Oedipus the king essay

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Literature

Document 1

This tension shows in Oedipus in the king, which hinges on two prophecies. The first is the prophecy received by king Laius of Thebes that he would have a son by queen Jocasta who would grow up to kill his own father. The second is the prophecy that Oedipus received that he would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta; ‘hear then, this man whom thou hast sought to arrest with threats and warrants this long while, the wretch who murdered Laius-that man is here. He passes for an alien in the land but soon shall prove a Theban, native born’ (line 444-461). Although Oedipus and his family try their best to prevent the prophecies, their efforts to thwart the prophecies actually bring the prophecies to completion.

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Instead of educating and teaching his son, he tries to eliminate him from the equation. Laius certainly does not have the belief that the chronology of events cannot be altered with. He however tries to do so through using brutal methods instead of perseverance, courage and love. On the other hand, the behaviour depicted by Oedipus is no different from that of his father. He is adopted by the ruler of Corinth, King Polybius. He however learns about the truth later on in his life. Generally, prophecies are the main plot drivers. Every step and action taken by the characters is an attempt to run away from the truth; yet the truth itself turns out to be fulfilling itself. Sophocles puts the readers in a situation of trying to predict the possible result considering the fact that the main characters made the decisions not to carry out themselves in a different way or take action.

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