Oedipus Rex Essays (Examples)

Oedipus Rex

The Better King: Oedipus or Creon?

"Oedipus Rex," a play by Sophocles, details the life of Oedipus as the tragic king of Thebes. Oedipus, whose greatest flaw was his obsession to control and know his Fate, experienced suffering in the most extreme manner: his insistence to control his Fate has led him to murder his father, take his own mother as his wife, and eventually blinded himself as an act of penance from his sins and faults.

Despite these explicit displays of weakness, Oedipus demonstrates far better leadership skills than Creon, his friend who had taken over Thebes after the event of his tragic downfall and descent towards madness and blindness. While still the leader of Thebes, Oedipus displayed a fair sense of justice, which became more pronounced when he dealt with the case of Laius's murder. His insistence to seek all means possible to track down the…

Oedipus is one of the most famous names in Greek mythology. His name has become both a psychological complex as well as a familiar joke. His story has come to be a synonym as well for the capriciousness of fate. But a truer picture of the character of Oedipus suggests that, rather than being an unwitting victim, Oedipus a clear hand in his own demise. Despite its reputation, Sophocles' play "Oedipus the King" is a tragedy of character rather than of an innocent condemned by fate. Oedipus' tragic flaw his confidence and his arrogance that he understands what is happening to himself and his city. Of course, Oedipus really understands nothing.

The play begins by Oedipus, king of Thebes talking to his "children" or citizens, bemoaning the fact that Thebes is now under a plague. (ines 1-5, source from iterature and Ourselves) The priest tells Oedipus, "Now we pray to…

Later, the young man Oedipus found his way to the capital and freed Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx. He did so as a confident action, confident of his own intelligence where other men had failed and been killed by the cursed monster. As a gift, Thebes gave him the hand of Laius' widow, Jocasta. This is where the term 'Oedipus Complex' comes from, according to the Gale Online Encyclopedia of Psychology. Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) "describes a subconscious feelings in children of intense competition and even hatred toward the parent of the same sex, and feelings of romantic love toward the parent of the opposite sex. He felt that if these conflicting feelings were not successfully resolved, they would contribute to neuroses in later life. The name "Oedipus" refers to Oedipus Rex, the classic Greek play by Sophocles, which tells the story of Oedipus, who is abandoned at birth by his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta. He later comes back and, as foretold by prophecy, kills his father and marries his mother before finding out his true identity. Freud saw in the play an archetypal dynamic being played out, and so coopted the character's name for his description."

However, Freud's passive Oedipus has little to do with the active Oedipus of the text. Perhaps a better reading of Oedipus is provided by Michael Pennington, who states, "The Oedipus complex is...inappropriate to the play. Oedipus sleeps with his mother and kills his father circumstantially, proving only his political sense and a violent temperament." (Pennington 100) Pennington states that it was simply astute of Oedipus to marry Jocasta, he did not do so out of desire. Oedipus chose to free Thebes of the Sphinx out of intelligence and ambition. It takes a particular character of man to act out of anger and kill an older individual in a dispute of early Greek 'road rage.'

It also takes a particular kind of individual character to blind himself. Oedipus' stated reason

"...thou hast eyes, Yet see'st not in what misery thou art fallen," Tieresias tells him.

Oedipus is warned through-out the story that he ought to discontinue his search. Those who have spiritual eyes to understand and to see what he will find in the end know that it is a thing which is better left unseen. Yet he insists on seeking to shine the light of knowledge upon it and bring it to attention. It is interesting to note that after Oedipus has finally brought his crimes out into the open, and it is known to all what has transpired, Creon orders that the physical evidence of what has passed be removed from public sight out of respect for the sun, saying "revere The Sun whose light beholds and nurtures all. Leave not thus nakedly for all to gaze at A horror neither earth nor rain from heaven Nor light…

Thus, Oedipus' reference to his cursed birth at what is very nearly the end of the play refers back to the very opening lines of the Argument by repeating the image of the prophesied birth, but this time the characters are seeing that image with the same clarity as the audience.

The cursed nature of Oedipus' marriage is highlighted by Jocasta's death, because after learning the truth about her and Oedipus' relationship, she goes "straight to her marriage-bed" and hangs herself there after lamenting "o'er the marriage-bed / here, fate-abhorred, a double brood she bare" (Sophocles 103). The repeated references to the marriage-bed included in the account of Jocasta's death fits within the plays larger focus on the conflation of familial roles, because the bed itself marks a physical location of this conflation; this bed is likely where Oedipus was conceived in the first place, and it marks the spot…

Works Cited

Davis, Robert, and J.M. Walton. "Found in Translation: Greek Drama in English." Theatre

Survey 49.2 (2008): 299-301.

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. London: MacMillan & Company, 1885.

Oedipus: Self-Made Disaster

In Sophocles' play, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus takes fate into his own hands and demonstrates the power of the human will. Oedipus illustrates how we may not always be in control of our destinies, regardless of our efforts. The play is ironic in this sense because Oedipus already had the best "fate" any man in his position could hope for with a beautiful loving wife and a community that praised him. Some argue that Oedipus was fated to fulfill the prophecy but the truth is that his very actions destroyed the life he had. Oedipus was strong-willed obsessive and arrogant to the point of making huge mistakes. He failed himself and those around him because he thought he knew best.

