How is blindness shown in Oedipus Rex?
In this play, a now physically blind Oedipus is guided by his daughter, Antigone. In fact, he was metaphorically blind to the truth of his birth for much of his life; when Oedipus finally learned the truth, he physically blinded himself by poking out his eyes with the long gold pins from his dead wife’s brooches.
What does Oedipus blindness symbolize?
Oedipus blinds himself as a symbol of self-realization and insight. It is an irony because he chooses to be physically blind after seeing everything he has done. He realizes that he was figuratively blind throughout the play, therefore he punishes himself by blinding himself.
What did Oedipus say when he blinded himself?
At the end of the play, when Oedipus sees that he has murdered his father and had children with his mother, he cannot bear to see the reality of what he has done and blinds himself: “Why should I have eyes? Why, when nothing I saw was worth seeing”? (1723-1724).
What 3 reasons does Oedipus give for blinding himself?
The reasons Oedipus gives for his self-blinding are he couldn’t look at his parents when he dies, he could not look at his children, and he could not look at his city.
Who is the blind prophet in Oedipus Rex?
A boy leads in the blind prophet Tiresias. Oedipus begs him to reveal who Laius’s murderer is, but Tiresias answers only that he knows the truth but wishes he did not. Puzzled at first, then angry, Oedipus insists that Tiresias tell Thebes what he knows.
Who is willfully blind in Oedipus Rex?
In Oedipus Rex, there are different kinds of sight and blindness present throughout the cast. Tiresias is literally blind, yet he is the only character who “sees” the truth. He knows who Oedipus is and chides him for his arrogance when the king gets angry about being told the truth. Jocasta is willfully blind.
Why did Oedipus go blind?
Upon birth, a prophecy surrounding him foresaw that he would murder his own father and marry his own mother. This truth led to the demise of his wife and mother and brought Oedipus to blind himself using two golden pins from Jocasta’s regal dress.
Why is Oedipus blind to the truth?
Oedipus acknowledges that his hubris has left him blind to the truth and is too ashamed of himself to witness the citizens’ reactions. Overall, Oedipus chooses stab out his eyes as a way of punishing himself for his hubris and ignorance.
Why is this statement by Oedipus ironic?
Ironic because Oedipus Rex becomes blind too. Oedipus keeps seeing things incorrectly as if he was blind, his anger blinds him. It would not be until Oedipus himself was physically blind that he would see the error of his ways. Discuss the playwright’s use of dramatic irony throughout the tragedy.
What was Oedipus error?
What is Oedipus’ tragic flaw, or hamartia? It is hubris or pride. Upon reaching adulthood and hearing the prophecy that he will murder his father and take his mother as his own wife, he attempts to flee the fate the gods have laid out before him by leaving Corinth.
Why is Tiresias blind?
Reportedly, he had been turned into a woman as the result of having struck and wounded mating snakes. When they consulted Tiresias, he asserted that women had greater pleasure than men, and Hera thereupon struck him blind.