Motifs In Oedipus The King

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Many different themes and symbols take place in the story of Oedipus. The idea of sight and blindness comes into play continuously through the story. It asks the question of whether one must see concepts to believe them or if one can simply notice them. Another repeated theme in the drama is illness and pain in general. The concept of crossroads repeats also throughout the story. Crossroads can symbolize questions and decisions throughout life. In the ancient Greek drama, Oedipus the King, many motifs take place to shape the entire story. The most commonly seen motif in this book is sight. It comes into place near the beginning when Oedipus goes to Tiresias. Tiresias lost his eyesight a long time ago and was given the power to see all past, present and future events. Oedipus blames him for the murder of Lauis and he says, “Had you had eyes I would have said alone you murdered him” (1.385). When he says this he again brings up the concept of seeing. Oedipus has clear eyesight but is not able to see the answer to his question. According to a research by Frederick Ahl, “Blindness, one might-and Oedipus does- suggest, could be an obstacle discerning the truth” (Ahl 125). The motif represents itself again towards the …show more content…
An example is in the beginning when the priest comes to Oedipus about the plague that has hit Thebes. The priest says in the drama, “A blight is on the fruitful plants of the earth” (1.26). The illness has taken over and he comes to Oedipus to fix it. Again it is seen when he was a young child his mother hung him by his ankles. The person who named him Oedipus did so because it literally means sore ankles. One last example of injury in the drama, Oedipus the King, is when Jocasta kills herself. She goes through what some would say a tragedy, and harms herself because of it. Illness and injury is a big part of what the story is and that is why it repeats so

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