In the beginning of the play, Oedipus has the best of intentions. In other words he does not set out to destroy his life. He simply wants to…

Works Cited

Fagles, Robert. Sophocles: Three Theban Plays. New York: Penguin Books. 1984. Print.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. An Introduction to Literature. Barnett, Sylvan, ed. Boston: Little,

Brown and Company. 1984. Print.

i.148-9) his actions will cause, Oedipus sits in oblivion. He refuses to listen to his wife and brazenly tells her, "I will not listen; the truth must be made known" (II.iii.146). Iocaste morphs from being Oedipus' wife to his enemy because she is speaking words he does not want to hear. He tells her:

The Queen, like a woman, is perhaps ashamed

To think of my low origin. But I

Am a child of luck; I cannot be dishonored . . .

How could I wish that I were someone else?

How could I not be glad to know my birth? (II.iii.159-60, 164-5)

Oedipus' bad choice begins with arrogance and ends with isolation.

Like Oedipus, illy makes poor choices. He is blind like Oedipus because he does not see things as they actually are. He lives in a fantasy world and tells himself and his family lies in order to…

Work Cited

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. An Introduction to Literature. Barnett, Sylvan, ed. Boston:

Little, Brown and Company. 1984. pp. 1030-1114. Print.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. An Introduction to Literature. Barnett, Sylvan, ed. Boston: Little,

Brown and Company. 1984. pp.721-64. Print.

In this sense, the time and setting of these two plays are less significant because each of the two addresses universal questions of fate, destiny, free will, and the meaning of life, which are as current today as they were over 2000 years ago, when Oedipus Rex was written, for instance.

The arker Face of the Earth reflects many of the themes and plot elements that also occur in the ancient Greek play by Sophocles entitled Oedipus Rex. In both cases, although the protagonists are faced with challenges by the powerful forces of destiny, their fate is direct consequence of their choice regarding the exercise of free will. Both Augustus and Oedipus are victims of their own bloody choices. Because their actions are no longer controlled by rational thought, they exercise their free will poorly hence they must accept the consequences of their actions and suffer the painful fate that…

Dove, Rita. The Darker Face of the Earth. Story Line Press, 1996

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Pocket, 1994

Vellacott, P.H. "The Guilt of Oedipus." Greece & Rome 2nd Ser., Vol. 11, No. 2. (Oct., 1964): 137-148.

Oedipus Exemplifies or Refutes Aristotle's Definition of a Tragic Hero

Aristotle's, the Greek philosopher definition of a tragic hero and tragedy has been influential since he set these definitions down in The Poetics. These definitions were viewed as important during the Renaissance, when scores of writers shaped their writings on the works of the ancient Rome and Greece. Aristotle asserted that tragedies follow the descent of a tragic hero or a central character, from a noble and high position to a low one. A tragic hero posse some tragic flaws, which cause his, fall from fortune, or turnaround of fortune, and to some point, the tragic hero realizes that his own mistakes have caused the turnaround of his fortune. Aristotle also noted that the tragic fall of a hero or a central character in a play stirs up fear to the audience or the reader given that the audience sympathizes…

Work Cited

Bloom, Harold. Oedipus Rex. Texas: Infobase Publishing, 2007.

Grene David. Sophocles. Oedipus the king. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010

Kahan Jeffrey . King Lear: New critical essays. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Madden Frank. Exploring literature: Writing and arguing about fiction, poetry, drama and the essay. Pearson Education Canada, 2008

He wanted a little bit more and that desire ruined his life.

Oedipus learns that anyone can be wrong -- despite what he or she might think. He thought he knew everything and he thought he journey would make him happier. He had to learn the hard way the even the king can be wrong. Oedipus does not think the truth would hurt him. Oedipus learns a powerful lesson about fate and how human nature ties into it. Robert Fagles writes that Oedipus "recognizes that the "prophecies given to his father . . . were true" (Fagles 143) and nothing he could have done would have stopped those prophecies from coming true. Oedipus' achievement is the "discovery of the truth, and that discovery is the most thoroughgoing and dreadful catastrophe the stage has ever presented" (150). Oedipus learns from his arrogance. He knows that he can be wrong and painfully…

Works Cited

Fagles, Robert. Sophocles: Three Theban Plays. New York: Penguin Books. 1984.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. An Introduction to Literature. Barnett, Sylvan, ed. Boston: Little,

Brown and Company. 1984. pp.721-64.

Walton, J. Michael. "Oedipus the King: Overview." GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed

Question

What is ironic about the ending of the play?

Oedipus, it was prophesied when he was a baby, would kill his father and marry his mother. So he was cobbled by his feet and exposed as an infant. The commoner charged with exposing the prince, however, was childless and took pity upon the babe, and reared the child himself. Oedipus as a young man learned by the same prophesy that he would become a patricide and enter into an incestuous marriage with his mother. So he fled what he thought were his true parents, home, and birth.

