Oedipus is a tragic hero of a Greek myth according to which, he was the king of Thebes and was prophesized to kill his own father and marry his mother. There are two recurring themes found in this myth – the flawed human nature and fate. This myth is best known from Sophocle’s plays and is still very frequently assigned to students in humanitarian courses. Essays may focus on an analysis of characters and their comparison with characters from other works, an analysis of human flaws, insecurities, and fears, interpretation and further exploration of the myth by other authors (e.g. Aristotle, Shakespeare), a reflection on guilt, innocence, freewill, etc. Check out our essay samples for examples of solid content, structure, outline.
Types of Blindness Life is full of things that humans wish to forget. Using blindness as a buffer from reality is a natural response to dangerous stimuli. The types of blindness are easily classified into many categories. These classifications make understanding stories and characters much...
In a mythological world of oedipus the king, the truth is rarely pure and never simple. The motif of the truth is expedited in theme of the willingness to ignore the truth throughout the drama, through characters trying to unveil the truth about the murder...
In “Oedipus Rex,” the chorus represents the voice of the average citizens and contributes insight that cannot be communicated by the other characters in the play. The chorus moves along the story by announcing the arrival of characters and answering questions that help the plot...
Frank Kermode writes in his book The Genesis of Secrecy “We are most unwilling to accept mystery, what cannot be reduced to other and more intelligible forms. Yet that is what we find here: something irreducible, therefore perpetually to be interpreted; not secrets to be...
The idea of hubris is monumental in a plethora of Greek mythological works. In many ways the excessive pride of certain characters fuels their own destruction. This is certainly true with respect to the characters of Pentheus, Antigone, and Oedipus. All three of these characters...
The tragedy of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, is a story of a man named Oedipus who becomes king, and through a series of events, ultimately meets his downfall. Through his display of hubris and hamartia throughout the play, Oedipus has risen and fallen. Oedipus”...
Guilt and Innocence: A paradox in Oedipus at Colonus A common theme throughout the Oedipus Cycle is that of guilt coinciding with innocence. In Oedipus at Colonus however in separate instances Oedipus claims to be innocent of his wrong doings as in his fight against...
Sophocles makes frequent use of seafaring imagery in his Oedipus the King, creating new perspectives from which to view its characters and cities. Oedipus tells the story of a king undone by a lack of faith in prophesy, the king of a people in need...
Creon, a stubborn man with what he saw in himself as potential, saw his chance of fulfilling his dream when his mighty brother, ex-king, Oedipus with his two older sons, Polynices and Eteocles, passed away. The brothers were too prideful. They both wanted the power...
Aeschylus poses two impossible tasks for his heroes Eteocles in Seven Against Thebes and Agamemnon in Agamemnon. Their decisions in these moral dilemmas rest on the split between family and politics. Aeschylus presents a vision in which politics and family cannot be separated leading to...
Sigmund Freud titled the Oedipus complex after a man named Oedipus who accidentally kills his father and marries his mother. Once Oedipus realizes what he has done, he pokes his eyes out and becomes blind. Similar to Oedipus, the concept claims that young boys feel...
Throughout the history of literature, authors and playwrights have often employed a foil – a character whose purpose is to create a contrast with the main character that allows the latter’s attributes to cement their presence. Ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles, in his play Oedipus Rex,...
Sophocles used his plays to encourage Athenians to take responsibility for their own actions. In the fifth century B.C., Greece was experiencing an era of military exploration, political turmoil and social revolution, including women’s empowerment. Sophocles included all of these elements in plays, especially in...
Oedipus the King There have been numerous inquiries regarding destiny and predetermination since time has started. Mankind dependably was worried about their predetermination versus the impacts of their own exercises. There still is a question lingering about, if fate controls the free? In the play...
Aristotle’s favorite tragedy was Oedipus the King by Sophocles. The play begins with the Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes. Upon the birth of their son, Oedipus, an oracle proclaims that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Petrified the...
The woman in Greece is depicted in the accounts of Odysseus, Oedipus, Apology and the writings of Sapphos based on their roles and functions in the present day Greek society as wife and mother, and based on their characteristics as impulsive and irrational, sentimental, and...
In describing the characters of Odysseus and Oedipus, Homer and Sophocles both avoid defining these men by typical physical characteristics such as stature or distinctive facial features. Instead, these authors focus on detailing specific bodily wounds that function as embodiments of each character’s identity. Parallel...
“Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light,which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as...
Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark features a variety of references to Oedipus Rex in its plot and characterizations. Several critics have discussed these similarities in psychoanalytic interpretations of the novel, but the Oedipus parallels serve a more pragmatic purpose aligned with the Aristotelian narrative...
