Oedipus Rex essay topics

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  • Story Of Oedipus Rex
    753 words
    "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 will give a character Analysis on the character Jocasta. The play Oedipus Rex is a clea...
  • Oedipus Complex
    730 words
    Thousands of years after Sophocles wrote the story of Oedipus Rex; psychologists named a complex after the behavioral characteristics of Oedipus. For many years psychologists have called a son having a sexual attraction toward his mother the Oedipus Complex. It is common belief that Oedipus Rex did not actually suffer from the Oedipus Complex. The basic support for this theory can be found through Oedipus' inherent fear of the prophecy placed upon him, by the Oracle, actually coming true. Oedipu...
  • Play Oedipus Rex
    1,049 words
    There are many examples of Aristotle's views on tragedy in the play Oedipus Rex. Without these characteristics the play would not be as dramatic and well known today as it was 1500 years ago. These principles of tragedy are not only useful to the plot of the play, but also to our everyday lives. Audiences surely asked themselves, "If even the mighty Oedipus can be subjected to such a fate, what can happen to a ordinary person like myself" The relevance to our being now makes us look at the play ...
  • Sophocles Oedipus Rex
    1,006 words
    Oedipus Rex Throughout history, writers and philosophers have expressed their views about how the life of man is ultimately defined in their works. The Greeks have played their part in this quest. One of the great plays of the ancient Greek world that led the way for others was Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. In this play, Sophocles shows us a chapter from the life of man. Throughout the book, he hints at the idea that life poses a riddle for man to solve thereby being a quest for the answer. He also hi...
  • True In The Case Of Oedipus Rex
    1,227 words
    Oedipus the King- Bliss in Ignorance One of the most memorable and meaningful Socratic quotes applies well when in context of Sophocles' Theban Trilogy. 'The unexamined life is not worth living,' ; proclaims Socrates. He could have meant many different things by this statement, and in relation to the play, Oedipus, the meaning is found to be even more complex. Indeed, the situation of Oedipus, king of Thebes, the truth of this statement is in question. Would Oedipus have been better off if he wa...
  • Perfect Plot For A Tragedy And Oedipus
    548 words
    There have been many tragedies throughout history, including Sophocles play Oedipus Rex. I utterly agree with Aristotle in saying that Oedipus Rex, is one such tragedy. Through the plot, character and thoughts it is evident the Oedipus Rex is a model tragedy. The plot is the soul of the tragedy; it is the arrangement of the incidents. Oedipus Rex is well planned out and follows the outline, which a tragedy should follow. Oedipus left all he had, and his family, all because he was afraid of murde...
  • Oedipus Rex In His Poetics
    930 words
    The reader is told in Aristotle's Poetics that tragedy 'arouses the emotions of pity and fear, wonder and awe' (The Poetics 10). To Aristotle, the best type of tragedy involves reversal of a situation, recognition from a character, and suffering. The plot has to be complex, and a normal person should fall from prosperity to misfortune due to some type of mistake. Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is a great example of a Greek tragedy. Its main plot is Oedipus' goal to find out his true identity, the re...
  • Everyman And Oedipus
    756 words
    Elizabeth Kubler Ross, in Death and Dying, discusses the stages one goes through when he or she meets when he or she comes to terms with a death or even his or her own fate. These stages include Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, and the medieval morality play, Everyman, by and anonymous author, both the title characters travel through these stages throughout the plot when they come to meet their fates or misfortunes. Oedipus, when Jocasta re-tells ...
  • Sophocles Oedipus Rex
    1,151 words
    The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster's, is "the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do". The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: ". ... fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs". It ...
  • Play Oedipus Rex
    313 words
    OEDIPUS REX In the tragedy Oedipus Rex, Oedipus commits several immoral acts. Typically, society views these as evil and unjust. However, although Oedipus commits several licentious deeds, Sophocles makes the reader sympathize because Oedipus is oblivious to the incriminating facts. Throughout the play Oedipus Rex commits numerous crimes the society see as immorally wrong. Oedipus believes that if he leaves Corinth he will be able to avoid his fate. The oracle says the Oedipus will kill his fath...
  • Play Oedipus Rex
    781 words
    The play 'Oedipus Rex' is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is truth, it is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who...
  • Oedipus Rex To His Own Demise
    1,022 words
    The story of Oedipus Rex is a classic example of a tragic hero. Oedipus is a hero who actively plays a large role in his own demise. This paper will take a look at how Oedipus Rex starred in his own demise, and what character flaws caused him to do so. It will also look at how the theme of the story (the battle of free will versus faith) may have been the biggest reason for Oedipus self-destruction. And finally, it will examine the possibility that Oedipus was not all responsible for the outcome...
  • Oedipus Calls Creon A Murderer
    1,011 words
    The play Oedipus Rex may show mankind's search for a better society. The Greeks in the 5th century B.C. tried to make the most out of life. They wanted to know, what was the best way to live in that society at the time The Greeks then began to study mankind. They began to determine between the rights and wrongs of the society. He who violated the social norms suffered throughout their life. For example, Oedipus Rex showed mainly three types of unmoral acts that deified the social norms of societ...
  • Sophecles Drama Oedipus Rex A Perfect Tragedy
    580 words
    Oedipus: Sophecles Tragic Hero A perfect tragedy should imitate actions which excite pity and fear and through pity and fear effect the proper purgation of the emotions. (Aristotle, Poetics) Oedipus Rex, by Sophecles, is a true tragedy and the character of Oedipus is the archetype of the tragic hero. Moral corruption and depravity did not bring upon Oedipus misfortune. He is then pitied as a tragic character because he had no control over his future and misfortune. Oedipus was highly prosperous ...
  • Sophocles Play Oedipus Rex
    492 words
    Oedipus Rex: The Quest for Truth In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, one of Oedipus's strongest motivating forces is the desire to know the truth. Throughout the play, Oedipus is guarded from the truth and shocked by it's reality, but ultimately he embraces it as his own. It is this journey, from confusion and pain to acceptance, which enables Oedipus to grow in wisdom. Oedipus' reign as king is characterized by his constant probing for the truth. Despite his prominent role in society, Oedipus...
  • Oedipus Rex The Opening Scene
    1,615 words
    In Sophocles' play "Antigone' he writes about the same themes as in "Oedipus Rex' and places different characters into almost the same horrible, chaotic situations. Sophocles writes strongly about his most important key theme, the exploration of human limits. He also touches on the themes of discovery of self, wisdom through suffering, and the struggle between individual conscience versus the state. Sophocles two plays, "Oedipus Rex' and "Antigone', share many characteristics yet also contrast e...
  • Sophocles Play Oedipus Rex
    849 words
    One may argue that the Greek playwright, Sophocles modeled his play Oedipus Rex on Aristotle's definition and analysis of tragedy. Since according to Aristotle's definition, a tragedy is an imitation of action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished artistic ornaments, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not narrative with incidents that evokes pity and fear of a persons emotions. Also Aristotle identified the ...

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