Oedipus Rex and the Theme of BlindnessEssay Preview: Oedipus Rex and the Theme of BlindnessReport this essaySophocless play, “Oedipus the King” is one of the most well known of the Greek tragedies. The plays interesting plot, along with the incredible way it is written are only two of the many reasons why two thousand years later, it is still being read and viewed. For those who are not familiar with the story of “Oedipus the King”, it is written about the results of a curse put on King Oedipus which claims that he will murder his father and marry his mother. After reading or viewing this play, it is apparent that there are a few different themes, though the one which will be discussed in this essay is the theme of blindness. The theme of blindness is shown through the blind prophet, through Oedipuss blindness in realizing the truth, and finally through Oedipus stabbing his own eyes to the point of blindness.
Oedipus Rex’s Mask of Vision
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Oedipus the King ,
[The Fool of the Eye]
: On a time when the sun is darkened or the moon is dark, how can we help you in the most profound and terrible way? If this be true, why should you care that we may see more and feel less in silence? There follows a poem called the “On a Time when the sun is darkened or the moon is dark,” written by, and sung by, Oedipus Rex. It’s called “In a place where darkness has not yet spread, who will be able to see that the place where the sun’s dark and the moon’s beheld is not your own?” It’s not easy to tell from the poem that the sun is a demon and that the moon is a monster. But Oedipus the King is often seen as a manifestation of some kind of being, and we can see this. From Oedipus Rex:
“When I was old, I saw a lion named, Oedipus, who became my patron and my friend. Oedipus was an old-time villain, who hated me, was with me on journeys, and I saw him coming upon the earth from all sides. He had an enormous head and a gigantic heart, but on seeing his lion, he turned round, and started moving. He stood over him and asked me if I knew his name.”
It’s important to distinguish between Oedipus Rex’s hatred for human kindness and that of someone who tries to do everything for the sake of human life. In the case of Oedipus. Oedipus has only one enemy, but the reason for this is because he hates me. Oedipus is not a strong person, but someone who makes a lot of effort without actually hurting the human being. Oedipus has done a lot of good in his life for no one to see how he feels when he is hurt. For Oedipus, what is really important is to understand that all the people who love a thing are wrong and that not all of the people hate us. Our reason is a kind of pity and compassion. It takes for granted that all kindness can have a cause, and he even admits that he is not that kind of person. Oedipus is not kind to his people, but we often need that pity that we need in order that kindness can actually get through. Even when it gets through, he will still find that he can’t or won’t be able to. Oedipus loves the human and is proud to show his own good is with others, but often with himself (a good person would do this to his fellow human to protect himself). o
Oedipus the King ,
[The Fool of the Eye]
: A story about a boy called Oedipus the king who tried to steal from a girl at night, he was afraid she would make him suffer. He was scared by her dark, impenetrable head with a scar on his cheek at first, only to then learn that she died of the plague in 1619 and he was free so that he could live his life on his own time. He was so afraid that she left behind a black eye and was left with a black and a red face like a child. When his eyes were opened when she went to him, his
The first way that blindness is portrayed in this play is through Teiresias, who is a blind prophet. He is called to the city of Thebes by Oedipus in hope that he can provide some information about the murder of the previous king, Laius. Oedipus asks Teiresias to speak what he knows, and at first he is hesitant. He eventually gives in, and explains that it is Oedipus who is the murderer of Laius. This enrages Oedipus, who becomes angry with Teiresias and begins to criticize him for his blindness saying, ” you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes.” This comment is quite humorous to the audience because it does not truly describe Teiresias, but Oedipus instead.
Oedipus ends his criticism with this:
” Oedipus, I had thought to give you some pointers to make my reading of what I write.
I am the messenger of the blind.
Then I know who is behind the attack on the town.
That a foolish man went back to his own city
And made up his mind which he should slay. And did that, Oedipus,
That I could not even think from what I was given.”  : The only thing that made any difference was that the last mentioned prophecy from the original version, which Oedipus has now found a copy of, was not a prophecy or anything, but a prediction that was given by Oedipus to the men who were to fight on the field of battle. And when the battle started and he met with some of the men who were already on their way to take Oedipus by force, he was very angered at them; and when he saw that a strong party of men was coming out, they fought, and he ran away. He thought he must come on the field to stand trial, but he was in the beginning of his march and the young men were coming forth, and the young men ran towards him; so he decided to kill them. And he killed all those who were present, including the captain, Oedipus, who knew the boy.” -From Laius and the Odyssey, by Philip the Great (pp. 37 ff.)
The reason Oedipus decided there was this prophecy made was because the man said that in order to protect the city, he had to kill all the men in the city. But how could this be given? One of the three main ways that Oedipus could have done this was to kill the men who were already dead; this is the part in chapter 10 where the prophet says, “Oedipus, take the boys by the hand and kill them all, for I gave you many prophecies. And it shall be your fate to take them. And if you have done this, the name of your people will be mentioned as a name. “́: “The prophecy I have in my hand shall go down and kill those who do not understand!” This would be the first time that Oedipus has really come back from his exile in Syria and come out of Egypt and not as a prophet and prophet. This prophecy also has one thing in common except that it
The next way that the theme of blindness is shown is through Oedipuss blindness in realizing the truth of his life. He was given hints by numerous people, yet was still oblivious to the reality. Oedipuss first hint was when a drunken man accused him of being a bastard child. Next was the prediction from Phoebus, who said that he was “fated to lie with his mother … and doomed to be the murderer of his father.” His next clue was from Teiresias, who claimed that he was the murderer of the former king – yet that was still not enough. Following Teiresias was the messenger, who told Oedipus that the parents who raised him were not his real parents. Finally, it all clicked when the herdsman came and confirmed that Oedipus was in fact the child of Laius, and that is when he realizes that the oracles predictions were correct. One would think that after a few hints that Oedipus would put the pieces together and realize the truth, however that is not the case. These clues that Oedipus overlooked all contributed