answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

It is a negative attitude that the audience takes away about the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the gods are not on their best behavior. As background and beyond the play's action, Dionysus the wine god becomes angry with his first cousin, Theban King Polydorus and therefore with Polydorus' descendants. For example, Labdacus' son Laius and grandson Oedipus get fates that they understandably try to subvert. The gods leave not even the slightest or most understandable commission or omission unpunished.

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What attitude does the audience take away about the gods in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Performing Arts

What is the attitude toward the gods at the end of 'Oedipus Rex'?

Serious recognition of divine power is the attitude toward the gods at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the gods rule in life and death. They stand for no opposition to their will. They will track down and punish any slight no matter how personally happy and professionally successful the mortal may be.


What does Oedipus do to defy the will of the gods in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Run away from home is what Oedipus does to defy the will of the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus hears the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He is horrified and repelled at the thought of murder and incest. He loves his presumed parents, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. He makes the decision to outrun fate and outwit the gods by moving well away from Corinth.


What does Oedipus learn about the gods in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That they mean business and never let things drop is what Oedipus learns about the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus receives a dreadful prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Rather than accept such a miserable fate, Oedipus makes an effort to avoid it by running away from his presumed family and settling down far away. But he ultimately discovers that all his choices and actions serve only to fulfill his unenviable destiny. He therefore comes to realize that the gods say what they mean, mean what they say and do whatever it takes to make sure that they always have the upper hand.


What character in Oedipus rex challenges the gods with attempted murder?

No character in Oedipus Rex challenges the gods with attempted murder. Oedipus unknowingly killed his father and married his mother as it had been predicted in a prophecy.


Why did the parents of Oedipus send him away to die?

To try to avoid the prophecy that said he was going to kill his father they all thought that they could avoid the prophesy of the oracle at Delphi. They put themselves above the gods in their desire to control their destinies, and that is the highest order of hubris. Oedipus's parents think they can avoid having their son kill his father by sending him away; later in life Oedipus thinks he can run away from his "father" to avoid killing him. In the end, the prophesy is completely fulfilled because there is no avoiding a prophesy of the gods.

Related questions

What is the attitude toward the gods at the end of 'Oedipus Rex'?

Serious recognition of divine power is the attitude toward the gods at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the gods rule in life and death. They stand for no opposition to their will. They will track down and punish any slight no matter how personally happy and professionally successful the mortal may be.


What does Oedipus do to defy the will of the gods in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Run away from home is what Oedipus does to defy the will of the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus hears the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He is horrified and repelled at the thought of murder and incest. He loves his presumed parents, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. He makes the decision to outrun fate and outwit the gods by moving well away from Corinth.


What does Oedipus learn about the gods in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That they mean business and never let things drop is what Oedipus learns about the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus receives a dreadful prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Rather than accept such a miserable fate, Oedipus makes an effort to avoid it by running away from his presumed family and settling down far away. But he ultimately discovers that all his choices and actions serve only to fulfill his unenviable destiny. He therefore comes to realize that the gods say what they mean, mean what they say and do whatever it takes to make sure that they always have the upper hand.


What character in Oedipus rex challenges the gods with attempted murder?

No character in Oedipus Rex challenges the gods with attempted murder. Oedipus unknowingly killed his father and married his mother as it had been predicted in a prophecy.


Why did the parents of Oedipus send him away to die?

To try to avoid the prophecy that said he was going to kill his father they all thought that they could avoid the prophesy of the oracle at Delphi. They put themselves above the gods in their desire to control their destinies, and that is the highest order of hubris. Oedipus's parents think they can avoid having their son kill his father by sending him away; later in life Oedipus thinks he can run away from his "father" to avoid killing him. In the end, the prophesy is completely fulfilled because there is no avoiding a prophesy of the gods.


What does Oedipus say that he will do now that the truth is known in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That he will live out his life away from human contact is what Oedipus says he will do now that the truth is known in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus learns that the truth of his identity and existence is that of one who kills his father, marries his mother, and fathers children who are his own half-siblings. All of these actions are offensive to the gods and to mortals. So Oedipus says that he wants to spend whatever life he has left on earth in the mountains outside Thebes, away from family, friends and people.


Does Oedipus deserve his fate in 'Oedipus Rex'?

No, Oedipus does not deserve his fate in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, his fate is to kill his father and marry his mother. He does what he can to avoid offending mortals and blaspheming the gods. But he cannot escape the gods, who do not let up once they decide to pick on someone.


Does Oedipus take his children into exile in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Yes, Oedipus is accompanied by his children in exile in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the audience does not know whether or not Theban King Oedipus lives and if he lives whether or not he goes into exile in the company of his children, the Princesses Antigone and Ismene. Oedipus tries to force his royal successor, King Laius, to exile him to the mountains outside Thebes. But the choice of exile over execution as punishment of criminal acts and immoral behavior will have to await the expression of divine will since this is a call that only the gods get to make.


What instructions does oedipus give the priest?

Oedipus instructs the priests to remove their branches from the altar, signaling an answer to their request for deliverance from the gods' curse.


What can be inferred from Oedipus saying 'What man more harassed by the vexing Gods' in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That mortals are the playthings of the gods may be inferred from Oedipus' saying "What man more harassed by the vexing Gods..." in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the gods appear to like to set mortals up for failure and punishment. In fact, the play ends with the suggestion that it is only in death that mortals can be happy, in the sense of not having to look constantly over their shoulder at what the gods are doing and planning. Up until that point, mortals run an obstacle course that is determined, not by them, but by the cruel whims of the gods.


What is the point at which Oedipus is left in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is at the point of house arrest that Oedipus is left in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, it is up to the gods to identify the range of punishment options. It then is up to them to go through a process of elimination and select which punishment to carry out. Theban King Oedipus is taken away from his people and into the palace to await divine decision as to whether he will die or stumble through miserable exile.


Why are the gods so nasty to Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That the gods disdain mortals as poor relatives, that they curse the royal house of Thebes and that they are angry that Oedipus does not follow proper procedure are the reasons why the gods are so nasty to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, gods and mortals descend from Gaia, the original mother goddess. But the gods are eternal, do not like to share, and look down on mortals as poor relatives. Additionally, they seek to destroy the royal house of Thebes even though the city's founding king Cadmus is the grandson of one of their own, Poseidon the sea god. Furthermore, it does not help Oedipus' case that he disrespects the gods by neglecting mandatory purification procedures after killing five people and trying to escape an unenviable fate.