“for the contrivance34 of an envied life!445 Great store of jealousy fill your treasury chests, if my friend Creon, friend from this and loyal, thus secretly attacks me, secretly desires to drive me out and secretly suborns35 this juggling trick devising quack, 450 this wily beggar who has only eyes”
I feel like this passage best portrays Oedipus’s insecurities after he sought out to become king by any means necessary. This is an excerpt from a conversation between Oedipus and Teiresias. Teiresias is wise to the fact that Oedipus is too emotionally immature and undeserving of this new status. A little into the conversation, Oedipus brings up his friend, Creon, out of nowhere in a fit of paranoia. I interpreted line 445 literally and I enjoyed the imagery of the jealousy store, i think it’s kind of funny. To think that someone (sane) would be jealous of his power and how he got to that point is pretty laughable as well. It goes well with his wildly ignorant character, along with all the hypocrisy.
5 thoughts on “ISABELLA SENA ENG DISCUSSION 6”
Hi Isabella!
I think because of Oedipus’s social status as well as his immense pride, we can see how this pride can turn obsessive. Despite his obsession, he is a very immature person by nature. A downside to having too much pride can be having many insecurities so you overcompensate. I think that also relates to Oedipus’s character. His efforts to be the best can make him ignorant of many things, part of his downfall.
Hi Isabella,
I enjoyed reading these lines you mentioned because it shows the language used, which was significantly different from what it is now. I also think it was funny when he said “this willy beggar who has only eyes”. Not only that, but I imagine this was a very hurtful thing to say, and it may be considered what we call cursing. I think this also shows his immature side, especially coming from a king who I believe shouldn’t be lashing out like that.
Isabella, this is a strong quote; however, the directions ask students to choose a quote sung/spoken by the Chorus in order to demonstrate the poetic language used by Sophocles.
Hey Isabella! I noticed a similar tone in the beginning as well. Oedipus is also very arrogant. His paranoia believing that the desire for his status could fill a store with treasure chests of jealousy when the truth of his life is actually much more tragic. I enjoyed your post, thanks for sharing!
Oedipus pride is revealed in his belief that he is greater than the gods. He believes that he is capable of establishing his own destiny apart from the gods’ control or help. He looks down upon his people and the gods, and consequently, can’t see that the gods are above him. This arrogance leads to his tragic downfall at the end of the play and highlights the thought that if Oedipus had been more modest, his wrongdoing would not have been so tragic.