... father and marry his mother. According to Aristotle, there are three elements in stage two of catharsis (The cathartic moment), which includes the highest of misery, the fall of shields, which protected him from an ultimate truth about himself, as well as the hero's moment of enlightenment. The play Oedipus displays ... three elements of the cathartic moment very well. Oedipus" highest point of misery occurs after he realises that the prophecy had come true and he discovers that his wife, Jocasta has hung herself in her bridal-room after she ... existence in him. The cathartic moment in...

• Word Count: 3952
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School

... his councils to let her free. In the end, she had failed and died. Therefore, we could see that the first role of politics is to bring misery to the people who are opposed by it. In addition, we can observe the same phenomena in the story "Angels", written by Milan Kundera. Half of ... politics was to destroy the life of those who defended it. For example, Creon was so supportive of his own laws that he ended up in misery. He could not keep himself from defending his wrongdoing and his pathetic laws. The attitude of Creon was just like the theory of Freud. Freud believed ... happening, ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... , is brought upon him not by vice or depravity, but by some error in judgment the change in the hero's fortune must not be from misery to happiness, but on the contrary, from happiness to misery". From this definition, he further expanded it by defining the profile of the Classical Greek tragic hero, basing it on what he considered the best tragedy ... killed his father and committed incest with his mother and finally loses everything he has had before. Aristotle's view also comprises that of the hero's fortune changing from happiness to misery and not the other way round. Oedipus lived ...

• Word Count: 1426
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• Grade Level: High School

... "subordinate to [his] father's will in every way." Creon protests that good judgment should never be sacrificed for a woman and "...it all goes cold in your arms..." Foreshadowing the nearing misery Haemon will suffer, this quote again emphasizes Creon's complete lack of respect for women and his self-interest. Very rarely in the text does Creon actually refer to her as ... a fine linen noose," Haemon leans on his sword killing himself. Only then does Creon realize his stubbornness and pride were fatal and proclaims "...father and son, the same blood-the misery!" When news of the double...

• Word Count: 660
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , his successes seem more like failure. In trying to discover who he is, he discovers that he is nothing. The truth he seeks to be enlightened by brings him only misery and darkness, leading to the suicide of his wife and mother and to his decision to blind himself. Yet it is only in his blindness that Oedipus finally truly sees ... all the evidence, he remained in darkness. Through blinding himself, he demonstrated his acceptance of the facts and his finally coming to terms with himself. In the darkness of his misery Oedipus still remains a hero; more so than the blind man he was with h...

• Word Count: 678
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• Grade Level: High School

... stated that he would avenge the King's death as if Laius were his own father. He cursed the murderer, announcing "May he drag out an evil death-in-life in misery." These characteristics of pride and determination, which Oedipus emanates throughout the play, may appear to be positive attributes to one's personality. However, Oedipus" actions, based on these characteristics, are what ... " death, he was blinded by his pride to the concept that perhaps he was the murderer. Not knowing the truth, he cursed himself to an "evil death-in-life of misery". Of course at that time, Oedipus failed t...

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... happens it sets off a chain reaction, which causes Haimon to kill himself, and when the news is brought home Queen Eurydice kills herself and Creon is left in misery. When Creon is left in misery he no longer wants to live. A citation from the play said by Creon to help explain his downfall would be, "Lead me away. I have been rash and ... ...

• Word Count: 527
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• Grade Level: High School

... as her punishment. He wants her to die of starvation and depression. Creon wants her to live in the cave with misery. Climax "Creon puts Antigone in the cave after she was captured. Antigone did not want to die in misery. She said that her cave was her bridal bed. Antigone used the linen that was in her cave and hung ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... desire for truth lead him to a bitter end below the mountain he had climbed. When Oedipus discovered that he was murder of Laios and that he had brought death and misery to Thebes, he stabbed himself in the eyes with pins because he had seen how ugly the world was and he wanted to get away from it. After blinding himself ... ...

• Word Count: 1488
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... gives. False judgment, accusations and his flaws(hubris), was the main reason Creon's life went downhill and he was following in Oedipus's foot steps resulting in the same conclusions. Creon's misery at the end of the play could have been avoided if he had listened to Tiresias, but he failed to see this. Creon was more forceful than Oedipus ever was ... ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the peak of success when he or she is in emotional blindness. From him never being able to see his children anymore to his wife killing herself, the list of misery just go on and on for Oedipus. Had he been more aware he could have escaped the darkness (the damage) he faces now. Sophocles shows the destruction that can come ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... refuses, stating that it is her fate to say no and die. 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. By further examining the character of Antigone, one can conclude that she in fact fits the pattern of a tragic heroine as outlined by Aristotle ... ...

