Although partly true, it is not entirely accurate in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. ... Oedipus' second action that determines his fate is his sheer determination to find who killed King Laius, in hopes to disprove his own suspicions that he himself is the killer. ... Oedipus' third and last action that plays an important role in determining his fate is the promise that he makes to his people, to punish and exile the person who killed King Laius. After learning that it was he himself who killed King Laius, Oedipus chooses to honour his promise, instead of pushing the blame onto so...

• Word Count: 690
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The idea of a King needing advice from anyone spoils the King's own identity and 'royalty'. Oedipus, like most people in charge, doesn't need anyone telling him about things he doesn't understand; the King relies only upon himself. ... Oedipus' arrogance challenges the authority of "things hidden and has no use of the ˜truth' from any source other than his own; Oedipus believes he can summon 'truth' because he is the king. ... As all who were in the audience of this play were intimately aware of the Sparta's siege of Athens, the plague ...

• Word Count: 653
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

His analysis of the ideal form of tragic plays became a guideline for later playwrights in Western civilization. ... Baffled by the reluctance of the people to heal, Oedipus, who became the king after he solved the riddle of the Sphinx, sends his brother-in-law, Creon, at first a good natured, and rational being, to find the cure for the city's current disaster. Creon informs Oedipus that in order to save Thebes, he must solve the murder of the previous king, Lauis, who was killed at crossroads years ago. ... In addition to promptly summarizing the play, Marjorie discusses Aristotle embe...

• Word Count: 1098
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

(Albert Henrich) We know that in Oedipus the King the chorus plays a significant role and in the bloodiest moment in the play, it is not the violent act that we see but the description of it is given by the reliable chorus. ... Oedipus is blinded throughout the play by his egoistical ways and his pride, Sophocles plays on this when we approach this violent scene by actually having Oedipus gouge out his own eyes. ... (Oedipus the King 1297-305) Alongside the chorus's description, the audience are left to their own imaginative devices. ... "(Oedipus the King, 1068 "1078) Here we s...

• Word Count: 1654
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Is this true of Oedipus? In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the main character Oedipus is seen to follow his prophesized fate, which ends in his downfall. ... The answer, man causes Thebes to name him king and to bestow all their confidence in him. ... He was brought up believing his parents to be king Polybus and queen Merope of Corinth so it therefore takes indisputable evidence to convince him this is not the case. ... His attempt to change fate played out neatly so as to conform perfectly to what had been destined for him. ...

• Word Count: 859
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

No one would doubt Oedipus as a glorious king, especially the King of Suffering. ... They try to shove him off to make the way for the king. ... Oedipus here thinks of himself as a king seeking to save Thebes but confronted by Teiresias, Apollo's dignified servant who deserves respect. ... When Teiresias accuses Oedipus of murdering Laios, his calmness stumbles because Oedipus regards himself as the exalted savior of Thebes who would never kill the king and bring this plague to his children. ... In addition that his steady determination and astonishing perseverance aid him a lot during th...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Oedipus is seen as a tragic hero in the play, a principal character, in a position of social importance being the King of Thebes. ... In Oedipus Rex, it is not so much a hamartia that leads to his downfall, but more the role played by fate and destiny. ... When his nemesis occurs, the chorus, plays a crucial role in generating sympathy towards Oedipus. ... This contrasts with Oedipus at the beginning of the play, but nevertheless foreshadows Oedipus's own future, with the anargnorsis causing him to blind himself. ... The tragic nature of the play, is not only brought out by Oedipus&#...

• Word Count: 1270
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Robert Fagles' translation of the play "Oedipus the King", Sophocles explores many important themes of Greek tragedy such as fate and free will, wisdom and knowledge, determination and power through the effective use of his language, symbols and motifs and setting. ... Firstly, the story is one that introduces the main character, Oedipus, very positively. ... " This immediately portrays Oedipus as a character who readers are appealed to due to his attributes that are conveyed during the beginning of the play. This is very important because it is due to this reason that w...

