Rex is not guilty of murder nor incest. At infancy he was given to a shepherd by his parents to be…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the interactive oral regarding Oedipus Rex, the discussion delved into a dissection of Oedipus’ choices and by what means those decisions had a substantial basis. Subsequently, Oedipus’ absurd rationality towards dejecting the prophecy morphed into a more coherent reaction, as his behavior was rooted in the cultural and social values from the ancient Greek era.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex. Ed. Michael J. O 'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 17-29.…

    • 1827 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays