Tiresias, Oedipus, and Self Essay - 1131 Words

Tiresias, Oedipus Rex, and Self The play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, tells a horrendous tale about one mans quest for the truth. In the play, King Oedipus was burdened with the task of finding his predecessors murderer so that order may be restored to his kingdom. While his conscious mind was seeking the murderer, his unconscious mind was retarding his progress in order to conceal the truth. Tiresias, prophesies the truth to Oedipus, but Oedipuss unconscious mind would not hear it. Thus, when the awful truth is finally revealed, Oedipus is overwhelmed by it. This causes the physical and emotional wounds that would last him a lifetime. A supplementary piece of literature, Tiresias by Tennyson, was written to complement†¦show more content†¦As one can see, Tennysons experience proves that he is unready to be as enlightened as his friend. To be enlightened one must be physically and mentally ready, most importantly the person must be touched by the Gods. Without being blessed by the Gods, one is limite d to how far one can go on the path of enlightenment. This is similar to the prologue of Oedipus Rex. In the prologue, the kingdom of Thebes is described as: ... tossed on a murdering sea and can not lift her head from the death surge. ... Death alone battens upon the misery of Thebes. (Sophocles, 716) The similarities between the two prologues imply that Oedipus is unready to rule Thebes. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus was not blessed by the Gods to take the throne of Thebes; thus his success as a king was cursed since the prologue. This example proves that one will not be successful in a higher state of being if one is not blessed by the Gods, regardless of how hard one tries to achieve this higher state being. This is an essential point to the understanding of Oedipus. As a man untouched by the Gods, Oedipus is blinded from the truth and remains a man bounded by the flesh. In scene I of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is confronted with the truth prophesied to him by Tiresias. Tiresiass prophesy was that Oedipus is the murderer he has been seeking. Oedipuss initial reaction to this accusation was that of disbelief, then anger as Tiresias continued his accusations. Kreon told Oedipus that the murderers ofShow MoreRelatedExamples Of Suffering In Oedipus The King796 Words   |  4 PagesThe characters in the play Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, respond to suffering in a variety of ways. Characters like Tiresias respond altruistically to protect others from the truth, other characters similar to Oedipus tend to approach these situations with gall and are hasty with allegations, and the remaining characters respond like Jocasta with disbelief and extremity. 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Even before his glory and power as King of ThebesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Play Oedipus Tyrannous By Sophocles 1749 Words   |  7 PagesKwa LITR201 August 19, 2016 Dear Dr. Kwa, I chose to write about the play Oedipus Tyrannous by Sophocles, I found this play to be very encapsulating to the very end. I really enjoyed the suspense, as well as the turn of direction that the play took in the end as the plot thickened. In this essay, I will describe why I personally believe that this play was not just a tragic event and the many reasons why I believe that Oedipus can be viewed as a tragic hero by his actions throughout the play. I believeRead MoreEssay about Concepts Of Sight in Sophocles’ Play Oedipus1348 Words   |  6 Pagesin Sophocles’ Play Oedipus 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. 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