Critical Essay on Oedipus Tyrannos

Introduction

In Sophocles play, Oedipus Tyrannos, it is evident that everything has its limits and an excess of something can be harmful to a person or others surrounding them. Oedipus who is the main character in the play displays hubris, which is an excessive amount of personal pride, which he should have. However, when his ego exceeds, it turns out to be his major weakness which eventually leads to his demise. The play is therefore crucial, as it enables the audience to comprehend the effects of much pride, which is a problem faced in the contemporary World, especially from young adults. This paper aims to discuss hubris development in Oedipus, and prove that the statement "the Tyrant is a child of pride" is true regarding Oedipus.

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At the beginning of the play, before hubris engulfs Oedipus, he was a true leader who believed in the success of the people of Thebes. His idealism regarding leadership was brought forth by his passion for justice, honesty, skills in leadership, and his fervent desire to see the people of Thebes progress. Despite all these good qualities, pride started engulfing Oedipus, which is evidenced in this essay. At the commencement of the play, there is a section where Chorus is praying to the gods to deliver Thebes from the crisis that it was having at the moment. The prayer was meant for the gods, but when Oedipus hears it, he begs to answer the prayers albeit this being a god's work. Oedipus said "You pray. But if you listen now to me, you'll get your wish. Hear what I have to say and treat your disease then you may hope to find relief from your distress" (250).

Oedipus was made king after delivering Thebes from an earlier plague. However, during the current plague, it seems like the king is assuming his roles in ending it to protect the city when he answers Chorus' prayers. As such, it is evident that Oedipus saw himself as a god, which was against the principles of living of the people of Thebes. Chorus was asking for assistance from the gods who Thebes people believed were protecting them from the spiritual realm. The fact that Oedipus takes this role of answering the prayers from Chorus is a vivid fact that he compares his self to the gods. It was later evident after Chorus disclaimed this act by stating Oedipus, who was the tyrant in the Sophocles play, was a child of pride. Chorus also confirmed that people should get their hands off from divine work since every man was responsible for each mistake they made. Therefore, as a result of the previous discussion, it is evident this was the first step towards the development of hubris in Oedipus.

The second instance where growing pride is seen in Oedipus from the play is during his investigation in the murder of Laius. He questions two other characters from the play, Teiresias and Creon. However, he gets the answers he needs to conclude on the murder of Laius, but his pride covers his quench for the truth and does not get the murderers at first. Creon informs him that King Laius ruled before him, but he was killed by a gang of thieves who robbed him while he was on the fields for a mission. However, Creon thinks that murderers were from Thebes, "Here in Thebes, so said the god. What is sought is found, but what is overlooked escapes (130)." Instead of understanding the simple truth that the gods had communicated to Creon, Oedipus chose not to believe them because of the pride he had and even thought that Creon and Teiresias wanted to take the throne from him by conspiring against him.

The hubris portrayed by Oedipus took an ugly turn when he started questioning Creon. The questions which he asked Creon were full of pride and were rhetorical ensuring that Creon would understand the King's judgment was final. The questions showed how Oedipus started turning into a tyrant as he used no evidence in making his harsh decisions about the intentions that Creon and Teiresias had. For instance, he asks Creon, What sort of cleansing? And this disaster how did it happen (110), and, And the one whose fate the god revealed what sort of man is he? (120)."

It is clear that despite the mistakes that Oedipus made during his reign as King of Thebes, which were mostly characterized by his fervent personal pride, he still has a desire of being a true and respected leader. At the end of the story he realizes that he was the man responsible for the murder of Laius, the King before his reign, he exiles himself as he had promised the punishment of the murderer to Laius would be. His pride could not have let him disobey the order which he had enforced, and hence his pride leads to his downfall in the kingship of Thebe. After his downfall, he comes to realize that his ego was the primary causative agent to his defeat and this causes him to even break down. To ensure that he will never be prideful again, he decides to take his eyes out and blind himself so as not to know what goes around him. His blindness is proven in the play by the line "Ah, my friend, so, you still care for me, as always and with patience nurse me now I'm blind. Alas! Alas! You are not hidden from me. I recognize you all too clearly. Though I am blind, I know that voice so well (1570)". This proves the amount of determination that he had in ensuring that he was a hubris-free person who would true to his community, Thebes.

Conclusion

From the play, it is evident that pride can sometimes make someone arrogant even after the whole truth is presented to a person. For instance, Oedipus was so much blinded by pride that he refused to believe everything his fellow community people told him. He had betrayed the people of Thebes before becoming their leader, and for this, he felt so miserable to a point he popped out his eyes as a way of punishment as mentioned earlier. When the prophecy came true, and Oedipus found he murdered his father, his guilt was far beyond what he could bear which destroyed him. Too much of something can be indeed poisonous, and this is proven by the fact that hubris was toxic to the reputation and kingship of our main protagonist, Oedipus. One should be cautious of what they let grow inside of them as it might be dangerous to them just like it was to Oedipus.

Works Cited

Johnston, Ian. "Oedipus the King." Sophocles - Oedipus the King! (2004): 40.