Some of Sophocles' greatest plays were the Greek tragedies of The Oedipus Cycle, a trio of stories about how a man named Oedipus's cunning led him to become the king of Thebes, but an unrelenting search for the truth about his birth coupled with an irascible nature ultimately guided him to his demise. ... Upon his arrival, Tiresias was hesitant to tell Oedipus the truth about the murder of Laios because he knew that Oedipus would not take the information well. Tiresias warned Oedipus that the truth would only cause more problems than it would solve, but Oedipus kept nudging him to t...

• Word Count: 1488
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

If Oedipus had a serious harmatia, it was his hubris. ... Oedipus's nemesis results in a cathartic effect. ... Using irony allows Sophocles to tantalize the audience into wanting to see how the events occurring mentally affect Oedipus regardless of whether they are already aware of the story. Irony is seen continuously in the story. ... In the play, the audience are generally aware of the story, and what is going to happen, but through dramatic language techniques such as irony, the audience is kept interested, and the tragedy is conveyed to them. ...

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

As in Oedipus the King, a major theme in Othello is man's inability to reliably distinguish between what seems to be and what; however, this shared theme of "uncertain vision" is treated somewhat differently in Othello than it is in Oedipus the King. ... If ever a tragedy was described that had no other culprit but the destiny or the will of gods, than that is the story of Oedipus. ... The only negative character in this story is Oedipus´ actual father who ordered to have the boy killed and then in a karmic twist got killed by his son as foretold, the rest of the characters have no pers...

• Word Count: 1353
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Oedipus was determined to find out what happened to Lauis. ... When Oedipus told the story about when he killed travelers who threatened to push him off the road, the audience saw that Oedipus has the capacity to behave recklessly. ... This shows that Oedipus is growing impatient. ... Oedipus was in constant competition with his fate. ... Dodds' work and find he has similar conclusions regarding Oedipus. ...

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

In this essay, I will discuss how these themes are clearly portrayed to the reader and how the story is made more powerful through the use of them. Firstly, the story is one that introduces the main character, Oedipus, very positively. ... This is evident on pages 12-13 when Oedipus says, "I am ready to help, I'll do anything." 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. ... Overall, through the various techniques used by Sophocles, Oedipus the King is clearly a Greek trag...

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

In Oedipus the King, the major reversal occurs when the messenger comes to cheer Oedipus and free him from his alarms about his mother. But, by revealing who he is, he only confirms Oedipus's worst fears, thus creating the opposite effect from the one intended. Additionally, he argues that through recognition, the hero discovers some truth about his or her identity (as in Sophocles's Oedipus the King) or actions that accompany the reversal of the situation in the plot. In the example of Oedipus the King, Oedipus's realization that he is, in fact, his father's murderer and h...

• Word Count: 1068
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

He deviates from morality or from a full knowledge of his situation, and his deviation destroys him .In Sophocles's Oedipus Rex the hero is a good-hearted but headstrong young man who kills his own father and marries his mother without knowing that they are his parents. ... Chaucer (1340-1400) used the word in Troilus and Criseyde, and in The Canterbury Tales it is applied to a series of stories in the medieval style of de casibus virorum illustrium, meaning "the downfalls" (more or less inevitable) "of princes." ...

• Word Count: 1396
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate