Essay on Summary of Oedipus The Kings by Sophocles

Summary of Oedipus The Kings by Sophocles Oedipus is in a series of tragic events throughout this play. A couple of days after Oedipus was born, he was left on a mountainside to die. The reason for this is because an oracle predicted that he will grow up to be the murderer of his father the King. Oedipus did not die as he should have, instead Oedipus was found and taken to the nearby city of Corinth. This is where Oedipus was adopted as the son of the King and Queen. Many years later, Oedipus seeks counsel from the same oracle that predicted his fate. The oracle does not tell him the identity of his true parents, instead tells him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. To ovoid this prophecy, he ran away from Corinth back†¦show more content†¦A plague of infertility strikes Thebes; women no longer bear children and crops are not growing. Oedipus, in his pride, says that he will end this deadly disease. Oedipus sends Creon to the oracle in Delphi for guidance. When Creon returns, Oedipus learns that the murderer of King Laius must be found and either be killed or exiled. In search for the Killers identity, Oedipus listens to the advice of Creon and sends for the blind prophet. The prophet warns him not to go searching for the killer of the king. The prophet is then provoked in exposing Oedipus as the killer. A messenger arrives from Corinth with the news the King Polybus has died and the people of Corinth want Oedipus as their king. Oedipus does not want to go because of the fact that his â€Å"mother† is still alive and does not want the prophecy to come true. The messenger then reveals that Oedipus was in fact adopted and is not the son of King and Queen of Corinth. Jocasta finally realizes the true identity of Oedipus and tells him to stop the search for the killer of the King. She then goes into the palace and hangs herself. Oedipus goes and seeks verification of the messenger’s story from the herdsman who was supposed to leave Oedipus for dead. Oedipus learns tha t the adopted son of Polybus and Merope was actually the son of Laius and Jocasta. This is where he remembers that place where the roads met, is where he killed his own father King Laius, with the consequence of marring his ownShow MoreRelatedOedipus Tyrannus, A Tragic Hero. Summary: . Context. Oedipus1391 Words   |  6 PagesOedipus Tyrannus, a Tragic Hero Summary: Context Oedipus Tyrannus is a Greek tragedy that was first performed as a play in 429 BCE. The setting of the play is in Thebes, one of Greece’s city states that is suffering from a tragic plague. King Oedipus’s brother in-law; Creon, reports back from the oracle of Apollo that the plague would only be lifted if the murderer of his predecessor; King Laius, is found and brought to justice. Before the whole city of Thebes, Oedipus vows to apprehend and punishRead More Oedipus Rex – a Christ Figure Essays1020 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus Rex – a Christ Figure  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Sophocles’ famous tragedy, Oedipus Rex, perhaps â€Å"the most important and influential drama ever written† (â€Å"Sophocles† 717), presents in the person of   Oedipus the model of a good ruler, a humanely intelligent and vigorously active leader, a man who earlier saved his adopted city Thebes from disaster. Is Oedipus an alter Christus besides?    The numerous parallels between the figure of the king Oedipus and the figure of Christ in the ScripturesRead MoreMWD Oedipus Rex1701 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Title: Oedipus Rex Author: Sophocles Date of Publication: around 430 B.C. Genre: Dramatic Tragedy Biographical information about the author: Born at Colonus, son of Sophilus. Sophocles was a playwright and served as a priest. He had a son with Nicartrata, who was also a playwright. And he also had a son with Theoris. Wrote 123plays but only 7 survived: Ajar, Antigone, Trachinian women, Oedipus Tyrannoss, Electras, Philocetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. Also increased the number of chorus fromRead MoreHow to Read Literature Like a Professor1408 Words   |  6 PagesChapter 3 - Nice To Eat You: Acts of Vampires Chapter Summary: -Ghosts and vampires are never only about ghosts and vampires. There’s a thin line between the ordinary and the monstrous. -Sex: Evil, lust, seduction, temptation, danger. Evil has been related to sex ever since the serpent tempted Eve. -Exploitation: using other people to get what we want, placing our desires above others. Vampires and other figures are used where someone grows by weakening someone else. Connections: -The ScarletRead MoreTragic Hero In Oedipus The King1502 Words   |  7 Pageson a journey with this hero, witnessing both their triumphs and failures. In addition, this character must be more complex than what is seen on surface or at first glance. The character Oedipus in Sophocles Oedipus the King, meets all of these general parameters provided by Aristotle. The three reasons the Oedipus is a tragic hero is based on character traits of nobility, his hamartia, and lastly his self-pity and suffrage. Information found located on University of Pennsylvania’s education portalRead MoreThe Role Of Fate And Fate In Oedipus1075 Words   |  5 Pagespeaceful fates, but in the case of Oedipus, it was an unruly one, in which he was set on a path to his own demise. The story itself starts at the point in time in which all the Oracle of Delphi had told was true, but everyone was oblivious to it. Oedipus had already killed his father and married his mother, even bore children with her. It is a tragic end to who was once a glorious man, but one must think whether or not these chain of events happened because Oedipus chose to or because the Oracle foretoldRead More Marxist Theory and Oedipus the King Essay1339 Words   |  6 PagesMarxist Theory and Oedipus the King      Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles (Marx and Engels 2). This excerpt, taken from Karl Marxs and Friedrich Engels The Communist Manifesto, explains the two primary classes found throughout most of Europe during the era of the Industrial Revolution. These classes were the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The former were known as the exploiters and the latter as the exploited. The wealth, power,Read MoreConfronting Death in Greek Mythology: Allegiance to Family or Empire?1491 Words   |  6 PagesAlthough her family has a scandalous account, she tries to give her family a nobler impression. Investigating the history of Antigone’s family, it has been stated, â€Å"Oedipus kills his father Laius inadvertently, not realizing who he is, and then proceeds to marry his mother, Jocasta, also not realizing her true identity. As a result of Oedipus marriage to Jocasta, he sires four children, who are at once his siblings and his children: Eteocles, Polyneices, Ismene, and Antigone† (GradeSaver). KnowingRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Oedipus Rex943 Words   |  4 Pagesprocess of being solved as the people of Thebes suffer. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex, Thebes is being punished by the gods for a crime committed far in the past. The city of Thebes is cursed with a plague until the murderer of Laius is discovered and banished from the land. As Creon and Oedipus work to save Thebes, their different qualities show who is a better fit to be king. Oedipus saved Thebes once from the sphinx; however, Oedipus’ qualities of being arrogant, intense, and stubborn causeRead More Characterization in Oedipus the King Essay2193 Words   |  9 PagesCharacterization in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). It is the purpose of this essay to demonstrate the types of characters present in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, whether flat or round, and whether protrayed through showing or telling.    Werner Jaeger in â€Å"Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development† pays the dramatist the very highest compliment with regard to