Oedipus the Tyrant
To understand much of this play, one must understand that he is simply a folktale
continued through Homers Odyssey, where Oedipus is told his dreadful prophecy that he
will marry his mother and slay his father. Even the name Oedipus is a brilliantly put
together pun by Sophocles, which Oida means “to know” and plays a big part in his play.
When he first arrives to Thebes there is a dreadful sphinx attacking the city, Sophocles
wrote, and anyone who approached would be asked a riddle and if they answered
correctly the sphinx would leave. The riddle was “What goes on four legs in the morning,
two at noon, and three at evening?”. Oedipus with his knowledge and his natural ability so
solve problems, answered “Man”, which was right and therefore got the throne to
Thebes.(1365) Of course, Oedipus’s knowing and solving every mystery he came across
would play a huge roll in this play, and there are several reasons why.
In......
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Approximate Word Count: 1642
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |