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Oedipus the King of Thebes
Metaphor in Oedipus the King of Thebes
Oedipus the King by Sophocles tells the story of a man victimized by prophesy and fate, despite all his own efforts to escape this fate. The tragedy and the irony of Oedipus is that his intentions are perfectly honorable. Because he is unwilling to succumb to the fate that has been predicted for him, he seeks to escape it, and in this attempt, he walks into the very arms of this fate.
The "two roads" that "join a third" in the reference then is the setting of the first part of the fulfilled prophesy. Oedipus kills his father. He does not know this, however. The murder is the result of sheer arrogance on the part of Oedipus; the result of a show-off with a rival who threatened to "thrust" him aside. The irony is thus exacerbated. Oedipus is not aware that he has in fact killed his father, until much later, when events begin to make...
Thus the reference to "secret valley." The true nature of the murder remains secret from Oedipus himself. Despite all attempts to warn Oedipus, he passionately searches for the truth until the search leads to the devastating end of the play.
The crossroads also refer to a crossroads in Oedipus' life as king. Whereas he begins in glorious fanfare and the confidence of a true king, having saved the people of Thebes from the dangerous and evil Sphinx, he progresses to tyranny and finally to humbled shame when the truth at last makes itself known. The crossroads he is facing is the choices he makes that lead to the fulfillment of the prophesy. He outwits the Sphinx, but is unable to outwit his own fate. This occurs because his own heritage is kept a secret from him until it is too late.
Thus, the blood of his father streaming from Oedipus' fingers is also his own blood. He…
Bibliography
Sophocles. Oedipus the King of Thebes. Trans. Bernard M.W. Knows. New York: Washington Square Press, 1959.
Novelguide.com. "Metaphor Analysis: Oedipus the King," 1999-2002. 29 Sept, 2003. www.novelguide.com.
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