The Messages of Sophocles in Oedipus the King

I think Sophocles message to his audience was that fate is very important and that the gods control what goes on in your life. You will always fulfill your fate but when, depends on your actions you take in life. The gods do not control everything that you do in life but they set up your fate before you are born. No matter what you do to stop your fate it will not work; it may take longer to get there but your fate will come true.

I think Sophocles was successful because the Greeks only knew about fate and didn’t know what free will was. It wasn’t until later on that the Greeks knew about free will. The greeks respected him and thought that the gods knew everything and so they didn’t question them. In this quote Jevons talks about how Oedipus finally sees the truth and understands it.

“Every action of Oedipus is the natural necessary outcome of his character and his circumstances, and when peace does come to him, it is from within” (Jevons 60) is true because it shows that the actions Oedipus did was his own decision but the outcome was the same.

My opinion for this specific quote is that Oedipus has free will and whatever he does is tragedy of character and at the end he shouldn’t have blinded himself but in a way it was good because he finally understood the truth and knew what Tiresias was talking about. This quote relates to the play because it shows you that when Oedipus could see he was blind to the truth and now that he is blind he can see the truth.

Get quality help now

Doctor Jennifer

Verified

Proficient in: Oedipus The King

5 (893)

“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

This quote expresses that Oedipus is like situational irony. “Not only has Creon served as Oedipus’ ambassador to and interpreter of Apollo’s oracle, he has also advised Oedipus to consult Tiresias” (Ahl 105).

This quote means that Creon has helped Oedipus by going to see Apollo and offered for the city to send for Tiresias, a blind prophet, who could tell Oedipus what he wants to know but Oedipus takes him for granted and then turns on him. It also means that Oedipus fears Creon because Oedipus knows that he can get his power taken away from him and then Creon will be king. Sophocles’ message in that quote was that Oedipus has a right to fear Creon but has no right to judge him and think of him so lowly. Sure Oedipus can be thankful for Creon because he wants to help Thebes but he doesn’t have to think that Creon would pay Tiresias to lie to him and tell him that he is the killer because he thinks that Creon wants to get rid of Oedipus so he can become king.

Even though Creon told Oedipus that he likes to get the attention and likes the fact that the citizens were trying to brown nose him in order to get closer to Oedipus. Sophocles was successful in his message in that quote because he showed how people can be situational irony. They can be nice and loyal and respect you one minute and the next minute they can accuse you of something that you did not do. I think Sophocles’ message to his audience was that fate is very important and that the gods control what goes on in your life. You will always fulfill your fate but when, depends on your actions you take in life. The gods do not control everything that you do in life but they set up your fate before you are born. No matter what you do to stop your fate it will not work; it may take longer to get there but your fate will come true. I think Sophocles was successful because the Greeks only knew about fate and didn’t know what free will was. It wasn’t until later on that the Greeks knew about free will. The greeks respected him and thought that the gods knew everything and so they didn’t question them.