Sophocles was a great writer of tragedies who wrote Oedipus the King modeling Aristotle's theory of a tragic play. ... He called for punishment on the man who killed Laius, the king and Oedipus" estranged father, when it was his hand that slain the king. No matter the signs nor how well the pieces fell into place, Oedipus wanted not to believe he was the murderer himself. ... As the protagonist of the play, Oedipus parallels Aristotle's theory of a tragedy. ... Sophocles followed the definition of a tragedy throughout the play, characterizing Oedipus a true tragic protagonist. ...

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For instance, the King of Oedipus from the famous tragedy plays "Oedipus Rex,"" retold by John Bennett and Moira Kerr, and the King of Creon from the plays "Antigone ", are examples of how heroes can suffer from different degrees of remorse due to the consequences they have received. ... To begin with, Oedipus's reaction to the devastating tragedy is more severe, and shows more remorse. ... After he arrives at Thebes, he becomes the new king because he killed Sphinx and marries with the Queen Jocasta. ... As a new king, Creon cannot tolerate others to break his law. ... Although unwilling...

• Word Count: 837
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• Grade Level: High School

In the tragedy Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, the main character was Oedipus. At the beginning of the tragedy Oedipus was presented as hero who was arrogant and overly confident. The story tells how Oedipus experienced a tragedy in his life which humbled his character. ... How can I ever hope to win his trust? ... Creon was presented in Oedipus the King as a humble person. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

King Oedipus accuses Creon of trying to overthrow him from his rule. Creon stands up forth to the truth and does not back down to the hostile king; Oedipus I caught him in a treacherous plot against my life. ... Creon is the brother to the Queen before she commits suicide After Oedipus's dethronement Creon is then dubbed King of Thebes. ... We see a great insight to the mind of Creon and how he fights his own stubborn pride and makes the right decision. ... The tragedy of tragedies lies within the life of one man, Creon. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

His drama, Oedipus the King – also known as Oedipus Rex, fits all Aristotle's requirements for a classic tragedy. ... Aristotle also mentions that a tragedy should possess magnitude. ... The plot is unified on one theme that a person cannot escape fate no matter how hard he tries and it is his character that determines his destiny. ... Aristotle's criteria for a perfect tragedy have not ended yet. ... If tragedies now in the 21th Century follow all these principles that Aristotle has laid out, then they may also be considered as a classic tragedy and may also be remembered aft...

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• Has Bibliography

In the time of Dionysus and the day for which Sophocles wrote this tragedy one would have to assume Oedipus's downfall was most likely meant to be attributed to the will of the gods. ... (Oedipus the King Prologue 43-46). ... As any good king should Oedipus promises, "You shall see how I stand by you, as I should, To avenge the city and the city's god By avenging the murdered king- (Oedipus the King Prologue 138-143). ... With Teiresias" true knowledge of Oedipus" origin and true identity he tries to advise Oedipus, "How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be- (Oedipus the King ...

• Word Count: 910
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In relation to Greek tragedy the question of just how central is violence in tragedy is interesting considering that no blood was spilled on stage in Greek tragedy. ... For this reason, I want to analyse why violence is not at the center of a tragedy by using Sophocles Oedipus the King as an example, and how "the most extreme forms of tragic violence are presented as off-stage events, out of sight but very much within the emotional reach of the audience. ... For example I find the tragedy in Oedipus the King coming from his lack of sight for the truth and the pain that he went through with his...

• Word Count: 1654
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

What Oedipus could teach us is how magnetic the pull is to repeat what we desperately wish to escape. Oedipus, the protagonist of the play, is the birth son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. ... She, as widowed wife to King Laius, recalls the story of the visit from an oracle to Laius that told him how his own son would be the one to cause his death, and how in the fear of this fate, Laius bound his three-day-old son's ankles and disposed of him on an uninhabited mountain. ... The messenger relates how he received the baby from another shepherd, who was a servant of the house of...

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

Sophocles' piece, Oedipus the King, told his audience about an incredibly vital lesson they need to learn. ... As the audience witnesses the play, it is obvious that this issue is debated throughout the course of this Greek tragedy. Sophocles sets up by telling the story of how Oedipus' fate was decided at birth. ... The chorus realizes that no mortal, no matter how great and honored can choose the course of life. ... Sophocles described a major issue in the play Oedipus the King. ...

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A perfect example of a tragic character is Sophocles's Oedipus the King. ... The sentences "As to the man surest in mortal ways and wisest in the ways of god" (915; 38-39) and "A king of wisdom tested in the past" (915; 46) show that the people of Thebes consider Oedipus a wise and spiritual king. ... He also promises to help solve their problem by saying "You shall see how I stand by you, as I should, to avenge the city and the city's god" (918; 137-138). ... Whatever good he may have done in the past will not help him escape the tragedy that is going to happen to him. King Oedip...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

When you think of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, you tend to think of how the tragedy and prophecy could have easily been avoided, the events that led to the tragedy, and how the characters unwittingly played a role in the unfolding of the prophecy. ... By doing this, he was elected King of Thebes and married the widow of Laius, Jocasta. ... But the only way to save the city is to find who killed the former king of Thebes, Laius, and bring him to justice. ... The prophets in Oedipus the King played a role in the outcome by simply informing Oedipus of the prophecy. ... He saved a city by sol...

