Sophocles
Sophocles authored Oedipus the King circa 430 b.c., a time period in which audiences anticipated and judges awarded such tragedies. The action of Oedipus the King occurs in the city of Thebes where Oedipus lives in his palace with his wife, Jocasta, listens to advice from his priests, and presides over the townspeople. At the time the play begins, the townspeople have come to Oedipus for help, which leads Oedipus to look for additional assistance. This introduces the discovery that the city's torment lies in an unsolved murder. The majority of this action transpires from Oedipus's point of view, which Sophocles uses to demonstrate Oedipus's egotism. Sophocles utilizes the motif of sight and blindness to illustrate this characteristic. Even though King Oedipus appears extremely self-centered through a large part of the drama, Fate creates a series of events that force Oedipus to humble himself. King Oedipus thinks highly of himself and expects others to revere him and respect his authority. Oedipus believes that he used his own knowledge to answer the riddle of the Sphinx and that he rightfully deserves to have the title of k
Oedipus the King lives a complex life because he attempted to run away from the gods. Oedipus's narcissistic qualities led him to a position of great power, which caused his downfall to be even more tragic. Sophocles uses Oedipus's life to demonstrate that humans often act stubborn when they do not want others to control them. Sophocles also proves the point that when something does not happen as planned, emotions can run rampant. However, Sophocles focuses most on the idea that destinies can not change and gods can alter a person to make that person better suited for their purpose. Destiny, prophesied by the oracle, never seemed favorable for Oedipus. Fate led Oedipus to a high standing in the city, only to place a pitfall in front of him. During this fall, Oedipus realizes that he no longer deserves the respect of the people: "Take stones and beat me/From your country. I am the living curse, the source/Of sickness and death!" (Sophocles Oedipus the King, 119). Oedipus grasps the fact he killed his father and married his mother as fate predicted, although he tried to escape. He finally accepts that he does not stand abo
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Approximate Word count = 769
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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