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Oedipus Rex: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Oedipus.png|thumb|Oedipus and the Sphinx]]''Oedipus the King'' is based on a legend deeply rooted in the cultural identity of Athens. The myth of Oedipus contains a historical and religious authority based on the cultural values of an oral tradition. It concerns the relationship between humans and their gods and, perhaps more importantly, primal hopes and fears that unearth a terror and despair normally buried in human consciousness. | [[Image:Oedipus.png|thumb|Oedipus and the Sphinx]]''Oedipus the King'', by the tragedian [[Sophocles]], is based on a legend deeply rooted in the cultural identity of Athens. The myth of Oedipus contains a historical and religious authority based on the cultural values of an oral tradition. It concerns the relationship between humans and their gods and, perhaps more importantly, primal hopes and fears that unearth a terror and despair normally buried in human consciousness. Oedipus is a typical Athenian who commits the most egregious of human taboos: incest and patricide. Within the character of Oedipus are both the faults and virtues of the Athenian people. Some critics suggest that Oedipus might be a warning to Athenians that have ushered in a new era of intellectualism. | ||
== Character Traits == | |||
* Conscientious and patriotic ruler | * Conscientious and patriotic ruler | ||
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Oedipus falls because of the man that he is, not through some random event in nature or fated outcome. His self-discovery comes at a huge cost: his own destruction. Although the oracle predicts what Oedipus will do, it does not determine the latter’s actions. Oedipus has erred in his faith in human intelligence; there are powers in the universe that are beyond our control and our understanding. | Oedipus falls because of the man that he is, not through some random event in nature or fated outcome. His self-discovery comes at a huge cost: his own destruction. Although the oracle predicts what Oedipus will do, it does not determine the latter’s actions. Oedipus has erred in his faith in human intelligence; there are powers in the universe that are beyond our control and our understanding. | ||
Aristotle | Aristotle mentions ''Oedipus'' eleven times in his ''Poetics''. Aristotle’s obvious favor of Sophocles’ play suggests that it is the measure of all [[tragedy]]. | ||
== Free Will versus Fate == | == Free Will versus Fate == | ||
“Even if everything is determined, we have no way of knowing what the total pattern is, so we must act on our own best judgment; free will is, therefore, a necessary illusion. Apparently wise men attain some insight into this pattern (or are given it by the gods), but all of us have the | “Even if everything is determined, we have no way of knowing what the total pattern is, so we must act on our own best judgment; free will is, therefore, a necessary illusion. Apparently wise men attain some insight into this pattern (or are given it by the gods), but all of us have the freedom to disregard such insight, follow our own desires, and suffer the consequences.” Walter Agard’s ''The Humanities for Our Time'' (1949). | ||
The concept of human suffering loses all significance if humans have no free will. | The concept of human suffering loses all significance if humans have no free will. | ||
“The central idea of a Sophoclean tragedy is that through suffering a man learns to be modest before the gods.” Bowra | “The central idea of a [[Sophocles|Sophoclean]] [[tragedy]] is that through suffering a man learns to be modest before the gods.” Bowra | ||
“His Oedipus stands for human suffering, and he neither attempts, like Aeschylus, to justify the evil, nor presumes, like Euripides, to deny its divine origin” J.T. Sheppard | “His ''Oedipus'' stands for human suffering, and he neither attempts, like [[Aeschylus]], to justify the evil, nor presumes, like [[Euripides]], to deny its divine origin” J.T. Sheppard | ||
“[[Sophocles]]’ difficulty is the problem of suffering, as Aeschylus’ is the problem of sin.” A. Zimmerman | |||
“It’s all chance, chance rules our lives.” Jocasta, l. 1070 | “It’s all chance, chance rules our lives.” Jocasta, l. 1070 | ||