• Word Count: 785
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• Grade Level: High School

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a classical Greek tragedy. ... Oedipus, the main character, remains on stage for nearly the entire play, sets up all the tragedy. ... The ancient Greeks cited the myth of Oedipus as a striking example of how human fortunes can suffer unexpected drastic reversals, how even good and noble people can suffer at the hands of fate or the will of the gods. ... And when Oedipus says, "whoever killed king Laius might who knows? ... The fundamental irony in Oedipus Rex that stems from the fact which the audience knows king Oedipus's true identity, while he is unaware of ...

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Sophocles' Oedipus the King teaches readers something quite different, however. ... The shepherd in turn gave baby Oedipus to the King and Queen of Corinth. ... In becoming King, Oedipus marries the Queen of Thebes, who was recently widowed. ... Oedipus bravely declares to find and destroy the former King's murder. ... The truth and the tragedy it brings continues. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

In Oedipus the King, Iocasta says that Laius was slain at a place where three roads meet. ... 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 Oedipus the King show an underlying relationship of man's free will existing within the cosmic order of fate that the Greeks believed guided the universe. ... From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own down...

• Word Count: 1264
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• Has Bibliography
• 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. ... All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according to Aristotle's ideas about tragedy, and a narcissist. ... The birth of Oedipus presets his destiny to result in tragedy even though he is of noble birth. ... If he hadn't been so judgmental or narcissistic, as Miller would characterize a personality like Oedipus, he would never have killed...

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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. ... 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. ... When Tiresias finally broke his silence and told Oedipus that he was the murder of Laios, Oedipus became enraged and showed how eas...

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

Nature of the Gods As They Are Revealed in Oedipus the King Many ancient Greek plays dealt with the interaction of humans with the immortal gods of Olympus. ... This belief can easily be applied to the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles. ... The gods of Oedipus the King are analogous to the police and judges in today's society. ... One must realize what Oedipus did and how he acted to bring about his destruction. The gods simply said that such a tragedy would happen, but saying something is not the same as doing something. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

Oedipus the King The drama Oedipus the King tells of a boy born to King Laius, but raised as the son of the King of Corinth. ... This is how Oedipus can easily be characterized by his hastiness to make decisions and commands. ... Oedipus feels that no one can defy him and that no one will stop him from getting vengeance for King Laius' death. ... These characteristics lead him to tragedy when he discovers that Laius was his father and that he had wed his mother, just as the oracle had said. Oedipus the King ends blinding himself and praying for death. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

As King Oedipus and the Theban Legend incorporate many themes, one particular themes sticks out. ... By this quote, Oedipus's subconscious is now making Oedipus doubt his every thought and more, which would put a heavy burden on his mind. ... It may be honorable to be the King and ruler of a city, but is one fully aware of the job they signed up for? ... Oedipus could not figure out how to save his people and that has to be one of the most frustrating things any ruler has to deal with. It would be a different story if Thebes came out from the plague triumphantly and successfully, but then...

• Word Count: 573
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• 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. ... All of the above characteristics make Oedipus a tragic hero according to Aristotle's ideas about tragedy, and a narcissist. ... The birth of Oedipus presets his destiny to result in tragedy even though he is of noble birth. ... If he hadn't been so judgmental or narcissistic, as Miller would characterize a personality like Oedipus, he would never have killed...

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

At the close of the Greek tragedy Oedipus The King by Sophocles, Oedipus himself is brought to the realization that everything that is supposed to happen will happen in the end. ... He reaches the Sphinx and correctly solves the riddle which makes him King of Thebes. ... Through this he becomes king, his father's position, and marries his mother, the Queen of Thebes. All is ironic in the story of Oedipus. ... At the end, after he has blinded himself, is when he finally sees how everything that was to happen to him actually happened. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

In Sophocles' play, "Oedipus the King, Oedipus' village admired him, for he liberated his people from previous misfortunes. ... Sophocles, the author, illustrates to his audience how Oedipus showed leadership throughout the play by saving his village, ruling justly and searching for the truth. In the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus ruled Thebes for 15 years and led his village with success and prosperity. ... The irony of the tragedy, is that Oedipus is a good man. ... "(Sophocles, 1693-1698) This quote is important as it supports the way Oedipus's good charact...

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• Grade Level: High School

According to Aristotle, Oedipus the King was the perfect example of a Greek tragedy. ... The techniques described by Aristotle are clearly displayed throughout the Oedipus the King to evoke pity and fear upon the audience. ... In Oedipus the King, the blindness and hubris of Oedipus lead him to making his important mistakes. ... This is another example of how pity and fear are seen in the play. ... In conclusion, Oedipus the King was the best example of what Aristotle believed to be a Greek tragedy. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

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. 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,...

• Word Count: 511
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• 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. ... The attempt to protect Oedipus from himself having failed, Tiresias finally gives in to the threats on his life and reveals the identity of the king's murderer to Oedipus. ... Blinded to all but his need to know the truth for certain, no matter how horrible, Oedipus admits, "I'm desperately afraid" (727). ...

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