But Sophocles has made Tiresias the most powerful person in the play, because even though he is physically blind, Tiresias knows what’s going on, and knows Oedipus’s fate.īut could you blame Oedipus for being mentally blind? The emphasis that Tiresias has in Oedipus Rex, is so extreme that it could bring fear into anyone’s eyes. And in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is mentally blind which makes him powerless. But having little knowledge of your actions and surrounding is what really makes you blind. Because blindness is looked at by Oedipus as something that makes you powerless. And Tiresias is sent by the gods blind for a reason. “You’ve lost your power, stone-blind….eyes blind as stone”, said Oedipus. When Oedipus hears his fate, he doesn’t want to believe Tiresias, and uses his diction of power to overrule Tiresias prophecy. Little does Oedipus know his fate has already come to pass, and is being told by Tiresias. So in a way he believes in fate and chance. He fled from Corinth so that the fate that he was told wouldn’t occur, and he also believes that by fleeing he will be in control of his life.
“ I heard all that and I ran….always running toward some place were I could never see the shame of all those oracles come true”, said Oedipus. So between these two beliefs, Oedipus couldn’t decide which one to believe. Not a man on earth can see a day ahead”, Jocasta said. Which basically means that you decide your own fate, in a way. She believes that your life cannot be determined by fate ,but by chance. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s mother and wife, Jocasta doesn’t believe in such things. And to know and understand is the greatest knowledge of all.īut because Tiresias knows the future and fate of many, doesn’t mean that everyone will understand or know also. And he knows, and understands the fate of everyone including Oedipus.
How can a blind man see? Well because he is a prophet ,he knows so much that it makes him a genius ,especially compared to Oedipus. And it is ironic because he is blind, but this gave Tiresias a bigger meaning. He knows all the secrets behind the destruction of Thebes. “ The truth with all it’s power lives inside me”, Tiresias said. In Oedipus Rex Tiresias is blind in the physical sense, but his knowledge surpasses all. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses Tiresias as a symbolism of knowledge, power and fate. And the idea of fate is represented by one of the characters who is Tiresias. In this play Oedipus is in a bad situation, stuck between 2 of these ideas, fate and chance. And Sophocles uses many literary devices to project these ideas. How does the character of Tiresias function dramatically in Oedipus the king?(hint: what literary devices, themes, or larger ideas are embodied in his character and how does this create meaning.)Ĭan you really escape your destiny, or fate in life? Oedipus Rex is a play by Sophocles which uses many ideas to gain different perspective of things. Prompt: As a prophet, Tiresias speaks for the gods and for fate.
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