• Word Count: 511
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The story of Oedipus begins with Laius, King of Thebes, who learns from the oracle that his son will kill him and marry his wife Jocasta. ... A shepherd rescues the child, Oedipus, and gives him to his king, Polybus, King of Corinth. ... The reader discovers the first element of Aristotle's definition at the height of Oedipus" reign as King. ... As described, the recognition is Oedipus" discovery of his identity, which brings upon the guilt he had been avoiding throughout the play. One can see that the recognition plays a significant role for it allows Oedipus to acknowledge his error ...

• Word Count: 696
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King with the hope of portraying the presence of religious hypocrisy in his society and correcting it. ... Thus he attempts to cure it threw the creation of the characters who play with in the great story of Oedipus the King. ... The first instance where we meet Oedipus and his power occurs in the beginning of the play. ... This is subtly thrown in to the play to reveal Sophocles" audience to themselves. ... Sophocles" goal in writing Oedipus the King was to correct the presence of religious hypocrisy in his society. ...

• Word Count: 1069
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

For example, in the production of Antigone, a male will play the characters of Antigone and Ismene, the two daughters of Oedipus and Iokaste. ... In context and in performance, the tragic heroine of Antigone is in fact Antigone, niece of King Kreon, sister of Ismene, and fiancé of Haimon. ... At the end of the play, Antigone hangs herself in her cell, Haimon stabs himself in his own misery, and King Kreon is left alone. ... Antigone fits this description of Aristotle's ideal tragic heroine because her insistence on her desire to bury Polynices to the point of her own death locat...

• Word Count: 1410
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

By the end of the play Creon's excessive pride, known as hubris, begins to control his actions, which leads to an eventual reversal in fortune. ... It is this manner that Creon can be seen as the tragic character in the play Antigone. ... "The State is King!... This reveals the great amount of change Creon has undergone since the events of Oedipus the King, in which he is a much more compassionate and sensible leader. This further labels Creon as a tragic hero, as he is acting more and more hostile towards every other character in the play, including his own son as the play comes c...

• Word Count: 951
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This is foreshadowed in the opening of the play; "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." ... The murder of Old King Hamlet has caused Claudius' mindset to become corrupted in order to control Denmark for himself. ... Shakespeare uses sexual imagery to signify Hamlet as a literary example of a child, who never overcame his Oedipus complex. ... At the beginning of the play, Claudius is appearing to be a good king in order to reinstate stability to Denmark after the death of their former king, Old King Hamlet, "Yet we with wisest sorrow think on him Together with remembrance of ...

• Word Count: 1108
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Golden Rule of Civility In the epic of The Odyssey, Homer explores a variety of different themes that heavily influence Odysseus" quest to return home and re-claim his throne as the rightful King. ... Throughout the story, Homer depicts scenarios in which hospitality, both on the part of the guest and the host, plays a key role in the events that transpire. ... Although the generosity that Telemachos receives from others exemplifies the cultural importance of hospitality, it is the welcome that the King's son displays to others that made the return of his father possible. ... The su...

• Word Count: 1626
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Sophocles" Oedipus the King, the audience receives a larger role of participation. The play is literately composed for the mere purpose of performance, which shows that although society is moving towards a more literate culture, orality is still being preserved. ...

• Word Count: 1357
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Sophocles" Oedipus the King, the audience receives a larger role of participation. The play is literately composed for the mere purpose of performance, which shows that although society is moving towards a more literate culture, orality is still being preserved. ...

• Word Count: 1392
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

However this could be due to the fact that Gertrude is, more than any other character in the play, the antithesis of her son, Hamlet. ... Nonetheless, whether Gertrude lacks the Familial love Hamlet craves, or was too self involved to give it; it has a negative effect on Hamlet as it causes his passionate hatred for the new King. ... Their relationship throughout the play is strained; it is in the passage after Blanche's confession of the loss of Belle Reve that Stella starts to understand what actually happened and places Stanley above her. ... The film version of the play, ends very di...

• Word Count: 3412
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: Undergraduate