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

... 's son. Without my parent's knowledge, I went to Delphi, but Apollo did not say what I had gone to hear. Instead, he answered questions I had not asked and told of horror and misery beyond believe - how I would know my mothers bad and cause the death of my own father." The prophecy drove the Oedipus away from home; the terror of the predictions was ... ...

• Word Count: 3235
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• Grade Level: High School

... was the last person left that he had any love or emotions for and she was now gone. The gods wanted Creon to live the rest of his life in misery, with no one to love or to be loved by him. If the role of Eurydice had been removed from "Antigone" there would have been nothing to symbolize the depth ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... his father, I do believe that the truth should've been known. This would have been the best thing for everybody. Instead, the family was doomed to a life of humility and misery. Along with a soap-opera-like story, the play Oedipus the King held a valuable lesson about honesty. This definitely gives us something that we can all think about and learn from....

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• Grade Level: High School

... , where the audience is aware of a characters heritage yet the protagonists remain oblivious. To put it in a simplistic context, Oedipus is much like the modern day 'soapies', where tragedy and misery are woven into daily lives. Sigmund Freud, in his research in dream analysis, discovered infantile sexuality and founded the 'Oedipus complex', which constitutes the erotic attachment of the child for ... ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... that he, of course for he is such a great ruler, will be able to get to the bottom of the reason of the plague and ridding the citizens of the misery they endure. The city fuels their king's pride by agreeing with him. The Oracle at Delphi proclaimed that the murderer of the king should be banished, and the plague will ... ...

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... also his sense of hearing had he have the ability to do so. "If I could have stifled my hearing at its source, ... and made all this body a tight cell of misery ..." (p.74). Oedipus loved the people of Thebes and would do anything to set them free of the curse placed on their land, which turned out to be he himself. Therefore ... ...

• Word Count: 500
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• Grade Level: High School

... he relies on his status, he is blind, not physically, but emotionally. He is blind in his actions; therefore he does not see that the questioning would bring him only misery. Later, after his self- inflicted blinding, Oedipus sees his actions as wrongdoing when he says "What use are my eyes to me, who could never - See anything pleasant again?" (Sophocles ... ...

• Word Count: 1309
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• Grade Level: High School

... he relies on his status, he is blind, not physically, but emotionally. He is blind in his actions; therefore he does not see that the questioning would bring him only misery. Later, after his self- inflicted blinding, Oedipus sees his actions as wrongdoing when he says "What use are my eyes to me, who could never - See anything pleasant again?" (Sophocles ... ...

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... , Oedipus. All tragic heros have a tragic flaw, which leads to their downfall. Oedipus' flaw is his fiery temper. His lack of control over it causes him to lead a life of misery and despair, which he will never be able to overcome. Oracles had prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus was frightened to think that it ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... the messenger also relates the story that Polybus and Merope are not Oedipus' true parents. Jocasta, Oedipus' mother and wife, sees that Oedipus is troubled. She tries to stop his misery with what she knows. But everything becomes more complicated. With her knowledge, she knows that there was one eyewitness there that saw Laius' attackers as a band of robbers, she tries ... ...

• Word Count: 1132
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• Grade Level: High School

... King Laius. "But my curse be on the one who did this, whether he is alone or conceals his share in it with others. Let him be free of no misery if he shares my house or sits at my hearth and I have knowledge of it. On myself may it fall, as I have called it down." In this example of verbal ... ...

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... hopes to be a wise and good ruler. Later on we learn that he is too inflexible and narrow to heed criticism or admit fault, and that this causes all the misery in his life. The same is true of Antigone. She appears to be a very compassionate individual in the Prologue; however, later on we learn that she is also stubborn and ... ...

• Word Count: 1359
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• Grade Level: High School

... would put her to death. Creon curses the pride of Oedipus. Like him, her death seem the "natural climax" to her life. For them, human happiness is meaningless and human misery unable to satisfy their passion. Only a "cozy tea party" with death and destiny can quench them. Oedipus was happiest when he listened greedily to the revelation of his tragic fate ... ...

• Word Count: 4678
• Approx Pages: 19
• Grade Level: High School