In Oedipus the King, Iocasta says that Laius was slain at a place where three roads meet. This crossroads is referred to a number of times during the play, and it symbolizes the crucial moment, long before the events of the play, when Oedipus began to fulfill the dreadful prophecy that he would murder his father and marry his mother. ... In Oedipus the king, the crossroads is part of the distant past, dimly remembered, and Oedipus was not aware at the time that he was making a fateful decision (Murray 59). ... At the end of this tragic story, when Oedipus gouges out his eyes, the events in Oed...

• Word Count: 1264
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Dramatic plays had become grand outdoor spectacles that drew in audiences numbering in the thousands and each year the first place award was given to the playwright who produced the best plays; an award that Sophocles himself had won twenty-four times while also never placing below second place. 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 h...

• Word Count: 1488
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• 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. ... This of course raises one of the most important questions regarding the two plays: are Othello and Oedipus different and to what extent? ... However, the entire play actually concentrates on Oedipus discovering what actually happened. ... Namely, Iago gets the idea at the very beginning of the play as Rodrigo complains about Othello. .....

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

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. ... Those actions happen when the Herdsman tells Oedipus who his mother is, and Oedipus replies "Oh, oh, then everything has come out true. ... A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. ... In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays the main character, Oedipus, as a good- natured person who has...

• Word Count: 1309
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. ... Those actions happen when the Herdsman tells Oedipus who his mother is, and Oedipus replies "Oh, oh, then everything has come out true. ... A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. ... In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles portrays the main character, Oedipus, as a good- natured person who has...

• Word Count: 1311
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

(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

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
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Aeschylus is said to have written about 90 plays. ... It is believed to be the third play of a trilogy, the first two being Laius and Oedipus. ... The seven extant plays are Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae (Maidens of Trachis), Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus (produced posthumously in 401 BC). ... Oedipus Tyrannus and Electra date from 430 to 415 BC. ... Oedipus Tyrannus, which is justly famed for its flawless construction, i...

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Oedipus, Macbeth, Lear, Hamlet, Othello "or Willy Loman. ... "It is curious, although edifying, that the plays we revere, century after century, are the tragedies. ... CHARLEY: Good, keep playing; you'll sleep better. ... However, it is too late for him to seek refuge since he has already been ordered that whoever murdered King Laos shall be either killed or exiled. Oedipus accepts self-inflicted banishment: "OEDIPUS: Creon, drive me out of this country as quickly as may be. ...

• Word Count: 1343
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• Grade Level: High School

In looking at only two characters in Greek writings; Oedipus from Oedipus the King written by Sophocles and Medea from Medea written by Euripides, we can see two different reactions to adversity in tragedy. ... "But, of course, the heart of the play is the quarrel between Medea and Jason, the deserted wife and the deserting husband" (Page xiv). ... Jason fell in love with the daughter of Kreon, the king of Corinth, and left Medea in order to wed the princess. ... He was given to the king and queen of Corinth where he was raised to adulthood. ... It comes to light that Oedipus was not the son ...

• Word Count: 2458
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In the play Antigone the playwright Sophocles presents Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero in the character King Creon. ... The State is the King!." ... Ironically enough, in Sophocle's play "Oedipus Rex" Creon is accused by Oedipus of succumbing to bribery with Teiresias, showing that Creon's hubris is blinding him from the advice of others. ... The vulnerability of a king who is pleading for his death after his demise due to his loyalty to the State makes the reader "melt with pity at what takes place" " (Poetics 212). ... However the downfall of a strong noble king to an ...

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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