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The Motifs in Oedipus
Summary: Examines how motifs help convey Sophocles' purpose in his writing of Oedipus. Discusses the morality of Oedipus. Describes the motif of blindness motif constantly employed by Sophocles to emphasize that for all his heroic qualities, Oedipus is still human and should be judged as a human.
Sophocles' purpose: Wants people to see the true hero within Oedipus despite his downfalls. Oedipus was morally straight on every issue that was within his powers, failing only because Fate forced him to make the two Greek taboos.
References are constantly made to the motives of sight and blindness, both metaphorically and literally. While Oedipus possesses extremely keen insight into human affairs, he comes up short against divine insight. "I see", said Oedipus, "- how could I fail to see what longings bring you here"" Yet, for all his keen-sightedness, he could not untangle the riddle of his own past (p. 162). This blindness to his own origins is a motif constantly employed by Sophocles to emphasize that for all his heroic qualities, Oedipus is still human and should be judged as a human. Later on, Oedipus called the prophet Tiresias, ."..stone-blind, stone-deaf - senses, eyes blind as stone...
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This section contains 441 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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