Blind Oedipus essay topics

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  • Course Of The Play Oedipus
    762 words
    Oedipus Rex is a play about the way we blind ourselves to painful truths that we can't bear to see. Physical sight and blindness are used throughout the play, often ironically, as a metaphor for mental sight and blindness. The play ends with the hero Oedipus literally blinding himself to avoid seeing the result of his terrible fate. But as the play demonstrates, Oedipus, the man who killed his father and impregnated his mother, has been blind all along, and is partly responsible for his own blin...
  • Oedipus Rex A Combination Of Fate
    523 words
    FREE WILL vs. FATE IN OEDIPUS REX The great philosopher Socrates believes that humans rule themselves with a combination of fate and free will. In Oedipus Rex a combination of fate and free will contribute to the destruction of Oedipus Rex. Oedipus oracle, his quest for the truth, and his self-blinding all concur to destroy Oedipus life. Before the play begins, Apollo ordains that Oedipus will kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus describes his fears to Jocasta when he tells her tha...
  • Theme Of Blindness In Oedipus Rex
    1,416 words
    A minor character is a character that is developed in such a way to help reveal themes and depict certain literary devices. Literary devices are used in mostly all literary works, as they can help reveal pertinent information and also move the story along. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the minor character of Teiresias is responsible for foreshadowing Oedipus' fate, developing the theme of blindness, and also illustrating dramatic irony. Teiresias uses his fortune teller abilities to fore...
  • Theme Of Blindness In Oedipus Rex
    915 words
    The Blindness in Oedipus Rex In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the minor character of Tiresias is responsible for foreshadowing Oedipus' fate, developing the theme of blindness, and also illustrating dramatic irony. Tiresias is responsible for further developing the theme of blindness, by using his own physical blindness to reveal to Oedipus his mental blindness. Lastly, Tiresias is ultimately responsible for imposing dramatic irony because of his great knowledge of the truth of Oedipus. As ...
  • Blind Prophet Through Oedipus's Blindness
    783 words
    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 that he will murder his father and marry his mother. After reading or viewing this play, it i...
  • Murderer And Oedipus
    329 words
    Imagine killing your father and sleeping with your mother! This is what Oedipus did! Even though I read this story many times I am still shocked when I read the part of how Oedipus fulfilled his prophecy. It makes me tingle inside! I still can't believe that Jocasta did not know that she married her son! In the end when Jocasta committed suicide and Oedipus blinded himself I thought that by doing that it was the only way that Jocasta and Oedipus can be at peace again. Dramatic irony played a maj...
  • Oedipus Reliance On His Intellect
    594 words
    Strength Equals Downfall Aristotle defined a tragic story as the adventure of a good man who reaches his ultimate downfall because he pushed his greatest quality too far. Sophocles advocates the definition in the tragic play Oedipus Rex. He develops the play with the great polarities of fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight to show Oedipus' experiences in search for knowledge about his identity. Through his search, Oedipus pushes his quest for truth too far and ultimatel...
  • Oedipus His Mental Blindness
    846 words
    Teiresias vs. Oedipus The play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles tells about a man who is blind to see his own fate. The King goes through many different hubris acts leading up to the reason why he is blind. Throughout the play many different people try to tell Oedipus what's happening but he doesn't want to believe it. Oedipus was given away as a baby, and raised by another King and Queen. Oedipus grew up and killed his father and became King of the city. This caused him to be wed to his mother. Eyes ar...
  • Sight In The Play Oedipus The King
    1,404 words
    The concept of sight is one of the major motifs throughout Sophocles' play Oedipus the King. The play revolves primarily around series of events caused by many people's insight or lack there of. Oedipus does not see that he is caught up in a web of cruel destiny that he can not escape. The gods demonstrate foresight and insight into the play. In addition to this, Tiresias has physical blindness but also has prophetic insight. Finally, both Oedipus and Jocasta portray types of mental blindness an...
  • Oedipus The Truth
    469 words
    Title In the play, Oedipus the King, blindness is used metaphorically and physically to characterize several personas, and the images of clarity and vision are used as symbols for knowledge and insight. Enlightenment and darkness are used in much the same manner, to demonstrate the darkness of ignorance, and the irony of vision without sight. .".. they will never see the crime I have committed or had done upon me!" These are the words Oedipus shouted as he blinds himself upon learning the truth ...
