Role of the gods in Oedipus
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This study will discuss the role of the gods in the tragedy of Oedipus, the protagonist in Sophocles' play Oedipus the King. The study will argue that although the gods certainly play a major role in the unfolding of actions and events in the play and in the life of Oedipus, the play loses all its meaning if we see the gods entirely in charge of everything that occurs in the play. The argument will be, then, that the gods neither completely knew the future, nor completely controlled at least Oedipus' internal destiny. Oedipus had to have had some measure of freedom, of attitude if not of action, for the tale to be anything but a claim that the gods are savage sadists. And such a claim does not seem to fit with the author's obvious compassion and pity for his protagonist. If Sophocles meant to stir nothing but our own sadism, our own god-like cruelty, then he would have done so. The mere fact that he shows Oedipus as at least a partially sympathetic character shows that he himself is a man of sympathy and that he would not be surprised to find sympathy, or pity or compassion, in his audience as well. And, if the gods who made us were utterly cruel and sadistic, with no sympathetic sensibility themselves, how did the playwright and his audience come to have such tender and sorrowful feelings? The answer must be that we have at least the freedom to choose responses to the consequences of our actions, even if we seem to be at the mercy of the gods with respect to those actions.
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s do not seem to care much if at all about such questions. For some unknown, horrible reason, Oedipus has been singled out by the gods and fate to kill his father, marry his mother, bring a curse upon his people because of those actions, and then to punish himself horribly when he finds out the truth of his situation. Perhaps the clue is to be found in Creon's final line to the banished Oedipus: "Do not wish to keep all of the power. You had power, but that power did not follow you through life" (1120). In other words, Oedipus displeased the gods by not being humble enough, by trying to do more and be more than any human should do or be, and as a result, as punishment to him, and warning to others, the gods stripped him of all power. The problem is that there is no way of knowing when Oedipus reached too far. The gods know, but they aren't telling until somebody like Oedipus crosses the line. However, it seems that Oedipus has been punished by the gods for killing his father and marrying his mother more than for not having humility. If he had had humility as a leader, would the gods have not punished him, have not forced him to discover the horrible truths of his past and present life?
In any case, the role of the gods, or the or
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Specifically Oedipus, Oedipus King, , role gods, Prentice Hall, gods oracles, sophocles' play, play life, King Literature, kill father marry, father marrying mother, father marry mother, father marrying, killing father marrying, oedipus punished, marry mother, marrying mother, behavior attitude, attitude action,
Approximate Word count = 1814
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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