Had Oedipus not tried to flee his fate, he would never have met his father the King in the road and killed him in an argument. Had the future king of Thebes not tried to flee his fate he would never have married his mother, as he would never have met the…

Laius is responsible for his condition and there is no way for him to escape his fate, even with the fact that he does everything in his power with the purpose of fighting divinity's will. It is difficult and almost impossible to determine whether Oedipus should be accountable or not for killing Laius at the moment when he does so. One must consider that similar to how some religions promote the concept that some people are likely to be punished for the sins performed by their predecessors, Sophocles apparently wanted to put across the fact that Oedipus has no say at the time when he is fighting Laius, as he is forced to kill his father in self-defense.

The modern day society functions in accordance with the 'everything happens for a reason' system, taking into account that people are provided with benefits on account of the work that they do.…

Works cited:

Chong, Gossard, "ON TEACHING the OEDIPUS REX," Retrieved December 5, 2012, from the University of Melbourne Website: http://classics-archaeology.unimelb.edu.au/CAV/iris/volumes16-17/chonggossard.pdf

Freud, Sigmund, "The Interpretation of Dreams: The Complete and Definitive Text," (Kessinger Publishing, 30.06.2004)

Saboor, Haya, "Role of Fate in Oedipus Rex," Retrieved December 5, 2012, from the Academia Website:  http://www.academia.edu/1073775/Role_of_Fate_in_Oedipus_Rex 

Wetmore, Kevin, J., "The Athenian Sun in an African Sky: Modern African-American Adaptations of Classical Greek Tragedy," (McFarland, 2002)

It is worded too strongly just to relate a fact. Further, the fact it relates, if common in the ancient world, would not deserve such strong wording to people who were familiar with such things as blind oracles.

Rather, even were blind oracles commonplace in the ancient world, this one is special because he is not just a conveyor of bad news to Oedipus, but a kind of archetype, symbol, or personification of the message Sophocles is sending us that vision and blindness are not actually dichotomous, but intrinsically entangled.

Oepidus is another archetype of the same thing: sight and blindness coexisting, not sequentially, but simultaneously.

Another important way in which Oedipus was both blind and yet possessed of light becomes clear when we think about the steps he has taken to avoid killing his father. When we read Oedipus Rex, we like to think that finding ourselves in his…

Tragedy in the Oedipus Trilogy

Sophocles is considered to be one of the greatest Greek dramatists, and remains among the most renowned playwrights even today. The Greek tragedy is one of the most influential genres of literary and theatrical history on the modern drama and theatre. The theatre of ancient Greece was inspired by the worship of Dionysus, and the performance of plays was considered to be a religious experience for both the actors and the audience. ecause of this, the intensity of the Greek theatre was very strong, and the degree to which the plays were taken seriously as a means of influencing and interpreting life was also very high. According to Aristotle, the philosopher credited with creating the definition of a tragedy, "Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament,…

Bibliography

McManus, Barbara. "Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy in the POETICS." CLS 267 Topics. November 1999.  http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html 

McManus, Barbara. "Unity of Actionn in Oedipus the King." CLS 267 Topics. November 1999.  http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/oedipusplot.html 

Morissey, Christopher. "Oedipus the Cliche: Aristotle on Tragic Form and Content." Anthropoetics 9, no. 1. Department of Humanities, Simon Fraser University. Spring/Summer 2003.  http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0901/oedipus.htm 

"Reading Greek Tragedy." University of Washington, Tacoma. 2005.  http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/ctlt/students/resources/someelementsoftragedy.pdf

How could that be true when that child was left in the woods to die?

Oedipus is calmed, but he still sets out to solve the murder-mystery and punish the man who committed regicide. As more details come to the surface, however, Oedipus starts to get a bad feeling. The evidence indeed points to him: Laius, he learns, was slain at the same crossroads where Oedipus took the lives of a group of men. as Laius among them? Apparently so…as Oedipus also learns that he was the babe whom Jocasta and Laius abandoned -- and indeed has grown up to ruin the house by killing his father and marrying and having children with his mother Jocasta. Jocasta (sensing that this might be the case) had pleaded for Oedipus to halt the investigation, but determined to know the truth, Oedipus called the herdsman who found him tied to a tree to…

Works Cited

New Revised Standard Version Bible. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2009. Print.

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Internet Classics Archive. Web. 10 Dec 2011.

For Oedipus to be considered successful, then, he would have had to challenge his own fate and succeed, rather than enact it entirely according to what was set out for him. In Hamlet, on the other hand, the enemy is tangible and human in the form of Hamlet's uncle, and thus Hamlet is able to confront and vanquish him. Thus, Oedipus represents a kind of ignorant struggle against the ideological forces which control anyone in society, a struggle that can never succeed so long as those forces remain indistinct and ephemeral. Hamlet, on the other hand, demonstrates a pointed struggle against some of the very same tendencies, but in this case, they are identified, named, and thus exists the potential for overcoming them.