  • Light Vs Darkness And Sight Vs Blindness
    438 words
    Light vs. Dark in Oedipus Throughout Oedipus the King, Sophocles employs one continuous metaphor: light vs. darkness, and sight vs. blindness. A reference to this metaphor occurs early in the play, when Oedipus falsely accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiracy: Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profit-seer blind in his cra...
  • Oedipus Blindness
    489 words
    Ancient Greeks cared deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often a terrifying concept, they still saw it as a critical virtue. One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus the King is the struggle of sight vs. blindness. Oedipus' blindness is not just physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well. Sophocles has broken blindness into two distinct components. The first component, Oedipus's ability to 'see' (ignorance or lack thereof), is a physical characteristic. ...
  • Second Instance Of Oedipus Blindness
    526 words
    Jack Beasley AP English Essay A January 30, 2001 In the story of Oedipus the king, Sophocles beautifully demonstrates the imagery of sight versus blindness through the use of tragedy and ignorance. Oedipus is ignorant to his own incest, therefore causing the first instance of his blindness. The second instance of Oedipus' blindness is the ignorance of his true parent's identity. The third instance of Oedipus' blindness is a literal one, in which he physically blinds himself after finding the bod...
  • Oedipus And Tiresias The Prophet
    446 words
    Oedipus the King has many images of blindness, both physical and blindness of the mind. The characters surrounding these images are Oedipus and Tiresias the prophet. When the play begins Oedipus has vision and Tiresias cannot see, but by the end of the play, it is clear who can really see and who is blind. When Oedipus first encounters Tiresias, the blind prophet proceeds to tell Oedipus after much pressure that Oedipus is the one who has brought the great plague down upon Thebes and that he is ...
  • Theme Of Blindness In Oedipus The King
    1,758 words
    Throughout history there have been some astonishing Greek plays. Some plays were more comedic in nature, so were romance plays and then there were some that were tragic plays. One of the greatest Greek tragedy plays ever written was Oedipus the King. Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus the King dramatizes the self-discovery and tragic downfall of Oedipus, the King of Thebes. It tells the story about a young Greek who was fated to murder his father, marry his mother, and in the process bec...
  • Lear's Physiological Blindness
    1,390 words
    In Oedipus the King and King Lear, both main characters, as well as some minor characters, experience not only physical blindness, but mental blindness as well. King Lear, Gloucester, and Oedipus are "blind to the truth" in the beginning of the plays, and then experience some form of catharsis, the spiritual purging of emotions. In the end of the plays, all the blind characters gain the ability to "see". In King Lear, Lear is mentally blind. Before he divides his kingdom, Lear asks his three dau...
  • Theme Evident In Oedipus Rex
    945 words
    Throughout the tragedy of Oedipus Rex, many themes are evident. Each of these themes focuses on a different view of the play, and it's universal idea. As in any literary piece, the themes present throughout Oedipus Rex can sometimes be blatantly obvious, while others are noticed by few people. One theme that is obvious throughout Oedipus Rex is blindness. This blindness does not involve only physical blindness, but also blindness to the truth. Oedipus begins the play completely blind to his past...
  • Oedipus Rex Provides Insight On The Human Condition
    917 words
    In Greek mythology, humans are actors to the gods and only represent a role in the play of life. Oedipus Rex, written by the Greek poet Sophocles, who portrays the human condition not only through plot, but also the characters' behaviour. The human condition is stated as the way humans act, react and respond to changes in life. The play is shaped through the effects of destiny and how knowing one's future can control a person's way of life. Oedipus Rex relates to the human condition through huma...
  • Truth About Oedipus
    418 words
    Blindness in Oedipus Rex One of the main underlying themes in Oedipus Rex is blindness. Not just physical blindness, but intellectual blindness as well. The blindness issue is an effective contrasting method for Oedipus at different points in the play. Simply saying "blindness', however, is a little ambiguous. It can be broken down into two components: Oedipus's ability to "see' (ignorance or lack thereof), and his willingness to "see'. The word "see' can be used in both contexts here. Throughou...
  • Blindness Of Oedipus
    362 words
    Blindness in "Oedipus the King' In Sophocles' play, "Oedipus the King', one of the main themes is blindness. The author uses physical blindness, as well as intellectual blindness to illustrate Oedipus's tat us as a tragic hero. In the beginning of the play, Oedipus has perfect physical vision. However, he is "blind' and ignorant to the truth about himself and his past. He desperately wants to "see', but he cannot. This is exemplified in the play when Oedipus states that "once more [he] must brin...

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