Nephew of Creon, father of his children, brother of his children Personal Characteristics: Intrinsic of Oedipus are: Scenes within the play/ quotes (evidence from the text): * unintentionally hypocritical,' contradictory: Oedipus "Blind, lost In the night, endless night that nursed you! You cant hurt me or anyone else who sees the light- you can never touch me" - 425 page 181 through this ironic statement, the explicit echnique; metaphor explores two levels, one being physical sight and the other being the ability to see and understand the meaning behind things.
Oedipus' hyperbolic statement of "you cant hurt me or anyone that sees the light" depicts that Oedipus Is classlfylng himself as "the light" which represents truth whereas Oedipus states that Tiresias represents "Blind lost in the night" meaning that he doesn't know anything as he is blind, which perceives that they are being Juxtaposed against each other: Physical level vs. metaphysical. Also Oedipus portrays himself that he doesn't nderstand as much as he thinks he does, he lacks foresight, which leads to Oedipus' downfall, as the Inability to not see beyond what's in front of him leads to his exile.Oedipus "Riddles- all you can say are riddles, murk and darkness" - 500 page 184 Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx. He unintentionally contradicts himself as he was the only one who could solve the Sphinx, which he showed brilliance and was proclaimed king of Thebes, by marrying the Queen, Jocasta.
Through Oedipus' statement "Riddles- all you say riddles" conveys the provocation of not solving the iddle of his own life, Although the statement depicts his frustration on Tiresias as he insults him metaphorically by saying "murk and darkness" symbolising "night" of not knowing things.Oedipus "come here, you pious fraud" - page 182 The understatement of " Fraud" In this statement, Is absurd as he himself Is the "Fraud". He murdered his father without noticing and then ran his Kingdom. To call Tiresias a fraud is an understatement, as Tiresias sees the truth, but wants to secure Oedipus because he knows the harm the secret would do to Oedipus. Anger issues: When Oedipus is acknowledging Tiresias "You, my lord are the one hield, the one saviour we can find", Oedipus Is trying to be persuasive, by complimenting.
Under the circumstances the town of Thebes are affected, Oedipus has a duty of care for his town, which he gets frustrated as Tiresias Is not talking; this is shown through his dialogue "tou, you scum ot the earth, you'd enrage a heart ot stone! " Oedipus starts talking to Tiresias full of praise; he is very impatient, which is shown through the exclamation mark of the statement, showing his frustration. In the and fury. This self-inflicted emotion made him kill the king, but he doesn't realise, he s subconscious to this emotion.Like father like Son: "like sticks to like" In Jocasta's dialogue when Oedipus states "describe him", Laius's image she states, " his build..
... wasnt far from yours" referring to Laius and Oedipus image were similar, she has a long pause, which is a possibility that she is starting to put her puzzle together. A similarity that Oedipus and his Father showed similarities in their emotions: anger and being impatient. This is conveyed through the circular nature of the play, when Oedipus retells the story "the old man himself was about to thrust me ff the road-brute to force- and the one shouldering me aside, the driver, I strike him in anger!It depicts that Oedipus inherited being impatient and having a short temper.
When their adrenaline rushes, they are uncontrollable, which is evident as Laius ends up dead. Compassionate: Oedipus "No, I'll start again- I'll bring it to light myself! "- page 167 (1 50):The explanation mark represents an eager individual, who is determined to resolving issue, through drastic measures. The issue that needs to be resolved is to find king Laius murderer. "Oh my children, the new blood of ancient Thebes"- page 159: In Oedipus's dialogue when he uses the phrase "my children" to accentuate that his people mean as much to him as his own children.The new blood of ancient Thebes", refers to the new young generation of Thebes.
Trustworthy/ Man of his words: Oedipus: The characteristic of Oedipus being a 'man of his word' and trustworthy is evident, as Oedipus conveys them throughout his dialogue when Oedipus states "you can trust me, I am ready to help" which conveys that he is dependable and reliable. This also signifies that he cares for the well-being of his town members, so when he is dumbfounded about the famine in the town, ecause of King Laius' remarkable death, Oedipus says, "Trouble?Your king was murdered- royal blood! What stopped you from tracking down the killer then and there? " shows that he is righteous, this is shown when he believes in what is right an d what the right thing to do is, which is shown through the exclamation mark, conveying that he is going to take action! * Confused: * Makes wrong decisions Strengths/ weaknesses as a character: What becomes of them: "Who did Oedipus kill on the road? " and "What did Oedipus do to himself when he realised Jocasta was his mother? "