Though written in wildly different historical contexts, Sophocles Oedipus Rex and illiam Shakespeare's Hamlet actually have a lot to say about each other, because the titular characters…

Works Cited

Gillespie, Gerald. "Swallowing the Androgyne and Baptizing Mother: Some Modernist Twists to Two Basic Sacraments." The Comparatist 33 (2009): 63-85.

Searle, Leroy F. "The Conscience of the King: Oedipus, Hamlet, and the Problem of Reading."

Comparative Literature 49.4 (1997): 316-43.

Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Shakespeare Navigator. Philip Weller, 2012. Web. 28 Feb

Pride

Analysis of "Oedipus the King"

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18, NIV)

Pride is a destructive force that has been recognized as such since the beginning of recorded time. People are subject to it because, as generally selfish creatures, humans put themselves above others. Of course, as a person matures he or she will usually lose much of this me first attitude, at least publicly, but it remains in part because it is difficult to completely deny self. This undeniable fact, that pride does indeed precede, a fall is evidenced by many ancient writings one of the most profound and remembered being the story of Oedipus. He was a king who could not let a simple matter end, and the result was that he lost almost all that had been given to him. The story can easily be analyzed based on the Fitzgerald…

Work Cited

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King). Trans E.H. Plumptre. Stilwell, KS: Digireads.com Publishing, 2005. Web.

Hamlet decides to play at being mad in ways that seem calculated. This is evidenced in his verbal dueling with Polonius, the courtier of the play who in contrast to the blind prophet of the Greek tragedy is truly a foolish old man, rather than merely seeming so. But even Polonius admits that Hamlet's madness seems to have a verbal sense to it -- although the reason for Hamlet pretending to be mad vacillates. At first Hamlet accepts the ghost's words, then tests those words, and then uses purgatory as an excuse not to kill Claudius while the king is praying after the staged play "The Mousetrap."

Hamlet's brilliance lies mainly in his acceptance of his fate with a clear head and his recognition of moral ambiguity. Finally, he says to Horatio, in the fifth and last act of the play, to let be, and the readiness is all --…

This is a major departure from the Creon seen in Oedipus Rex and reflects his changed role. In addition, he sees changing one's mind as a weakness, "womanish," an undesireable trait in a king. Once he's made a decision he feels he must stick by it even if he suspects it might have been incorrect.

The first decision Creon makes that affects this play is that he will give Etocles a state funeral, but that Polynices' body is to be left out in the open, unsanctified, and left for the animals to eat. This is a terrible fate for a Greek, who must have certain rites performed to move on to the next life. Creon sided with Etocles, but both brothers broke the agreement.

Antigone is outraged that Etocles is to be ushered in to the next life proplerly but not Polynices. She takes a stand and decides to perform…

He prided himself on being a king that put the needs of his people above his own, struggling to keep his own feelings under wrap and focus instead on what his people needed. This desire to help the people led him to seek a cure for the plague, which was destroying people in masses. He sent Creon to Delphi, Apollo's place of revelation, to find out what could be done to save the city. Creon was told that the state must avenge the death of the former king Laios. After doing a little sould-searching, Oedipus learns that he was the killer of Laios, who was his father.

Oedipus takes full responsibility for the crime. "Citizens and alien alike must never shelter me or speak to me," he said. "I must be shunned by all. And I myself pronounced this malediction upon myself" (Sophocles, 42).

Like Socrates, Oedipus is visited by…

Bibliography

Grube, G. (2002). Plato, Five Dialogues. Hackett Publishing Company.

Kaufmann, Walter. (1992). Tragedy and Philosophy. Princeton University Press.

T.C. Brickhouse and N.D. Smith (1989). Socrates on Trial. Waterhouse Press.

Oedipal Hamlet

Of all the great works of illiam Shakespeare, arguably his masterpiece is Hamlet. It is also perhaps his most famous work. People who have never seen a production or read it still have a vague understanding about the play's basic plot. This is of course the story of a young prince of Denmark who is mourning for his recently dead father, also named Hamlet who may or may not have seen his father's ghost who claims the king was murdered by Prince Hamlet's Uncle Claudius. The uncle has very quickly taken control of the Danish throne and married Hamlet's mother Queen Gertrude. In the five hundred years since it was first written, Hamlet has been analyzed and criticized by some of the top minds in academia, in fields such as English, Psychology, and History. The play is rich enough to lend itself to a wide range of interpretations,…

Works Cited

Childers, Joseph W., and Gary Hentzi. The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. New York: Columbia UP, 1995. Print.

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. Tr. James Strachey. Avon, NY, 1965. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New Haven: Yale UP, 2003. Print.

disagreement that "The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted."

Othello and Oedipus were both considered to be heroic and honorable men that turned out to be the victims of two tragic downfalls

Both stories carry on a legacy even till this day.

In spite of their 2,000-year difference, Othello and Oedipus are still sad.

This essay will discuss the researcher's disagreement that "The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted."

Support

Oedipus downfall was clearly not the work of God.

Supporting Ideas

Disastrous fall of Oedipus in Sophocles play "Oedipus ex" was very much self-inflicted

b. They were events drawn from his own purpose

His first lethal mistake was the murder of his father.

Clearly Oedipus was his own worse enemy.

