Oedipus Rex Essays and Term Papers
Last update: August 22, 2014-
Oedipus Rex - Who Determines Our Fate?
Who Determines Our Fate? In the play Oedipus Rex it was thought that what the Gods had in store for you was your fate. The gods had put a curse on King Lauis saying that his first born son was going to kill him and marry his mother. Knowing that the Gods minds couldn’t be changed when Oedipus was born the king had one of his men take him out and leave him on the
Rating:Essay Length: 1,405 Words / 6 PagesSubmitted: November 11, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
“Oedipus Rex Essay” In this essay of Oedipus Rex there are four characteristics I will discuss. The first characteristic I will discuss is if the story of Oedipus Rex is an example of a Greek tragedy and if so what is the fundamental tragedy. Next I will describe the basic tension in this play. The third characteristic I will explain is what motivation I find in the character Oedipus and last but not least I
Rating:Essay Length: 719 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 12, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Carrie A. Bailey Leonardi English Literature November 6, 2007 Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex by Sophocles’ is one of the more abnormal, while still very interesting, works of ancient Greek drama. One of the main questions a reader will face while reading this play is whether one person’s fate is determined by the Gods, or by his or her own decisions and actions. Oedipus, the title character, had the events of his future predicted by the
Rating:Essay Length: 385 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: November 15, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex Oedipus runs away from the land of Corinth to the land of Thebes because of a godly prediction that one day he shall murder his father and marry his own mother. Oedipus did not know that he was the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta. As a baby, King Laius and Queen Jocasta commanded a shepherd to pin Little Oedipus’ ankles and place him at the top of a mountain to die.
Rating:Essay Length: 1,193 Words / 5 PagesSubmitted: November 20, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
You Are Not The Boss Of Me!!! Oedipus is a very complex character. He can be viewed as either caring and sympathetic to his subjects or he can be viewed as a self-centered ruler who only puts on an act in hopes of gaining the adoration of his subjects. Oedipus Rex in fact was a very prideful king. This was proven in many of his speeches. For instances in scene one, line 180, in scene
Rating:Essay Length: 398 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: November 20, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex, Good Vs Evil
Aristotle also outlined the characteristics of a good tragic hero. He must be "better than we are," a man who is superior to the average man in some way. In Oedipus's case, he is superior not only because of social standing, but also because he is smart ¬ he is the only person who could solve the Sphinx's riddle. At the same time, a tragic hero must evoke both pity and fear, and Aristotle claims
Rating:Essay Length: 1,104 Words / 5 PagesSubmitted: November 20, 2009 -
Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
In Sophocles' “Oedipus Rex”, the theme of irony plays an important part throughout the play. In the play, Oedipus Rex believes that if he leaves Corinth he will be able to avoid his fate. The oracle says the Oedipus will kill his father and bear children with his mother. Eventually, he unknowingly kills his father in a chance meeting and married his mother. Oedipus remains clueless that the oracle’s prediction has come to pass.
Rating:Essay Length: 589 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: December 2, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
In the play “Oedipus Rex” there is man (Oedipus), who unknowingly kills his father (Liaus), marries his mother (Jocasta), and bears children with her. There is a lot of irony floating around in this play. However, situational irony plays the largest role. Situational irony is when an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience. The first example of situational irony that really sticks out for me is
Rating:Essay Length: 469 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: December 5, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
Sight and Blindness References to eyesight and vision, both literal and metaphorical, are very frequent in all three of the Theban plays. Quite often, the image of clear vision is used as a metaphor for knowledge and insight. In fact, this metaphor is so much a part of the Greek way of thinking that it is almost not a metaphor at all, just as in modern English: to say "I see the truth" or "I
Rating:Essay Length: 721 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: December 7, 2009 -
Tiresias in Oedipus Rex
Tiresias has been a staple in classical literature, a go-to oracle for the ages: his guest appearances range from advising Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey to walking the eighth circle of hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy. In Oedipus Rex, however, Tiresias takes on a brief but starring role, portraying the significant themes of sight and truth in a single meeting with the troubled Oedipus. Motivated by the search for Laius’ murderer, Oedipus seeks Tiresias’ divine
Rating:Essay Length: 345 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: December 12, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex as a Tragic Hero
The character of Oedipus can definitely be defined as a tragic hero as he possesses all five components of the accepted definition. Tragic heros must be people of high or noble birth, not pre-eminently virtuous or just, who, through some fatal flaw in their own character or serious error in judgment, precipitate their own downfall and thereby gain knowledge through suffering. The first aspect that defines a tragic hero is that of one being born
Rating:Essay Length: 757 Words / 4 PagesSubmitted: December 14, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
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. There are a number of characteristics described by Aristotle that identify a tragic hero. For example, a tragic hero must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also
Rating:Essay Length: 729 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: December 15, 2009 -
Gods Vs. Mortals in Oedipus Rex & the Bacchae
Anyone who is familiar with Greek mythology has heard a story about tyrannous Zeus, throwing thunderbolts, turning people into animals, or causing other supernatural events while releasing his wrath. He proves time and time again that he is more powerful than any mortal who tries to compete with him. Though Zeus is the mightiest, there are stories about many other gods demonstrating their power over mortals. Two such gods are Apollo and Dionysus. In the
