Oedipus Rex

That he is cursed is how Oedipus characterizes himself in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus characterizes himself as cursed by birth, family and murder. He describes himself as repulsive to gods and mortals. He regrets that his humiliation passes on to the sister Princesses Antigone and Ismene, his daughters and half-sisters.

That he is Laius' murderer and that he is not the role model that everyone considers him is what Teiresias tells Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet accuses Theban King Oedipus of murdering King Laius. He cautions that this is not the only disturbing revelation that Oedipus will receive within the day's passing. He says that Oedipus' knowledge of who he really is and what he really does will destroy him.

There are many morals to be taken from the story of Oedipus the King. Some of which are:

• Don't obsess over things out of your control
• Some things are best to be handled in private
• Beware of pride
• Heed the advice of wisdom

Cithaeron is the mountain on which Oedipus is to be exposed in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Cithaeron is a famous mountain outside Thebes. It also is infamous, as a place where children are abandoned by reluctant or scared parents. That is exactly why Oedipus is supposed to die from exposure and hungry wildlife: It is better for child to die than to grow up to his prophesied fate as a criminal who kills his father and a sex offender who marries his mother.

One of the themes in Oedipus Rex is physical and metaphorical blindness. In Greek culture, those who were physically blind were said to have metaphorical "vision" and were messengers of the gods. For example, Tiresius is blind, but is also a prophet. In the beginning, Oedipus is also blind, not physically, but metaphorically for he does not know the truth. So it is only fitting that when he uncovers the truth of his origins, he physically blinds himself, for it is then that he is able to "see the truth" as Tiresius had prophesied.

Though the real reason that Oedipus blinds himself (not connected to the themes of the play) is because it was a belief in Greek culture that you would be the same way in the afterlife as you were when you died. For that reason, Oedipus blinds himself so he won't have to look upon his mother whom he bedded, his father whom he killed, and his monstrous children whom he gave birth to.

Tragedy elements are that a protagonist has to suffer some kind of separation from his society (e.g., Romeo's banishment); he also has to make some kind of mistake or show bad judgment (e.g., Macbeth listening to the wife). There are usually deaths which more often than not occur at the end of the play in the same way that comedies typically can end in a marriage or a feast.

The Elements:

1-supernatural elements (witches, ghosts)

2-tragic hero: person with noble qualities and a flaw in his character

3-tragic error: some disorder that has been committed against the laws of nature and needs to be corrected.

4-conflict ...with country or with the hero himself

5-revenge ...the hero is usually often revenge or he is being avenged

6-sad ending: the death, downfall or destruction

7-comic relief : some light scenes to relieve the stress of tragic events

8-isolation of main character

That he will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother are the prophecies about subsequent Theban King Oedipus. Oedipus' parents, Theban King Laius and Queen Jocasta, receive the first prophecy. They try to prevent its fulfillment by planning to have their three-day-old son die exposed to the weather and wildlife on a hillside.

The grown-up Oedipus receives the second prophecy. He tries to prevent its fulfillment by running away from what he thinks is his hometown of Corinth. But in running away, he kills someone who looks like an elderly version of himself and is old enough to be his father. He then ends up in Thebes, about which he has no memory or knowledge. There, he marries the beautiful, recently widowed Jocasta, who may or may not share a resemblance and who definitely is old enough to be his mother.

And so the prophecies are fulfilled.

A sphinx is a beast with a head of a lion, wings of a great bird, and the torso and head of a woman.

The noun SPHINX:

1. an inscrutable person who keeps his thoughts and intentions secret

2. (Greek mythology) a riddling winged monster with a woman's head and breast on a lion's body; daughter of Typhon

Threatening describes the way in which Oedipus reacts to the shepherd's reluctance to speak in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the shepherd is Theban Queen Jocasta's most trusted servant and the sole survivor of the fatal attack on Theban King Laius and his escort. He therefore has information to give about the identity of Laius' killer and the fate of Laius' and Jocasta's three-day-old infant son. Oedipus has promised to identify and punish Laius' killer, so he has no problems threatening the elderly, frightened shepherd with torture and death.

Disconnection from the reality of a situation is what is dramatic irony in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, dramatic irony refers to the misunderstanding of characters to the real meaning of their situations or words. For example, Theban King Oedipus says that he will identify and punish the guilty and any accessories even if they are members of his own household. He turns out to be the killer that all Thebes seeks, and his words remove all hope of pardon.

"O my love, my wife!

Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath

Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty."

- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3

or

Beauty's ensign yet

Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,

And death's pale flag is not advanced there.