In fact, the Thebans were so grateful to Oedipus that they decided to make him the king of Thebes and married him to their widowed queen Jocasta, who was Oedipus' long lost mother. ... Oedipus knew that is was his duty as king to be the one who avenged the murder of King Laios and cleanse the city of Thebes of its retched plague. ... Oedipus sought the advice of Tiresias, a blind seer that could see the future, because he believed that Tiresias could use his powers to tell him who Laios' murderer was. ... In a split second, Oedipus' view of Tiresias changed from being the person...

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

In the first instance, Oedipus transferred the anger of his birth to a stranger he encountered where the three roads from Corinth to Thebes meet and Oedipus unknowingly kills the stranger who is his father. ... Oedipus turns to Jocasta the Queen and his wife, who is his mother and Creon's sister, to set things straight. ... She did not wish to see the old servant who was summoned, but Oedipus desires clarity regardless of the cost. ... Oedipus states explicitly that it was due to anger that he killed the man who had blocked his way at the crossroads; this man turns out to have been Oedip...

• Word Count: 1933
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Soon after Oedipus' "greeting of Teiresias with such gallant frivolity, a reader of the work questions Oedipus' true motives concerning Teiresias. ... Effectively, Oedipus' "house " is the Kingdom in which he reigns. ... Oedipus long before has cloaked "truth " under the veil of obstinacy for the gods and for anything that attempts to usurp Oedipus' own authority. ... In a "grande" scheme, Oedipus was written just after the first Peloponnesian War (with Sparta) and soon after the plague that carried off 1/3 of all Athens' inhabitants and their beloved Pericles (who w...

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

As in any great tragedy, the story of Oedipus is rife with heartbreaking irony. In "Oedipus the King," Sophocles provides the reader with an interesting contrast between the truth as defined by the gods and their oracles and the truth as defined by Oedipus himself. ... Oedipus is a complex individual whose decisions illuminate his world view, providing the reader with insight into why Oedipus behaves the way he does. ... In fact, so certain that he's the only one who really knows the truth, Oedipus flaunts his success in defeating the Sphinx in an attempt to needle Tiresias into complyin...

• Word Count: 1443
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the story, Oedipus is shown, on multiple occasions, as someone who, through his choices, seals his own fate. ... By leaving his parents, who, unbeknownst to him, are actually his adoptive parents, Oedipus believes that he has avoided fate and disproved the prophecy. ... 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 puni...

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

Oedipus here thinks of himself as a king seeking to save Thebes but confronted by Teiresias, Apollo's dignified servant who deserves respect. ... Unlike Holmes who always underscores the importance of meditation which enables him to relate clues together, Oedipus, dominated by his rage, quickly comes up with a very likely wrong conclusion. ... 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. ... No matter how the witness cries out des...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• 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. ... Oedipus is a man of tremendous pride and arrogance and these qualities cause him to ignore all advice, be it good or bad, from those around him as he is so assured HE is the one who is always right that he has enormous difficulty in accepting otherwise. ... Oedipus has great difficulty in believing the words of others who dispute any set ideas or beliefs he has in his mind. ... After speaking with the messenger from Corinth who ...

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

Sophocles' Oedipus, the King is a great representation of Greek tragedy and of the human experience. ... Most generally it was that it was prophesied that Laios and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes, would give birth to a child who would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother. ... Moreover, that he was found by a wandering shepherd who took him to the nearby city of Corinth where he was adopted by the childless King Polybos and Queen Merope who raised him as a son and prince in the royal household. ... The story begins after some time after Oedipus has taken the throne and when...

• Word Count: 545
• 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. ... The reversal of the situation occurs when Creon returns with a message stating the plague will end when the murderer, who is within the city, of Laius, former king of Thebes, is caught and banned. Through Oedipus" determination to seek the murderer, the shepherd who "rescued" Oedipus the baby comes forth, revealing his story, which leads to the downfall of Oedipus. ... Oedipus then proceeds to ask Creon, who is happy to oblige, to look after his daugh...

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

He does this threw the character Oedipus, what Oedipus does to the character Creon, and threw the character Jocasta. ... Thus he attempts to cure it threw the creation of the characters who play with in the great story of Oedipus the King. ... The next character Sophocles presents is not presented for the same reason as Oedipus but rather to empathize the reason that Oedipus was presented. ... In this Teiresais is physically blind but knows the truth, directly opposing Teiresais is Oedipus who can physically see but knows no truth. ... The character who does this is Jocasta. ...

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

It is commonly assumed that the three works that chronicle the curse of Oedipus were intended as a trilogy, but although Antigone follows Oedipus Rex chronologically, it was written earlier. When comparing the character of Creon, as presented in Antigone, with the character as presented in Oedipus Rex, the differences in characterization are remarkably apparent. In Oedipus Rex, Creon is portrayed as a benevolent figure with seemingly little interest in power yet in Antigone; he is desperate to maintain total and complete control in his rule. ... Presumably, there are not many men who have foun...

• Word Count: 1647
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the play Antigone, Sophocles at first portrays Creon as a respected leader who formulates a rational basis for his laws and punishments, and has a generally positive reputation among the people of Thebes. ... 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. ...

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