Rating:Essay Length: 1,648 Words / 7 PagesSubmitted: December 15, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex Analysis Essay
The chorus play an important role throughout the play, they not only set up various scenes, but they represent the collective moods and feelings that are supposed to be felt at the time. When the chorus mourns, the audience mourn. They are also the voice of reason, clarity and sense, attributes to which we cannot associate with Oedipus. And so they play a vital role, connecting his actions back to the play. A way to
Rating:Essay Length: 1,708 Words / 7 PagesSubmitted: December 17, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex and Aristotle
The Six Elements of a Tragedy in “Oedipus Rex” Aristotle’s “The Poetics” describes the process of a tragedy. It is not the guide per se of writing a tragedy but is the idea’s Aristotle collected while studying tragedies. A tragedy, according to Aristotle, consists of six major points. The first and most important is the plot, which is what all the other points are based on. Such points are: character, language, thought, melody, and spectacle
Rating:Essay Length: 924 Words / 4 PagesSubmitted: December 19, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex and the Theme of Blindness
Sophocles’s play, “Oedipus the King” is one of the most well known of the Greek tragedies. The play’s interesting plot, along with the incredible way it is written are only two of the many reasons why two thousand years later, it is still being read and viewed. For those who are not familiar with the story of “Oedipus the King”, it is written about the results of a curse put on King Oedipus which claims
Rating:Essay Length: 379 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: December 19, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
The statement “Life is a constant struggle between good and evil is valid. All people have admirable traits. These same people may also have a despicable side to them. This is proven in the tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Oedipus is characterized as an admirable ruler. He is a man of action. Before he is even asked by his people, he sent Creon to the Oracle at Delphi. He also sent for Tiresias.
Rating:Essay Length: 443 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: December 26, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus, the precocious child raised by the royalty of Corinth, is torn by the intense desire of the past. Ironically by searching in this direction, the forsaken king of Thebes accelerates into what some may call his “predetermined” fate. When the gods chose for Laius’ son to be damned, they did so by twisting Oedipus’ otherwise noble heart into eventual inglorious evil doom. This is what
Rating:Essay Length: 453 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: December 30, 2009 -
Oedipus Rex
SOME twelve years before the action of the play begins, Oedipus has been made King of Thebes in gratitude for his freeing the people from the pestilence brought on them by the presence of the riddling Sphinx. Since Laius, the former king, had shortly before been killed, Oedipus has been further honored by the hand of Queen Jocasta. Now another deadly pestilence is raging and the people have come to ask Oedipus to rescue them
Rating:Essay Length: 399 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: January 4, 2010 -
Oedipus Rex Comparisons
The book, Oedipus Rex, has a full range of characters. The colloquy, activity and motivation circle around the characters in the whole story. We find Oedipus Rex trying to get away, from home, to flee the prophecy. The prophecy states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He also tries to clear up a murder of the old king. Oedipus marries a widow named Iokaste. He also gets advice from a seer
Rating:Essay Length: 1,374 Words / 6 PagesSubmitted: January 6, 2010 -
Oedipus Rex
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is one of Greek literatures classic tragedies. It supports and demonstrates Aristotle’s view on tragedy in the story, and ultimately defines how this drama is a tragedy. He talks about tragedy being “an imitation of a noble and complete action” (Witt, 165) along with being artistically enhanced with fearful incidents. Important parts of tragedies also include plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. Tragedies are imitations of human action, life, happiness, and
Rating:Essay Length: 257 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: January 7, 2010 -
Othello Vs Oedipus Rex
Othello vs Oedipus Rex And tragedy Both movies capture the attention of the audience by displaying true forms of tragedy in very similar ways. Both movies were very captivating, setting up the beginning of the movie to end with dramatic irony at the end. The movies also had two separate side stories being told in contrast to the main story line being presented to the rest of the characters in the play. The language in
Rating:Essay Length: 569 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: January 13, 2010 -
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex was a story of destruction through knowledge of his own fate. In this story Oedipus came into a new city and saved the people th rough knowing an answer to an riddle to get rid of the Sphinx. When a plague came over these same people they turned to Oedipus to help them get rid of it. Oedipus is not sure of what to do so he sent a messenger to Apollo,
Rating:Essay Length: 384 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: January 23, 2010 -
Oedipus Rex Criticalresponse
Acceptance or Doom: An Analysis of Sophocles "Oedipus Rex" In the story "Oedipus Rex," by Sophocles, the author suggests that one's fate cannot be altered, but if an individual's pride and arrogance make the individual try to change his/her fate, the person becomes hubristic and at the end the person realizes fate cannot be changed and the person's fate happens the way it was supposed to happen. If people belief in fate and at some
Rating:Essay Length: 390 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: January 29, 2010 -
Oedipus Rex: Your Character Is Your Fate
Does character determine fate, or is fate responsible for shaping one’s character? In Sophocles’ dramatic tragedy, Oedipus Rex, character plays a very important role in determining the protagonist’s fate. The extent to which this occurs is difficult to conclude, for during the play it seems character isn’t the only factor that led to the final result. Although character can be influenced by external circumstances, a situation’s outcome will be arrived to as a result of
Rating:Essay Length: 1,112 Words / 5 PagesSubmitted: January 31, 2010