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Oedipus Rex And Oedipus At Colonus Essay

, Research Paper


Sophocles wrote both " Oedipus the King, " also known as "


Oedipus Rex," and "Oedipus at Colonus. " Although " Oedipus


at Colonus " is looked at to be a continuation of " Oedipus the King,


" the two do differ when dealing with the character himself, Oedipus. The


question though being is, did Oedipus acheive redemption by the end of the play?


In " Oedipus the King, " Oedipus had fallen by the end of the play.


His life had made a complete 360 after the truth was revealed about the murder


of the King and his true father. However, in the continuation of the play, in


" Oedipus at Colonus, " Oedipus begins to make a turn for the better.


It was quoted that in the second play " the central theme is the


transformation of Oedipus into a hero. In " Oedipus at Colonus, "


Oedipus " struggled to acheive death and transformation in accordance with


his oracle. " This was seen for the most part in the middle of the play.


Sophocles made his second edition of this play very dramatic. The play begins in


misery. This misery helped teach Oedipus resignation….." asking little,


receiving less than little, and content with that. "Oedpus, a suppliant, is


in need of a savior, of which that being Theseus, to help save him from the


pursued by his enemy ( Creon ). However, the " central paradox of this play


is that the suppliant is destined to be the savior. " This was seen most


clearly when dealing with the conflicts that took place within this play. There


was a plea scene in which Oedipus ( suppliant ) commends himself to Theseus (


his savior ); an agon between Oedipus and Creon ( enemy ) ending in violence and


an agon betwee

n Creon and Theseus, ending in Creon’s expulsion and a battle


sequence, ending in the salvation of Oedipus. All the misery and helplessness


that typify a suppliant’s condition are present in the character Oedipus, but as


the drama begins to unfold slowly, it quickly becomes apparent that he will not


be confined to just that role. Oedipus’ true redemption is seen however when


dealing with his stronger faith in his religion seen in the second play. Oedipus


had heard that the land on which he trespassed upon was sacred to the "


all-seeing Eumenides. " So, in hearing this to be true, Oedipus stands


there calmly with the wishes that the goddesses receive him as their suppliant


and he states " for never would I go away from this refuge. " Oedipus


proves to others that he is no longer the helpless beggar that was seen in the


beginning of " Oedipus at Colonus. " When stranger asked him "


and what help can there be from a blind man?, " Oedipus replied, "


what I say will be full of sight. " With this response, the stranger, along


with many others, were quite impressed. After the stranger left, Oedipus once


again began to pray to the Eumenides. He made a promise to them that his life


would end at the seat of the Dread Goddesses, bringing benefits to those who


received him and ruin to those from whom drove him to exile. By the end of the


play, Oedipus disappears mysteriously, without pain and suffering. Most agree


that this was the best way for life to end. It was quite obvious that Oedipus


did reach redemption in " Oedipus at Colonus. " However, it was stated


that " Sophocles does not bring Oedipus to Colonus to die and be venerated


as a hero, but to become a hero before our eyes. "

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