Oedipus the King-A Tangled Web We Weave
The choir represents the voice of the people, the voice of the masses. People often conform to this uniform truth, they want to be like other people. This conformation leads to a uniform voice from the public. This voice is often ignorant to the truth, seemingly to the point that it creates its own truth. This is seen often in Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. They believe that Oedipus is godly, even when they have found out that he is the cause of their plague. It is not until the end that their haze of false truth clears, and they turn against Oedipus. The idea that the people speak with a unified voice is seen whenever they speak. Never does one individual stray from this one voice. This is seen in the Strophes and Antistrophes, the choir speaks as a whole. At the start of the, the choir shows unquestioning faith in Oedipus. They believe that he is godly, that since he ended the Sphinx's reign of terror, that he would stop the plague. They believed this without question, they had no doubts that Oedipus wou
had not gone to the oracle, he may have killed his father anyway. So I leave you with this, "When ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise." When they finally realize that it is Oedipus that is causing the plague and misery, they turn on him. They see their way through their own blind faith. Their lost faith can be seen in "I see it in you Oedipus: Man's pattern of unblessedness." Once they have realized that Oedipus is lost, they turn against him. In the end they say "We wish we had never known you," this shows in a simple form, how they feel about Oedipus. They even wish for his death in "Better to live no longer." The role of the choir in this story is that of the public. It shows how public belief can be blind, but can also be swayed. This is seen throughout the play. In the beginning they support Oedipus with blind faith. This blind faith leads to false truths so they can believe in their faith. After they have followed these false truths for long enough, they lose track of reality. Once this occ
Some common words found in the essay are:
Oedipus Man's, Strophes Antistrophes, Oedipus Laius, King Sophocles, , King Laius, Oedipus Eventually, false truths, Oedipus Oedipus, blind faith, faith oedipus, follow oedipus, ignorance bliss, voice seen, seen oedipus, cause plague, haze false,
Approximate Word count = 692
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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