Oedipus Paper
The Theban plays taught ancient Greeks that there were four things that should be learned and lived by in order to be a good person and a good leader. The chorus outlined these things in the last lines of "Antigone" (pg 162). According to the chorus,
Of happiness the crown
And chiefest part
Is wisdom, and to hold
The gods in awe.
This is the law
That, seeing the stricken heart
Of pride brought down,
We learn when we are old.
These lines simply put, state that wisdom is good, reverence for the gods is necessary, pride is bad, and fate is inevitable, and in order to be a good you had to follow these rules. The chorus says that the punishing blows of fate will eventually teach men wisdom. Sophocles tried to stress these four lessons throughout the Theban plays.
Although Oedipus was wise, he was also rash and quick to act, and when combined, these made Oedipus a man of swift action and great insight. These have both positive and negative qualities. On one......
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Approximate Word Count: 821
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |