Oedipus Ironic Tragic Tale Play by Sophocles
Oedipus - Ironic Tragic Tale Play by Sophocles
In the play Oedipus by Sophocles, Oedipus' self-destruction and fall from power leaves him as the villain and not the hero in the play. The very thing he fights so hard to discover is what leads to his self-destruction. Therefore, we tend to feel sorrow for Oedipus seeing that it was only the fate of the G-ds and the oracles. Oedipus is a tragic hero who fails to achieve happiness in such a way that it brings upon fear and pity by everyone in the highest degree.
“Tell me, and never doubt that I will help you in every way I can….”(line13) Oedipus was a very caring king; he cared for Thebes and his people with unconditional love. When he was exiled from his beloved city he did it by choice, but the fact that he left in order for plague to vanish shows his leadership qualities. This part in the play is very sad and heartbroken, when Oedipus leaves the city in which he ruled, saved from the sphinx and now breaking a plague is not an easy task to comply with. The Chorus and people are deeply sympathetic to Oedipus, and appreciative of his willingness to go voluntarily into exile to save the city. They say, “ You overcame the stranger, the virgin with her hooking lion claws and though death sang, stood like a tower to make pale Thebes take heart, fortress against our sorrow! True king, giver of laws, majestic Oedipus! No prince in Thebes had ever such renown, no prince won such grace of power.” Oedipus was the first and last king who treated Thebes as an equal, he loves the people and the people loved him. Even though many may say that he was the one to cause the plague, and an embarrassment to the city, he was also the one to free the city of the plague; therefore we can conclude that Oedipus once again saved the city of Thebes. He may not be a Hero, and in this play a villain, however he could have ignored the fact that he was the murder of king Lauis and gone on with his life, but he didn’t, Oedipus is in fact a hero! For these reasons we can feel sympathy towards Oedipus and his ill-fated life and density.
The dead are more fortunate than the living, because...