¶ … drama "Oedipus the King," by Sophocles. Specifically, it will identify and apply terminology used in the play, and identify the term "irony."
OEDIPUS
These literary devices are important parts of drama.
exposition - Exposition is the beginning of the play which sets the tone, theme, mood, and setting of the play. In "Oedipus the King," the exposition lists who is on stage, who is speaking, and describes the royal palace in Thebes.
rising action - Rising action is the part of the play which brings the action to a climax, and is usually the most exiting or suspenseful moment in the play. In "Oedipus," the climax comes when Oedipus discovers he killed his father, married his mother, and fathered children by Jacosta. He then blinds himself, and this is the climax, which the discoveries,...
In this view, Oedipus's only wrong action was attempting to thwart fate, which only caused him false hope. Thus, this interpretation of the story suggests that fate is supreme, cannot be changed, and is the guiding rule of humans' life. In fact, this view even goes as far as to imply that humans do not have free will -- all is at the mercy of fate. But James Gould points
Oedipus, however, does show a great deal of arrogance as a character in the actual play, no matter how much the reader or viewer may feel pity and horror at his fate. Sophocles deliberately chooses to show first Oedipus, not as an innocent, abandoned baby with an injured foot, which is the first sight a reader might have of Oedipus and is the beginning of the actual myth. Instead, the
Laius may not have been the smartest move, either. This rests on your shoulders, not mine. Oedipus: I love her! What's that got to do with anything? I can't help it if we connected at a shareholders party and sparks flew. Laius was through, and I wasn't - Jocasta likes power, what can I say? Jocasta: Are you boys arguing again? Do you have to make all the company's dirty laundry public? Honestly
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
Sophocles writes, "Tiresias: That's your truth? Now hear mine: honor the curse your own mouth spoke. From this day on, don't speak to me or to your people here. You are the plague. You poison your own land" (Sophocles, 2004, p. 47). Each of these men has positive qualities, but their tragic flaw outweighs these qualities, and leads to pity and their downfall in the end. In addition, their
play Antigone by Sophocles, Creon brings disaster upon his family because he lacks experience and does not yet know how to rule wisely. Creon becomes King of Thebes at the beginning of the play because Oedipus' two sons, who were supposed to share the throne by ruling alternate years, had a falling out. Eteocles refused to turn the throne over to his brother Polyneices. Polyneices attacked the city attempting to
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