B. Support

Othello fall had something to do with relationships

Supporting Ideas…

REFERENCES (use APA or MLA format)

Erickson, P. (2005). Respeaking Othello in Fred Wilson's spoken of me as I am. Art Journal, 64(2), 4-19.

Evans, R.C. (2001). Flattery in Shakespeare's Othello: The relevance of Plutarch and Sir Thomas Elyot. Comparative Drama, 35(1), 1-41.

Graham, B.R. (2012). Oedipus dreaming: A kleinian reading of la diabolique tragedy. PSYART,, 1.

Ormand, K. (2003). Oedipus the queen: Crossing-gendering without drag. Theatre Journal, 55(1), 1-28.

Sophocles' Oedipus the King

Look up and/or reflect on the meaning of:

Tragedy: A tragedy is any event which causes great suffering and stress, such as the death of a loved one or a natural disaster. In the context of Greek literature, tragedy was the most popular form of theatre, with storytellers relying on the rhetorical technique of tragic irony to create emotionally resonant tales of lost love and territorial conquest.

Philosophy: The overall study of the human condition, reality, metaphysics, and other pursuits of higher intelligence.

Psychology: The scientific study of the human mind, including cognitive function, perception, attention, emotion and behavior.

Logic: The fundamental application of reasoning to the pursuit of problem solving, a function which only the human mind is known to hold the capacity to perform.

Ethics: The branch of philosophy which postulates certain standards which should be used to guide proper human conduct.

Mathematics: The…

OEDIPUS VS. OTHELLO

Oedipus and Othello

Oedipus and Othello are both productions where the namesake of the story or play experiences a downfall before the end of the play.

Oedipus and Othello each experience a downfall

Oedipus was a victim of the actions of the gods

Othello was responsible for his own downfall

Othello had opportunity to change his fate

Othello was deceived by Iago

Othello maims Iago

Iago never explains his motivations iii. Othello's jealousy leads him to murder Desdemona

Othello learns that he was wrong about Desdemona

Some ancillary actions played a part in each of the tragic circumstances

Oedipus' behavior is clearly outside the bounds of morality

a. Oedipus ignores the warnings of his father, Laius

Oedipus has sexual relations with his mother

c. Oedipus kills his father

d. Oedipus had free will and could have stopped himself

Thesis

Oedipus and Othello are both productions where the…

References

Christofides, R.M. (2010). Iago and Equivocation: The Seduction and Damnation of Othello. Early Modern Literary Studies, 6.

Feather, J. (2013). "O blood, blood, blood": Violence and Identity in Shakespeare's Othello. Medieval & Renaissance Drama In England, 26240-263.

Fosso, K. (2012). Oedipus Crux: Reasonable Doubt in "Oedipus the King.." College

Literature, 39(3), 26-60.

Judy Blume's Then, I Are God ? It's margaret Oedipus Rex Elektra bySophocles.

Affinities between Judy Blume's "Then Again, Maybe I on't" and "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" and Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" and "Electra"

Judy Blume's novels "Then Again, Maybe I on't" and "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" are, to a certain degree, similar to Sophocles' tragedies "Oedipus Rex" and "Electra." It is probable that Blume inspired from the tragedies when devising the storylines for each of the novels. However, it would surely be absurd for someone to claim that her works are not unique in character. Tony, the protagonist in "Then Again, Maybe I on't," and Oedipus, the central character in "Oedipus Rex" are alike when considering that they both experience a false feeling of success only to eventually feel that they live in a lie. Similarly, Margaret and Electra are two young women who…

Works cited:

Blume, Judy, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," (Random House Children's Books, 21.03.2012 )

"Then Again, Maybe I Won't," (Random House Children's Books, 21.03.2012)

Sophocles, "Oedipus Rex," (Univ of Wisconsin Press, 19.05.2011

Sophocles, "Electra," (Rivingtons, 1867)

academic quality sources ( play film) margins 1 inch ( left) 12 point Times New Roman Arial font document sources cite APA format .

The story of Oedipus has pervaded out society and has come to provide a great deal of individuals with more information regarding thinking in Ancient Greece. Sophocles designed the story so as for audiences to gain a complex understanding of the tragic irony unfolding as the storyline progresses. The ancient Greek tragedian told the story of a young individual who becomes addicted to material values and unknowingly comes to murder his father, marry his mother, and eventually ends up being both brother and father to his children. Irony is one of the principal concepts dominating the play and it makes it possible for audiences to express little to no surprise regarding how the storyline unfolds. Oedipus' father is the person responsible for triggering a series of…

Works cited:

Chandran, Narayana K. "Texts And Their Worlds Ii," (Foundation Books)

Ormand, Kirk, "A Companion to Sophocles," (John Wiley & Sons, 06.03.2012)

Shmoop, "Oedipus the King: Shmoop Literature Guide," (Shmoop University Inc., 11.07.2010)

Sophocles, "Oedipus Rex," (Univ of Wisconsin Press, 19.05.2011)

contemplated an individual's relationship with his or her environment. In Oedipus Rex and Antigone, Sophocles explores the relationship an individual has with the world and society. In each of these plays, Sophocles juxtaposes divinity and humanity and investigates the role of each within Theban society as well as looks into conflicts that arise when the laws of man conflict with divine laws. Through their narratives, Oedipus Rex and Antigone posit man is intended to serve others, including gods, and that they do not exist to be self-serving.

