Oedipus Rex Literary Devices Analysis - 702 Words

From a young age, humans choose to ignore the undeniable truth. Within Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is told of his impending prophecy of killing his father, Laius, and marrying his mother, Jocasta. Knowing this, he tries to prevent his fate, but ends up becoming oblivious to it once it has happened. Oedipus enters a city that claims that their king has been killed shortly after he murdered someone, he fails to connect the two events together and discover that he has started to fulfill the prophecy. Oedipus Rex displays that humans will ignore the evident truth through the use of literary devices. One of the most apparent literary devices that Sophocles used is dramatic irony, where everything is known to the audience, but unknown to the†¦show more content†¦His unawareness is for the greater good presently, but once he realizes the sin that he has done, he will suffer greatly. His suffering began when Teiresias states â€Å"The man you have been looking for all this time, / The damned man, the murderer of Laios, / That man is in Thebes. To your mind he is foreign-born, / But it will soon be shown that he is a Theban, / A revelation that will fail to please† (435-438). Within the story, Teiresias claims to know who Laius’ murderer was and gives hints to Oedipus, but Oedipus decides to ignore this indicator and instead lashes out on Teiresias. Not only does Oedipus becomes aggressive with Teiresias, but also acts in a similar way to Kreon. Finally, Sophocles uses a foil, Kreon, to further enhance Oedipus’ ignorance. Sophocles built Kreon to act as his opposite to bring out Oedipus’ features. Kreon is a factual, reasonable, and pensive character, while Oedipus is an intuitive, strong-willed character. This is shown during their conversation: KREON. Now listen to me. You have talked; let me talk, too. You can not judge unless you know the facts. OEDIPUS. You speak well: There is one fact; but I find it hard To learn from the deadliest enemy I have. KREON. That above all I must dispute with you. OEDIPUS. That above all I will not hear you deny. KREON. If you think there is anything good in being stubborn Against all reason, then I say you are wrong. OEDIPUS. If you think a man can sin against his ownShow MoreRelatedJoy Luck Club924 Words   |  4 Pagesfinal exam grade. A traditional AP Timed Write Rubric will be used to score your answers. I’m looking for a clear thesis, a well-organized paper, hig h level of diction, focus, and in-depth analysis (two to three pieces of commentary or analogies) combined with thematic text to world and use of literary devices if appropriate. Answer all parts of the question in your responses. 1. 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