Oedipus the King is a play written over a thousand years ago. However, the characters’ experiences and behaviors are still relatable to people from all eras, including us living in the modern era. One of these things is how we tend to think about the worst case scenarios as Oedipus did when be believed that Creon was after his throne. In the play it states “I have come because I heard deadly words spread about me, that the king accuses me.” Oedipus is so paranoid of Creon taking the throne that even Creon knows about this rumor without Oedipus directly informing Creon. Another thing that humans have experienced for all eternity is pride. Oedipus the King is completely based on the hubris of Oedipus and how it was his downfall. We see this happen over and over throughout history. One example is Hitler, he thought his ideas were the truth and decided to subject them to most of Europe but failed as he was too prideful and never thought that he would lose the war.
Daily Archives: October 9, 2022
I agree with Aristotle when he explains that “poetry is a higher form than history.” This is because in poetry so much is able to be explained with such little words. We are able to see how people were able to feel using the figurative languages. The audience is also able to understand different points of views. History is much more biased and may only focus on one side instead of all of them, just like today. Oedipus, wants to find the truth so he sees anything in his power to do so. He is very curious and knows that he takes control and gets the best of him. I understand why he wants to find the truth out because when I look at it from his point of view I am able to see how important it is and why he is so determined to do so. Even thought he had many obstacles he still wanted to do whats best for him, because he did not want to keep it hidden from him.
In Oedipus the King, there are many timeless human experiences or behaviors. Aristotle also writes that poetry is a higher form than history, he uses poetry to show all of these timeless human experiences. One of them is death and, everyone knows what death is and that we cannot escape it when it is our time also almost everyone has heard on the news about a tragic murder. In the play, Oedipus had to go through the consequences when he found out that he had killed King Laius. Death has always affected humans, centuries ago and even in the play. Another timeless human experience or behavior is religion, most families have their own beliefs and gods they believe in. The play frequently brings up the “gods” or praying to Zeus to protect a king. They really believed in Zeus so much that the citizens would pray about anyone who wants to cause harm to “important” people, like kings, for example, should be harmed. This is an example of timeless human experiences because many people now still pray to their God, not exactly like in the play, but they pray for good things.
