Oedipus Rex by Sophocles | Themes

0:01 [Music] let's review the main themes in Oedipus Rex the first of which is self-discovery earlier in life Oedipus wanted to know his true identity at the expense of his presumed parents Polybus and Merapi stemming from when a drunken man accused him of not really being his parents son Antipas becomes fixated on his own roots as he works toward another discovery the identity of Laius is killer when Apollo gives Oedipus the terrible prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother he leaves Corinth forever but by doing so he unwittingly brings this fate upon himself Oedipus's desire to seek out his real parents and true identity

0:47 is a sign of natural curiosity associated with self-discovery Jocasta Oedipus's wife and mother attempts to remain blind to her real identity and its historical czar silly but she continues to pray at the altar revealing her budding self-discovery to the audience realizing the truth she takes her own life and Oedipus blinds and exiles himself both reach their terrible fates through self-discovery fate versus free will is another important theme in Oedipus Rex the gods not human beings determine the fate of an individual Sophocles his play reflects his belief that suffering serves as a way to clarify the power of the gods and their intentions for Humanity in Oedipus Rex fate is unavoidable no matter what the

1:33 characters do to ensure that they escape their destinies in fact the attempt to escape fate seems to be the very thing that ensures that fate is inescapable for example Jocasta attempted to avoid her fate by telling the Shepherd to abandon then kill her baby which led to a chain of events where Oedipus lived to fulfill the prophecy of marrying her after killing unwittingly his father human choices and the God's will are perpetually at odds blindness is another important theme all of the characters in Oedipus Rex either start off his blind become blind refused to see the truth or wish they had never seen it all prophet Tiresias is blind and apisto Casta and Creon are willfully blind to

2:18 the truth Oedipus ends up blinding himself at the play's end and at the end of the play the chorus wishes they had been blind wishing they'd never seen Oedipus whose shame they cannot bear blindness symbolizes the characters ignorant however once they acquire the knowledge or understanding that leads to the truth their vision or fate becomes clear pride is another central theme pride figures prominently in many Greek tragedies and is related to the Greek idea of hubris a person's disregarding of the limits preordained by the gods by attempting to escape the prophecy Oedipus ends up fulfilling its in doing so Oedipus becomes guilty of hubris as he tries to overcome his human limitations and rescind the prophecy his pride lies in his conviction that he can

3:05 defy the Oracle and change the course of fate like her husband Jocasta is guilty of pride and hubris in her attempt to alter or deny fate but when she realizes that the prophecy has been fulfilled she tries to shield Oedipus from the truth incapable of coping with the prophecies fulfillment she takes her own life [Music]