answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

His reaction when Jocasta explains that Laius was murdered at a crossroads.

User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: When Jocasta asks Oedipus What means this shuddering this averted glance 754 what is she referring to?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Performing Arts

How did Oedipus affect Greek drama and literature?

The skillful combination of the technique of dramatic irony and of the theme of fate versus free will into the production of the world's 'perfect' tragedy is the main effect that the telling of Oedipus' story had upon Greek drama and literature. Irony, the path of one's life, and the tragedy of human existence are the hallmarks of the author, Sophocles [c. 496 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.]. Many believe that the story of Oedipus never happened because it only is found in a few works from ancient Greek literature. But Sophocles became the world's most famous teller of the ancient tale, and he was from Colonus, the place of death for Oedipus.Dramatic irony describes a situation that's seen by participants in a way that's totally different from the reality. An example is the perception by Thebans and the royal couple themselves of the role model in clean, happy family living that Theban King Oedipus and Theban Queen Jocasta appear to represent. The irony lies in the unclean actuality of their incestuous relationship as son and mother that's unknown to the couple and their subjects.Another example is the commitment of Oedipus to find the murderer or murderers of Theban King Laius, his royal predecessor and his wife's first husband. The irony lies in Oedipus being the very criminal that he seeks.Fate versus free will presents the apparently opposing situations of mortals as having no control over how their existence goes or as being able to change or even avoid unpleasantness in their lives. An example is the prediction that Laius will be killed by any son to which he and Jocasta are the biological parents. The couple thinks that such a fate can be avoided by killing their only child, the three-day-old Oedipus. But neither one can bring themselves to do the dastardly deed. Laius puts the responsibility on Jocasta. She passes it on to her most trusted servant. The servant can't bring himself to child killing, which actually isn't considered heinous in ancient Greece.So Laius and Jocasta think that a horrible fate is averted. Instead, Oedipus grows up to kill a stranger who looks like an older version of himself and indeed is his own father and sovereign. Such acts even when carried out in ignorance are considered polluting to the doer and to the environment in ancient Greece. Killing a parent and a ruler is considered blasphemous and therefore tantamount to an offense against the all-powerful gods.Another example is the prediction that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. He thinks that his foster parents, King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, are his biological parents. So he believes that he can avoid such a miserable fate by running away from Corinth ... to Thebes. On the way, he kills a stranger who's old enough to be his father and his king. Once in Thebes, he marries a grieving royal widow who's old enough to be his mother and may have some quirk of personality, some inflection of voice or some feature in common with him.Ultimately, tagically, and ironically, Oedipus finds out that the victim of his temper is his own father and sovereign, and that his beautiful but older wife is his own mother.In both examples, the people whose lives will be destroyed by such horrific fates don't stand back and let destiny ruin them. Or so they think. But the reality turns out to be otherwise. In fact, their every effort to avoid their fates only serves to make sure that the predicted offenses against mortals and gods are carried out to the very last detail.That's where the beautifully frightening perfection of the tragedy steps in. Something is tragic when it leads to an unhappy outcome. Oedipus seals his own fate, and guarantees his own unhappy outcome, when he says that the killer or killers will face execution or exile even should they be found in his own household. The mercy that he intends not to show towards others turns on him. He makes no allowance for self-defense or for a lack of intent when he identifies the punishment in store for Laius' killer or killers. He therefore ends up denying himself his very real rights to self-defense in a fatal street brawl that he didn't start.


Analysis or summary of the poem to blossoms by Robert herrick?

Like all the great sages from Buddha to Blake, Herrick gazes upon the new blossoms of spring and sees all of life in their petals. He addresses the blossoms as "pledges," as if each were a promise from nature-a promise of fruitfulness, abundance, and vigor. If they are "fair," then nature itself is not only pretty, it is true and just. Yet is it fair that in the very act of growth, these blossoms are setting themselves up to fall? And why do they have to fall quite so fast? Why are their lives so brief? Knowing of their eventual decay does not prevent Herrick from enjoying their fleeting moment of expansion. Joys may be passing; all the more reason to seize them. Herrick sees the blossoms "blushing" as their colors deepen. The pink tinge of cherry blossom is transformed into the rising color of a modest human cheek. In the day of the year, our life is but a few hours. Why should nature bring us forth only for our life to ebb away? Why should we be born only to die? Perhaps death makes life so meaningless we should hasten its end. Perhaps like the tormented biblical figure of Job, it would have been better if we had never been born. Not so, chides Herrick in the final stanza, passing through this moment of sadness and doubt. The "lovely leaves" before him are like leaves from the book of Nature, in which he sees how the blossoms show that "all things have their end." Of all things, however-despite their apparent frailty-the blossoms are the most brave. Maybe this is because nothing and no one dares to be quite so bright, quite so vibrant. When things show their pride, they fall. In Herrick's vision, the simple sight of spring blossom becomes the stuff of Greek tragedy, where death and disaster cannot be averted. Yet we judge a character such as Oedipus not by his ability to triumph over his destiny-but by his ability to meet it with stoicism, courage, and nobility. By doing so, his physical death becomes the foundation of his moral transcendence. Notice how in the final stanza the word "pride" is paired with "glide." It is this word that dominates the concluding lines, rather than the final somber fact of the "grave." If we say the poem aloud, a subtle emphasis on "glide" conveys how a spirit of grace can transcend the mere fact of death.


Related questions

When jocasta ask oedipus what means this shuddering this averted glance what is she referring to?

It is to Oedipus' extreme reaction to Laius' crime scenethat Jocasta refers when she asks him the meaning of his averted glance and shuddering in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus heads an investigation into the murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. He gathers information from his wife, Queen Jocasta, who is Laius' widow. Oedipus becomes agitated when he hears about Laius' death place and then about Laius' appearance.


What is the past participle of averted?

Averted is the past participle of avert.


What is the meaning of averted as used in the narrative?

Averted means "To keep from happening."


Is averted a noun?

No the word averted is not a noun. It is an adjective and a past tense verb.


How do you write a sentence using the word averted?

We averted our eyes from the solar eclipse


What is a good sentence for the word averted?

they barely averted the truck which was on their side of the highway!


When was Disaster Averted created?

Disaster Averted was created on 2011-11-07.


Can you give me a sentence for the word averted?

The Thanksgiving cooking crisis was averted when I found out I could have dinner catered.


What are the release dates for A Tragedy Averted - 1898?

A Tragedy Averted - 1898 was released on: USA: July 1898


How do you use avert in a sentence?

(averted can mean avoided or turned away) "He averted a collision with the bus by veering onto the sidewalk." "Hopefully the government has averted another economic calamity." "As the gory scene in the movie began, she averted her eyes."


What is the prefix for averted?

aver


A sentence using the word averted?

John averted his eyes when his sister walked into the bathroom wearing just a towel.