Oedipus Rex revolves around an eponymous anti-hero who by saving the city of Thebes from a Sphinx inadvertently and simultaneously brought forth a plague upon it. By defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus secured his place upon the Theban throne and as such was not only responsible for ensuring laws were abided, but was also responsible for protecting Thebes' citizens. Because of the plague that…

Works Cited

Sophocles. Antigone. The Complete Greek Tragedies. Eds. David Grene and Richard Lattimore.

2nd Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. pp. 160-212.

-. Oedipus Rex. The Complete Greek Tragedies. Eds. David Grene and Richard

Lattimore. 2nd Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. pp. 10-76.

Furthermore, this same prophecy made to Oedipus himself leads him to flee to Thebes -- which in turn leads to the murder of Laius on the road and his subsequent marriage to Jocosta. And finally, it is Oedipus' "wish to know the seed from where [he] came," that results in the ultimate knowledge of his birth, his true nature, and his ultimate downfall (Oedipus the King. 1295).

hile the Book of Genesis seems to suggest that the crux of man's nature is knowledge seeking, man is also by nature a prideful, self-serving being, inherently motivated by a keen desire -- or perhaps even instinct -- to preserve him self. For example, regarding God's call of Abram in chapter 12, it is not the mere pleasure of serving God and righteousness that motivates Abram to follow God, but rather God's promise to establish and preserve Abram's name. "I will make you…

Works Cited

Broadman & Holman's NIV Pocket-Size Bible. Pocket-Size ed. Nashville, TN. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005. Print.

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Ian Johnston. Malaspina Univeristy-College, 2010.

Barstow, Marjorie. "Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle." The Classical

eekly, vol. 6, no. 1, 2-4, 1912. Print.

Barstow observes one of Aristotle's fundamental points in her essay, which is that "Aristotle finds the end of human endeavor to be happiness…[which proceeds] from a steady and comprehensive intellectual vision which views life steadily and distinguishes in every action the result to be gained" (2). Poetry, like Oedipus Rex, helps illustrate Aristotle's point that human happiness is dependent upon one's grasp of reality.

Dodds, E.R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Greece and Rome, vol. 13, 37-

Print.

Dodds asks, "In what sense, if in any, does the Oedipus Rex attempt to justify the ways of God to man?" (37). The fact that Sophocles' work tackles the question is important evidence that drama is worthy of serious study and capable of teaching profound truths. Thus, Dodds' essay validates Aristotle's…

Works Cited

Aristotle. The Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle. Trans R.W. Browne. London: George

Bell & Sons, 1889. Web. 7 Apr 2011.

Halliwell, Stephen. Aristotle's Poetics. IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Print.

Halliwell, Stephen. "Pleasure, Understanding, and Emotion in Aristotle's Poetics."

Role of Free ill and Fate in Oedipus Rex and Othello, the Moor of Venice

Free will and fate play a major role in determining the outcome the hero experiences in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and illiam Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus's destiny has been predetermined and despite his many efforts, he cannot escape the future the gods have planned for him. Oedipus Rex's form relies on a chorus to serve as an emissary between the gods and the audience and ultimately aims at allowing the audience to achieve catharsis. On the contrary, in Othello, the Moor of Venice, Othello's future is determined through a series of actions that were not influenced by the gods, but rather through free will. Othello, the Moor of Venice's form breaks up the action into separate "vignettes" that ultimately highlight the depravity of man and aims to serve as a…

Works Cited

Brown, Larry."Aristotle on Greek Tragedy." Web. 26 September 2012.

Shakespeare, William. Othello, the Moor of Venice. Web. 26 September 2012.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 26 September 2012.

The things that ruins his life is his humanity and while this is a sad tale, it is one filled with knowledge for those who want to see how not to ruin one's life. It teaches us and one of the most resilient characteristics of man is that he can learn from his mistakes if he is courageous enough.

Plato considered drama and tragedy from another perspective, namely an isolated one. He wrote, "e would not have our guardians grow up amid images of moral deformity . . . until they silently gather a festering mass of corruption in their own soul" (Plato X) and he also expressed the notion that artists would better serve the world if they were "gifted to discern the true nature of the beautiful and graceful" (X). In Book X, he writes we should "remain firm in our conviction that hymns to the gods and…

Works Cited

Aristotle. "Poetics." S.H. Butcher, Trans. MIT Internet Classics Archive. Site Accessed October

01, 2011.

