Notes
Monday, December 03, 2012
9:32 AM
Line 7
I Oedipus whom all men call the Great.
At the beginning of the play, Oedipus is king;
everyone thinks he's the savior of the city b/c
he killed the sphinx. He is their hero. Oedipus
is positioned as the greatest man in the city;
because this is a tragedy we know that
Oedipus will seem to have an amazing,
wonderful life but before long he will lose
everything he loves.
Line 67-70
but I have known the story before you told it
only too well. I know you are all sick, yet there
is not one of you, sick though you are, that is as
sick as I myself.
This is ironic. The audience would have known the
myth so...
These lines are representative of the theme:
self-realization. At the start of the play even
though Oedipus says things like he is sick he
does not realize all of the wrong he has done
and what he will pay for it.
Lines 108-109
to drive out a pollution from our land,
pollution grown ingrained within the land;
Lines 151
Creon:
The riddling Sphinx induced us to neglect
mysterious crimes and rather seek solution
of troubles at our feet.
The problem is internal; it is inside the
community; the text forces the audience to
realize that all problems are internal whether
it involves someone else or not.
Lines 124-127
The clue is in this land;
that which is sought is
found; the unheeded
thing escapes: so said
the God.
Pasted from <http://www.google.com/imgres?q=oedipus+and+the+sphinx
Lines 261-271
a flawed hero Page 1
Lines 261-271
I command all to drive him from their homes,
since he is our pollution, as the oracle
of Pytho’s God proclaimed him now to me.
So I stand forth a champion of the God
and of the man who died.
Upon the murderer I invoke this curse—
whether he is one man and all unknown,
or one of many—may he wear out his life
in misery to miserable doom!
If with my knowledge he lives at my hearth
I pray that I myself may feel my curse.
The curse: banishment
This makes me a good guy; I am doing what the gods
wanted and I am providing justice but what he doesn’t
realize is what he's done and what he should be afraid of.
IRONY: its ironic that Oedipus says that if he knows or
supports the person that killed the king he would feel the
curse as well as the murderer because he is the actual
murderer and he doesn’t know.
Self-realization: He believes that he is the child of his
foster parents so he realizes...
Lines 370-371
You blame my temper but you do not see
your own that lives within you; it is me
you chide.
Why is it important to our theme that oedipus gets
angry?
It is important because it shows the easily angered side
of Oedipus that could have killed a man in his rage. it
makes Oedipus seem ignorant.
What does this have to do with SELF-REALIZATION?
Oedipus:
It has, but not for you; it has no strength
for you because you are blind in mind and ears
as well as in your eyes.
Teiresias:
You are a poor wretch
to taunt me with the very insults which
every one soon will heap upon yourself.
Foreshadowing
Irony: Oedipus tries to insult him by pointing out the
fact that he is blind, but this foreshadows Oedipus'
blindness later on.
Line 591-592
Creon:
Were his eyes straight in his head? Was his mind right
when he accused me in this fashion?
Lines 611-612
Do you know what you’re doing? Will you listen
to words to answer yours, and then pass judgment?
Lines 659-662
I was not born with such a frantic yearning
to be a king—but to do what kings do.
And so it is with every one who has learned
wisdom and self-control.
Lines 692-693
chorus:
Foreshadowing
Theme: self- realization and/or denial
He's not trying to accuse Oedipus he's
trying to help him
He doesn’t want to be the king but
doesn’t mind having the perks of it
Even chorus thinks he's correct but Oedipus
a flawed hero Page 2
Lines 692-693
chorus:
His words are wise, king, if one fears to fall.
Those who are quick of temper are not safe.
Lines 784-787
Jocasta:
Do not concern yourself about this matter;
listen to me and learn that human beings
have no part in the craft of prophecy.
Of that I’ll show you a short proof.
Lines 938-941
oedipus:
You said that he spoke of highway robbers
who killed Laius. Now if he uses the same number, it was not I who killed him. One man cannot
be the same as many
Aristotelian Analyzer
The theme of the play is self-realization and is explored throughout the
structure of the play through the conflict, characterization, and the
events that occur in the play. Self -realization drives the conflict as
Oedipus learns of the prophecy and finds out that he is the cause for all
the things that happened: the murder of King Laius, marrying the queen
of Thebes who is actually his mother, and the plague that the gods have
cursed upon Thebes because of him.
The prophecy that depicts an aspect of the plot in the play also
characterizes Oedipus as a "doomed" character. The fate that ties along
with his characterization shows how he is destined for this certain fate
and can't avoid it. Because he tries to avoid the idea that he might be
the one that murdered King Laius; it shows that he doesn't like to be
blamed or be the one that caused all of this disarray. This prophecy also
depicts his ignorance of the actions that he committed which proves
the prophecy true.
a flawed hero Page 3
Even chorus thinks he's correct but Oedipus
still argues
Jocasta doesn’t believe in prophecies so she gives
proof. She speaks of the earlier prophecy to prove that
prophecies aren't true by saying the prophecy of
Oedipus which was solved by "leaving him on the
mountainside." She obviously doesn’t know the whole
story because if she did she would know that Oedipus is
her son.