Sophocles biography oedipus rex character analysis

He accuses Tiresias of complicity in a plot to overthrow him, dismissing the prophecy as false. Tiresias warns him that he will soon see the truth for himself, but Oedipus refuses to listen. As Oedipus continues to investigate, his wife, Jocastatries to calm him. Jocasta, who is the widow of Laius and the mother of Oedipus, reassures Oedipus by telling him that prophecies are unreliable.

She recounts a prophecy that once foretold that her son would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother. However, Laius was killed by bandits at a crossroads, and her son was abandoned to die, thus seemingly disproving the prophecy. He recalls an incident from his youth in Corinthwhere he was told by a drunk man that he was not the true son of King Polybus and Queen Merope.

This revelation sent him into a panic, and he fled Corinth to avoid fulfilling the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus reveals these details to Jocasta, and the two begin to fear that the prophecy may indeed be coming true, but they are still unaware of the full extent of its implications. A messenger arrives from Corinthannouncing that King Polybus has died, and Oedipus is free from the prophecy that foretold he would kill his father.

Oedipus is initially relieved and believes that the prophecy has been disproven. The messenger, however, adds another shocking revelation: Oedipus is not the biological son of Polybus and Merope. He was adopted as an infant by the royal couple.

Sophocles biography oedipus rex character analysis: Still a small child

He realizes that the prophecy may still be in play. He demands to meet the shepherd who was responsible for him as an infant. Oedipus has, in fact, fulfilled the prophecy. Upon hearing the truth, Jocasta is overcome with shame and horror. She takes her own life by hanging herself in the palace. When Oedipus discovers her body, he is consumed with guilt and despair.

The plague afflicting Thebes represents the moral and spiritual corruption in the city. Its cause - Oedipus's unacknowledged sins - ties the physical ailment of the city to the ethical and divine disorder stemming from Oedipus's actions.

Sophocles biography oedipus rex character analysis: Sophocles' Oedipus figures as

The plague also serves as a metaphor for the destructive power of secrets. As Oedipus delves deeper into the mystery of Laius's murder, the city's suffering parallels the unraveling of his own life. The Oracle at Delphi is a symbol of divine knowledge and the will of the gods. It represents the inescapable nature of fate and the limitations of human understanding.

Oedipus's reliance on the Oracle's words throughout the play underscores his dependence on divine prophecy, even as he tries to defy it. The Oracle also serves as a metaphor for truth hidden in ambiguity.

Sophocles biography oedipus rex character analysis: Oedipus becomes king of Thebes before

Its cryptic messages challenge characters to interpret their destinies, often leading to tragic misunderstandings. Light and darkness are recurring metaphors tied to knowledge and ignorance. Oedipus is initially "in the dark" about his identity and role in Laius's murder, but as he uncovers the truth, he steps into the light of understanding.

However, this enlightenment comes at a cost, as the knowledge is so devastating that Oedipus blinds himself to escape the reality he has uncovered. The interplay between light and darkness reflects the painful journey from ignorance to awareness. Blood symbolizes familial ties, guilt, and violence throughout the play. Oedipus's blood ties to Laius and Jocasta are central to his identity and the prophecy he fulfills.

The act of shedding blood - Laius's murder, Jocasta's suicide, and Oedipus's self-blinding - marks the turning points in the narrative, each steeped in tragedy. The metaphor of blood also evokes the idea of inherited sin, as Oedipus's actions perpetuate the curse on his family, leading to suffering for future generations. The brooches Oedipus uses to blind himself are powerful symbols of transformation and self-inflicted punishment.

Taken from Jocasta's dress, they represent the intersection of their intertwined fates. By using them to blind himself, Oedipus not only punishes himself but also symbolically severs his vision from the life he thought he knew. The brooches also serve as a metaphor for the pain of truth. They are sharp, tangible objects that pierce Oedipus's eyes just as the truth pierces his soul.

Exile is both a literal punishment and a symbolic act of purification. By leaving Thebes, Oedipus seeks to cleanse the city of the curse he brought upon it. Exile is also a metaphor for isolation and alienation, as Oedipus is stripped of his family, his identity, and his place in society. His exile to Mount Cithaeron - where he was meant to die as an infant - closes the tragic cycle, symbolizing a return to his origins and the fulfillment of his cursed destiny.

The Chorus represents the voice of the community and acts as a moral compass, commenting on the unfolding events. Before marrying Oedipus, she was married to Laius. She commits suicide at the end of the play, perhaps in guilt that she left Oedipus to die as a baby, thus precipitating his course towards a tragic end for their whole family. Teiresias is the blind prophet, led by a small boy, who knows the truth about Oedipus's parentage.

Oedipus calls on him to find Laius's killer but becomes furious when Teiresias claims that Oedipus himself is the killer. Teiresias's words, however, prove true ultimately, suggesting that he is a mouthpiece for the Gods and an oracle to be trusted far more than the convictions and hopes of man. Teiresias is often represented as being part-male, part-female in classical literature.

Creon is Jocasta's brother, who shares one third of Thebes's riches with Oedipus and Jocasta. He is a devout follower of the oracle of Apollo, and as the play opens, he is returning from the oracle with the news that Laius's killer must be found. He is a loyal friend to Oedipus, and ultimately remains forgiving and kind to Oedipus even when Oedipus turns on him and suggests he is conspiring against him.

He is to take over Thebes after Oedipus' exile.

Sophocles biography oedipus rex character analysis: Oedipus' tragic flaw is

Creon also takes center stage in Sophocles' play, Antigone, which adds another chapter to Oedipus' doomed lineage. The Messenger from Corinth arrives to tell Oedipus that his father, Polybus, is dead, and that the people of Corinth wish Oedipus to be their new king. He says that long ago a stranger from Thebes gave him a baby as a gift to the king and queen of Corinth.

Oedipus is stripped of every illusion of his authority, control, righteousness, and past wisdom and is forced to contend with a shame that is impossible to expiate—patricide and incestual relations with his mother—in a world lacking either justice or alleviation from suffering. Fundamentally a victim of circumstances, innocent of intentional sin whose fate was preordained before his birth, Oedipus refuses the consolation of blamelessness that victimization confers, accepting in full his guilt and self-imposed sentence as an outcast, criminal, and sinner.

He blinds himself to confirm the moral shame that his actions, unwittingly or not, have provoked. But it is a different kind of greatness. It is now based on knowledge, not, as before on ignorance. The Chorus summarizes the harsh lesson of heroic defeat that the play so majestically dramatizes:. Look and learn all citizens of Thebes.

This is Oedipus. He, who read the famous riddle, and we hailed chief of men, All envied his power, glory, and good fortune. Now upon his head the sea of disaster crashes down. Keep your eyes fixed on your last day. Call no man happy until he reaches it, and finds rest from suffering.