Plato. The Republic. The Internet Classics Archive. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

2009. Web. Site Accessed October 01, 2011.  http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html

Myth of the Tragic King -- Sophocles' construction of Oedipus the Tragic King vs. Michael of Puzo's The Godfather

The central theme of the Oedipus myth in ancient Grecian society was that the truly tragic king could not escape his fate, despite his best efforts to do so. ith hubris in his heart, the tragic king attempts to avoid what the oracle forecasts, and only fulfills his fate in terrible circumstances as a result of his hubris. However, in modern, American society the idea of uncontrollable fate has somewhat fallen out of fashion. Americans are inclined to look at hubris, or ambition beyond the sphere of one's circumstances with favor. Thus, partly because of the influence of Freud and partly because of the influence of the belief that anyone can succeed in America, the myth of the tragic king, embodied in Oedipus has been rewritten, although it remains a part…

Works Cited

Freud, Sigmund. "Freud: The Wish Fulfillment of Oedipus." From the Interpretation of Dreams. Elpenor Greek World. 8 Dec 2004.  http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greeks-us/freud-oedipus.asp 

Davis, Charles. "Jung's Archetypes." Jung Website. Last updated 2003. 8 Dec 2004.

http://www.acs.appstate.edu/~davisct/nt/jung.html

Puzo, Mario. The Godfather, Original place and date publication -- New York: Putnam & Sons, 1969.

Sophocles & Milton

Sophocles wrote his great works two and a half millennia ago, and yet today they are still fresh and powerful. This is because Sophocles deals with deep and important human situations and emotions. Even though we can no longer imagine what it would be like to live in the world which Sophocles inhabits, we can completely understand his characters because they are fully human and human nature does not change much over time. Though he writes about kings and queens and the wealthy of Greece, his characters have the sense of being representatives of every man and woman, in every era. His characters struggle with pride and with sin and with accepting the will of the gods -- when they do things they should not do, in the end they are punished, and accept this punishment. This gives them a greater morality than sinners who are portrayed…

Bibliography

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Project Gutenberg. ftp://ftp.knowledge.com/pub/mirrors/gutenberg/etext91/plboss10.txt

Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. F. Storr. Internet Classics.  http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.pl.txt

The positive value that most people place on a character's ability to face their demons is traditionally what defines a "hero." What defines a "tragic hero" is when facing those demons is too much for the protagonist to handle, which is the case in this play. But this lack of unwavering strength and courage is what makes the character of Oedipus seem human, and therefore relatable to the audience. If his reaction to the truth had shown nothing but strength, he would seem more like a cardboard cut-out than a human being.

A hero is more noble and more human when he must overcome his flaws and life's adversities. This may be why literary heroes have appealed to readers across many different cultures and over many different eras in history; because they represent the deepest and most respected ideals of human behavior, without extending too far beyond the constraints of…

References

Segal, C. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge, New York, 1993

Sophocles, Dawe, R.D. (ed.) Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed., 2006

Willlam Hazlitt largely comments on the contemporariness and universality of Hamlet's character: that although Shakespeare wrote the play more than 500 years ago, we have come to know the character of the tragic Prince quite well. Not only because we read about him in school, but also -- and more -- because we know his thoughts as we do our own. (Hazlitt 1900) His sayings and speeches are not only real but are as real as our own thoughts when we ponder and despair over our or others' misfortunes and grief. Each of us becomes Hamlet, in Hazlitt's view, whenever we bear the weight of reflection (Hazlitt), when the sun in us is made dim by "envious mists" in our hearts, whenever the world looks nothing better than a "dull blank," when our love is despised, or when sadness sticks to us and makes our mind sink within. Hazlitt goes…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Lecture on Hamlet. London:

George Bell and Sons, 1904

2. Hazlitt, William. Lectures on the Literature of the Age of Elizabeth

and Characters of Shakespeare's Play. London: George Bell and Sons, 1900

Yes, the Oedipus complex aspect of Shakespeare it gives us and which in turn invites us to think about the issue of subjectivity, the myth and its relation to psychoanalytic theory. (Selfe, 1999, p292-322)

Hemlet and Postcolonial theory

Postcolonial theory was born as a result of the publication of the famous work of Edward Said, Orientalism (1978). This theory claim that some authors (Paul Gilroy, Achille Mbembe, Francoise Verges, etc.) and that seem so elegant in its formulation, in my opinion raises three fundamental problems: At a time when we are witnessing the emergence of new expressions of colonialism (colonialism, cultural, political and economic globalization, neo-colonialism nestled in the relationship between the hegemonic colonial past and their old colonies, colonialism in disguise that structure the relationship between international institutions and developing countries, institutions from the rest behest of the former colonial powers according to their interests), speak of post-colonial era…

References

Aragay, Mireia, and Gemma Lopez. 2005. "Inflecting Pride and Prejudice: Dialogism, Intertextuality, and Adaptation." Books in Motion: Adaptation, Intertextuality, Authorship. Ed. Mireia Aragay. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, p201-19.

Aragay, Mireia, ed. 2005. Books in Motion: Adaptation, Intertextuality, Authorship. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, p88-96.

Baetens, Jan. 2007. "From Screen to Text: Novelization, the Hidden Continent." The Cambridge Companion to Literature on Screen. Ed. Deborah Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, p226-38.

Balides, Constance. 2000. "Jurassic Post-Fordism: Tall Tales of Economics in the Theme Park." Screen 4 I .2: p139-60.

