Oedipus is the protagonist of the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles. Oedipus is known for his intelligence, his determination, and his tragic flaw, which ultimately leads to his downfall.
One of the main characteristics of Oedipus's personality is his intelligence. He is able to solve the riddle of the sphinx, which no one else in Thebes could do, and this ultimately leads to him becoming the king of Thebes. Oedipus is also quick to analyze situations and come up with solutions. For example, when he learns that the city is suffering from a plague, he immediately sets out to find the cause and find a solution.
Another important aspect of Oedipus's personality is his determination. He is not one to give up easily, and he is willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goals. This determination is seen when he sets out to solve the riddle of the sphinx and when he sets out to find the cause of the plague in Thebes.
However, despite Oedipus's intelligence and determination, he also has a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. Oedipus is prone to anger and rash decisions, and this ultimately leads to the tragic events of the play. When Oedipus learns that he has killed his father and married his mother, he is overwhelmed with grief and horror. He blinds himself as a punishment for his actions and goes into exile.
In conclusion, Oedipus is a complex and multifaceted character with a range of personality traits. His intelligence and determination are admirable, but his tragic flaw ultimately leads to his downfall. Oedipus's story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and the importance of accepting one's fate.
Oedipus in Oedipus the King: Character Analysis
Free will is the ability to choose the decisions in your life to be whatever you want them to be. In thought and action, and in life they were indivisible. Oedipus is strong at leading by accepting the first challenge of trying to solve the city 's plague. Oedipus is a strong ruler who earns the kingship of Thebes after he solves the riddle of the Sphinx who plagued the city, causing the Sphinx to commit suicide. He is sure to overcome plague once more as he already has saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx and became king.
Amphion shared the throne with 5b. At the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus is hugely confident, and with good reason. Sophocles deliberately depicts Oedipus as a seemingly infallible yet prideful ruler in order to augment the subsequent devastation Oedipus causes, thus realizing the vision of an Aristotelian tragedy. Oedipus saved the city of Thebes from their adversaries. For example, during his symposium with Teiresias, Oedipus bombards the soothsayer with questions regarding his origin and his future.
Turning a blind eye to the truth, and the limits of free will, are all tested and proved fruitless in the end by the power of the unwritten law by the gods. The final scene of the play has the haste and drive of the beginning of Oedipus the King, but this haste, for Oedipus at least, is toward peace rather than horror. Oedipus eventually killed his own father thus fulfilling the prophecy and the fact that he actually believed that Laius and his followers were a band of robbers does not mean he had a good reason to take the law into his hands by killing him and this shows the conflict between reason and irrationalism as he thought he actually had a good reason to kill Laius, but he was actually irrational. Who is the chorus in the play Oedipus Rex? Despite being warned by the Even when Oedipus discovers the horrifying truth that he is, in fact, the perpetrator of the crime, he does not deny it or attempt to hide the truth. As soon as she requested her husband to be kind to Creon, he readily yielded. The literal blindness of the soothsayer points to the metaphorical blindness of those who refuse to believe the truth about themselves when they hear it spoken.
Therefore, Sophocles just puts out a simple fact through this strength of Oedipus. He then planned to never return to Corinth. The fact however is that the journey on your quest will shape you Works Cited Simon, Peter. The chorus speaks as one voice, or sometimes through the voice of its leader. Oedipus slept with his mother Jocasta and it is important to note that, this was already predestined by the gods as Apollo had already said that this incestuous relationship between son and mother was going to happen.
Through such characterization, Sophocles heightens the emotions in the play by demonstrating how these traits contribute to the catastrophic conclusion. The moment of epiphany comes late in the play. Oedipus is distinguished for his compassion, his sense of justice, his swiftness of thought and action, and his honesty. He rebukes at prophet and counts his services made to Thebans including saving from Sphinx. A person who could not, in normal circumstances, curb his passion was amenable to reason as he was in touch with his wife. A tragic hero must be an important or influential man who commits a fault, and who must then accept the consequences of his actions. As he tells Antigone, his only interest is in political and social order.
Character Analysis: The Personality of Oedipus Essay
Even though one can say that his quest for the truth was accompanied by lots of despair, this same quest is the one that is attributed towards having changed Oedipus. Oedipus was there for the city in a time of need and shows his intelligence by solving the riddle. Later on, he unknowingly marries his biological mother. Oedipus was hoping to receive some revelation as to why his kingdom was suffering so. They see him as a blessing as they did not have a child.
Oedipus is very caring towards the people in …show more content… Killing Laius and his men is an overreaction to his anger. Oedipus The King Research Paper 1224 Words 5 Pages Oedipus the King is one of the most ironic plays ever written. He is notorious for being the one who saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx and become king virtually overnight. Or they may hesitate about what to do or change their minds back and forth. It should be remembered that Oedipus was a king, and not a tyrant. Although, Oedipus is a good person, the second part of Aristotle 's definition of tragedy states that the good person is also an imperfect person whose life is destroyed by a weakness in their moral character, personality, or judgment.
Oedipus is a perfect example of the character of the tragic hero. The three Theban plays New York: Penguin classics, 1984. It is not a must for the quest to set you free. Oedipus believed that he could do anything as he so pleased and this was the reason for most of his actions. Yet Oedipus is stubbornly blind to the truth about himself. In his relation to Creon he was as presumptuous as Creon was to others in Antigone. Lacking the ability to see, Oedipus understands what is truly meaningful to him and repents for his sins.
