| Outline of Sophocles' Oedipus the King | 380-461 Oedipus alleges that Creon and Tiresias are conspiring against him. Tiresias tells Oedipus to learn the truth about his parents and then forecasts Oedipus' downfall. | 462-531 Creon, talking with the Chorus, denies the charges of collusion with Tiresias. |
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How does Oedipus find out the truth?
To learn the truth,
Oedipus sends for the only living witness to the murder, a shepherd
. Another worry haunts Oedipus. As a young man, he learned from an oracle that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother. … Oedipus becomes determined to track down the shepherd and learn the truth of his birth.
Who told Oedipus about his fate?
Brief Summary
One day, Oedipus goes to
the Oracle of Delphi
to find out who his real parents are. The Oracle doesn't see fit to tell him this, but she does tell him that he's destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus tries to run from this fate, but ends up running right into it.
Who first told Oedipus the truth?
A boy leads in the blind
prophet Tiresias
. Oedipus begs him to reveal who Laius's murderer is, but Tiresias answers only that he knows the truth but wishes he did not. Puzzled at first, then angry, Oedipus insists that Tiresias tell Thebes what he knows.
Who told Oedipus when he was adopted?
The messenger tells Oedipus that the King of Corinth and his wife,
Merope
, were not Oedipus' real parents. Unable to have a child themselves, they adopted Oedipus.
Why did Oedipus sleep with his mother?
He decided to leave Corinth for Delphi, so he could learn of his parentage at the oracle of Apollo.
There he was given the news that he would kill his father and sleep
with his mother. To prevent the oracle from coming true, Oedipus went to Thebes.
Did Jocasta know Oedipus was her son?
The narration is supposed to take place right after Jocasta died, when she is looking back on her life.
She reveals that she has known all along that Oedipus is her son
, and that she has not been ashamed of it. … Jocasta says that she knows from the moment she sees him as a man that Oedipus is her son.
Why did Oedipus curse his sons?
In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is cursed
because of his father's bad behavior
. Although his father, Laius, was saved as a child by Pelops, the king of Pisa, Laius was ungrateful and abducted the king's son. When that son died as Laius's captive, Laius was cursed, as were his descendants.
Is Oedipus Rex a true story?
| Oedipus Rex | Genre Tragedy | Setting Thebes |
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Why Oedipus killed his father?
To prevent the prophecy
, Oedipus kills his father, fulfilling the first part unintentionally. He does not even know that the man he has killed was his own biological father.
Why does Oedipus choose to blind himself?
Why did Oedipus stab his eyes out? Oedipus acknowledges that
his hubris
has left him blind to the truth and is too ashamed of himself to witness the citizens' reactions. Overall, Oedipus chooses stab out his eyes as a way of punishing himself for his hubris and ignorance.
How did Oedipus become blind?
The Chorus does not recognize Oedipus as the king he once was. … In fact, he was metaphorically blind to the truth of his birth for much of his life; when Oedipus finally learned the truth, he physically
blinded himself by poking out his eyes with the long gold pins from his dead wife's brooches
.
What was Oedipus tragic flaw?
Oedipus fits this precisely, for his basic flaw is
his lack of knowledge about his own identity
. Moreover, no amount of foresight or preemptive action could remedy Oedipus' hamartia; unlike other tragic heroes, Oedipus bears no responsibility for his flaw.
Why is Laius cursed?
Laius is cursed in Oedipus Rex
because he defiled the hospitality extended by King Pelops
.
Is Jocasta Oedipus mother?
Oedipus accepted the throne and
married Laius' widowed queen Jocasta
, Oedipus' actual mother, thereby fulfilling the second half of the prophecy. Jocasta bore her son four children: two girls, Antigone and Ismene, and two boys, Eteocles and Polynices.
Who is the oldest of Oedipus children?
Antigone
– She is the oldest daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. Her name in Greek means ‘one who is of the opposite opinion' (anti = opposite, gnomi = opinion). She is the braver of Oedipus' two daughters, and believes that her brother, Polyneices, deserves a proper burial, so she sets out to do just that.