Question

Haemon is in an impossible position. Although it could be argued that Antigone is in an impossible position as well, forced to choose between obeying the will of the gods or the will of man, Haemon must choose between loyalty to his proposed wife and his father as the king of the state. His temperament is such that he is an innate compromiser. He is forced to negotiate between two people who do not believe in compromise, upon any terms.

Creon has begun a horrible chain of events. The Theban king has attempted to supplant the will of the gods, refusing to let Polynices' soul enter the underworld and be judged by the gods, thus taking on the role of the gods as judgers of men's souls as well as a judge of his citizen's actions on earth. By refusing to obey the king's orders and defy the gods,…

Othello Is a Tragic Hero

Othello is an Aristotelian tragedy

This paper will show that Othello can be correctly labeled a "tragic hero" and that the play fits the form and function of the Aristotelian tragedy according to the model as it is understood and interpreted by critical scholars.

Defining the tragic hero and the Aristotelian tragedy

The tragic hero is good, valorous, true to life and consistent

The Aristotelian tragedy is complete, an imitation of an action and produces a cathartic effect through fear and pity

Othello is a Tragic Hero

He is Good

The senate loves him because he is strong

Desdemona loves him because he is brave

His men love him because he is a leader

He has Manly Valor

He is viewed as a moral man

He is unafraid of meeting a challenge

c. He is true to life

He has faults and weaknesses

He falls…

References

Aristotle. (1970). Poetics. (trans. by Gerald Else). MI: University of Michigan Press.

Barstow, M. (1912). Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle. The Classical

Weekly, 6(1): 2-4.

Bates, C. (1997) 'Shakespeare's Tragedies of Love', Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Tragedy, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Fate in Literature

Stories whether they are presented in film, printed or orally spoken all share important commonalities. One of the important shared elements amongst stories that have been around for hundreds maybe even thousands of years in literature is the role of fate within the stories. Fate in literature can be broadly defined as the power, influence or will of a superior or supernatural force that stages and predetermines events in the voyage of a the main character in the story (Princeton.edu).

A classic example of this is the tragedy written by Sophocles, the infamous tale of Oedipus Rex a king who desperately seeks to outrun, challenge and contradict fate, but is unable to because the supernatural forces above him (The Gods), have predetermined and staged inevitable events in his life. Fate is a very interesting topic to explore as it relates to stories because it challenges the notion…

Works Cited

Bangert, Andrea. "Epictetus and Oepidus." Diss. UCSC, 2001. Epictetus and Oedipus. UCSC. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. .

Bloom, Harold. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. Print.

Booker, M. Keith. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2011. Print.

"Defining Fate." Fate. Priceton University, 15 Sept. 2003. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. .

Reason vs Passion: Comparing Aristotle and Plato
Introduction
It must be well known among all students and scholars of philosophy that both Plato and Aristotle have a high regard for reason. But what is their view on passion? It might be surprising to learn that neither philosopher holds a negative view of passion in and of itself—what both do, however, point out is that passion should be subservient to reason. Passion that is governed by reason is certainly not a bad thing, for either philosopher, and what is more important is that some passions or emotions should be promoted over others (Urmson; Taylor).
The problem that most moderns have when it comes to understanding what passion means is that they are defining the term according to all-or-nothing terms, applying a kind of either/or approach to the issue of whether one should live one’s life by using the head or the…

" hile there are factors like peer pressure and authority that come into play, some research claims to have isolated significant features of an individual's character that make them more likely to commit acts of fraud, bribery and falsification in the corporate context (27, 2009). For example, those people with "high levels of ambition were more likely to transgress moral codes, competitively stab colleagues in the back and make dubious decisions relating to asset-stripping, disinvestment, and so on" (27, 2009).

Trevino's (1986) work is relevant when it comes to understanding individuals and corruption. There are a couple questions regarding moral personality that come up: first of all, whether or not a person sees an event or issue as a moral problem; the second is how they decide to act in relation to that problem. Kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development emphasizes the cognitive or reasoning aspect of moral-decision making (604,…

Works Cited:

Bratsis, Peter. The Construction of Corruption, or Rules of Separation and Illusions of Purity in Bourgeois Societies. Social Texts, 21(4), 9-33.

Burke, Ronald J. & Cooper, Cary L. Research Companion to Corruption in Organizations

(New Horizons in Management). Edward Elgar Publishers, 2009.

Fleming, Peter. & Zyglodopoulos, Stelios C. Charting Corporate Corruption: Agency,

His enlightenment comes when he is forced to be fully self-reliant. He realizes that he cannot depend upon his father or upon anyone else for omniscient knowledge, and that he is left to his own devices and beliefs in a world without morality. Like the cave-dweller, Elie eventually realizes that the material world does not offer moral answers; rather moral answers come from his own mind, sense of fortitude, and faith.

Even Oedipus experiences this final, sinking revelation, after living as an ignorant but happy king of Thebes. Oedipus thought he was wise because he believed he had escaped his fate to kill his father and marry his mother and had solved the riddle of the Sphinx. At the end of Sophocles' tragedy, the former king blinds himself in horror that he has fulfilled the Delphic oracle's promise and also because he knows that he is unable as a human…