A Close Reading Of Oedipus Rex - 1226 Words

Lisa Kidwell Dr. Jessica Parker ENG October 21, 2015 A Close Reading of Oedipus Rex Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. The theater was one way in which the ideas of knowledge and truth were examined. Many Greek dramatists use the self-realizations of their characters to underscore the themes of their tragedies. Sophocles, for one, uses the character transformation of Oedipus, in tandem with the plot, to highlight the theme of his famous work, Oedipus the King. As Oedipus grows in terrifying self-knowledge, he changes from a prideful, heroic king at the beginning of the play, to a tyrant in denial toward the middle, to a fearful, condemned man, humbled by his tragic fate by the end. At first, Oedipus appears to be a confident, valiant hero. This is especially true during the situation alluded to at the beginning of the drama, when he solves the Sphinx s riddle. Although Oedipus is not a native Theban, he still chooses to a nswer the riddle of the Sphinx despite her threat of death to anyone who fails to answer correctly. Only a man like Oedipus, a man possessing tremendous self-confidence, could have such courage. When Oedipus succeeds, freeing the city from the Sphinx s evil reign, he becomes instantly famous and known for his bravery and intelligence. A temple priest reveals the respect the Thebans have for their king when he tells Oedipus, You freedShow MoreRelated Use of Character Flaws and Literary Devices to Teach Morals in Oedipus Rex1290 Words   |  6 PagesDevices to Teach Morals in Oedipus Rex      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex is an excellent example of how an author can use literary techniques and personality traits to teach a certain moral or theme.   In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles communicates his themes and morals to the reader through the character flaws of Oedipus, a tragic hero.   The most prominent character flaw that Oedipus possesses is his excessive arrogance. One way this flaw is displayed is Oedipus repeated use of the pronounRead MoreReview Of Oedipus Rex 1342 Words   |  6 PagesJake Gilman Modern Mythology Period 8 Fusaro Oedipus Rex Reading Questions What appears to be the function of the Chorus? - The chorus in Greek tragedies has a similar function to the narrator in various books and plays. It is an outside source that describes the actions of the characters, as well as their thoughts or feelings. Just like a narrator, the chorus can be used to foreshadow an upcoming event and provide more detail than what is said on stage. However, theRead More Film Adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex Essay971 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"You are your own enemy† (Guthrie, Oedipus Rex, 22:43). In the film adaptation of Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus Rex† (1957), Sir Tyrone Guthrie portrays the characters as truth seekers that are ignorant when trying to find King Laius’ murderer. On the other hand, Sigmund Freud’s hypothesis of Sophocles’ work introduces us to â€Å"The Oedipus Complex† (1899) which states that as we’re young we grow infatuated with our opposite sex parent and feel resentment towards our same-sex parent. These two p ieces have adaptedRead More Comparing Creons Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus1114 Words   |  5 PagesCreons Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus      Ã‚  Ã‚   Temptation is ever present in our society and always has been throughout human history. When a person gives into temptation, this is seen as a sign of weakness. Usually, after a person has given into temptation once, that person will find each successive temptation easier and easier to give in to. Before realizing it, this person has changed into a completely false, morally lacking being. Over the course of SophoclesRead MoreAnalysis Of Me Before You, Oedipus Rex, And Macbeth1261 Words   |  6 Pageshowever, that spanned the breadth of our reading this year, was the idea of fate, and how we as mere humans attempt to alter it. This idea pervades centuries of literature, from Greek tragedies to contemporary love stories; fate has played a large role in fiction since the dawn of writing. When an author sets down her pen upon her desk in anticipation of a novel, she will use fate deliberately, exactly, to weave her tale. In the texts, Me Before You, Oedipus Rex, and Macbet h, it is apparent that theirRead MoreHow to Read Literature Like a Professor1408 Words   |  6 Pagessituations, ideas, and themes. -There’s only one story. â€Å"When a new work is created, it is set among the monuments, adding to and altering the order.† –T.S. Eliot -Intertextuality: the ongoing interaction between poems or stories. This link deepens reading, adding multiple levels of meaning to a work. Connections: -Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder: Through Sophie’s travels she meets characters from other works of literature, such as Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and other recognizable charactersRead More A Rebuttal to E. R. Dodds On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex2978 Words   |  12 PagesA Rebuttal to E. R. Dodds On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex In On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex, E. R. Dodds takes issue with three different opinions on Oedipus Rex. I consider the first two opinions, which Dodds gleaned from student papers, to be defensible from a close reading of the text. The first of these opinions is that Oedipus was a bad man, and was therefore punished by the gods; Dodds counters that Sophocles intended for us to regard him as good, noble, and selfless. ButRead More Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King3894 Words   |  16 PagesThe Concept of Fate in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the first-time reader of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus Rex, it seems that the gods are in complete domination of mankind. This essay will seek to show that this is not the case because the presence of a tragic flaw within the protagonist is shown to be the cause of his downfall.    In the opening scene of the tragedy the priest of Zeus itemizes for the king what the gods have done to the inhabitants of Thebes:    A blight isRead MoreThe Tragic Hero Of Oedipus Rex, And Willie Loman1204 Words   |  5 PagesAlthough Oedipus, Othello, and Willie Loman can all be said to fall within Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, each represents a very different interpretation of the concept. Oedipus, the tragic hero of Oedipus Rex, written by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, is inarguably a tragic hero. In fact, Oedipus was the model which Aristotle used to define tragic heroes. Oedipus’ story certainly is tragic. After going on a manhunt to find the murderer of his subjects’ former king, Oedipus eventuallyRead MoreThe Theory Of Oedipus Complex1469 Words   |  6 Pagesof the mother. The boy sees the father as a threat for her affections, desires and attentions. In terms of the psychoanalytic theory, Oedipus complex may refer to the desire of a child to sexual engagement with a parent of opposite sex, specifically the boy’s amatory concentration, attention and attraction to the mother. Freud argues that the complexity of Oedipus plays an imperative function in the stage of Phallic where a kid undergoes psychosexual growth. Freud also trusts that if the stage completes