"The Inevitable Chain Of Incest" What is/are the major theme(s) of the play "Oedipus Rex"?

The tragic tale of ?Oedipus the King? is a multifaceted sense experience with numerous bows. The most prominent of these musical themes, though, is that of man versus nature because, no matter what they did, none of the characters could persist their destiny, as determined by the gods. King Laius could not escape his doom, Oedipus could not escape his portent and even Jocasta fell victim to her destiny. The fate of these three characters greatly supports this theme. ?Apollo said my child was doomed to assassinate [King Laius]; and my child? coarse baby!?it was my child that died first.? (Sophocles 233) Here, Jocasta explains the prognostic given to King Laius, as well as what the king and queen did in an extend to offset the fortune telling. They sent their child, Oedipus, to be left on a mountain to die. It is quite clear that the result of this action registers to the theme of man versus nature, as their attempts to destroy the child back beat and, in a bizarre tur n of events, Oedipus returned to Thebes to unwittingly take place the prophecy. Despite his efforts, King Laius could not escape his fate. ?They prophesied that I should slay Polybus, kill my own father; but he is doomed and buried and I am here?I never touched him, never?? (Sophocles 240) The once gee king, Oedipus, could no more(prenominal) escape the words of his prophecy than could his father. Without knowing it, by seek to outdo the prophecy told to him, Oedipus actually played right into the reach of fate. No matter what course of action he chose, pitiable Oedipus would feed a bun in the oven still found the same tragic outcome. In this play, fate is an insurmountable force. ?For God?s love, let us have no more questioning! Is your life zero point to you?? (Sophocles 244) As she desperately exclaims this to Oedipus, Jocasta had figured out the ghastly righteousness of her husband?s origins.

She had figured out that Oedipus was her son and the fulfiller of the prophecy and she was deathly afraid that Oedipus would bring the truth to light. She did all she could to cakehole the truth, but, in the end, the truth revealed itself and caused the horrible chain of events that followed. Nothing Jocasta could do would bury her fate, as the gods designed it. ?Oedipus Rex? is certainly a intensified depiction of the theme of man versus nature. Despite all of the appalling effort put forth, King Laius was doomed to his fate, Oedipus had mysteriously and unknowingly fulfilled his prophecy and Jocasta could not evade her appalling future. alto eviscerateher of these characters were puppets to the hand of fate. Works Cited:Sophocles . ?The Three Theban Plays? Trans. Robert FaglesNew York: Penguin Books, 1986 If you want to live on a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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