Choose six very powerful lines from the play, one for each category: plot, character, thought, diction, melody. Note where they appear in the play, so that you can refer to them later: lines that foreshadow later events, lines that reveal a conflict, lines that reveal a character’s personality, lines that explain why a character behaves that way, lives that refer to past events, lines that seem like sage advice. Prepare a brief explication of each of the lines chosen, relating them to the category, to the specific scene in which they appear, and to the work at large. You cannot have the same quotes.
Quote 2
Thought: Page 1191, Lines 164-165
ReplyDelete"How could I wish that I were someone else? How could I not be glad to know my birth?"
Oedipus thinks that he knows his origins and where he is from, but it turns out that everything he thought was true about his identity was wrong. He wants to know the truth about his history. This is a natural instinct among humans. Knowing where you come from gives insight into finding what kind of person you will become. Oedipus just wants to know the truth. At this point Oedipus just wants to know, he doesn't care about what the outcome might be, he just wants to know the truth about his life. He doesn't really understand how bad the news is until after he requests so much that they tell him the truth.
Lines 40-44 Thought
ReplyDelete"But all eyes fail before time's eye,
All actions come to justice here.
Though never willed, though far down the deep past,
Your bed, your dread sirings,
Are brought to book at last."
One prevalent theme is that no one disrespects the gods, and everyone will be dealt justice in the end. Oedipus has spent the entire play avoiding his destiny and disrespecting Apollo only to walk right into his destiny anyways. The chorus here presents the theme of justice. All actions come to justice in due time. Time is patient and ever watching. No matter how long ago the transgression was justice will be dealt.
In Scene IV the shepherd revealed the truth about Oedipus' birth. He revealed that Oedipus married to his mother. The Shepherd then said, "No man living is more wretched than Oedipus(line 69)." Oedipus is "wretched," and there is no man alive that is more "wretched" than him. The Shepherds words resonate with audience, and make the audience feel pity toward Oedipus. Oedipus did not know he was "wretched." He did not know that he killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus could not escape his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. The audience feels pity for Oedipus, because he could not escape the fate he tried so hard to escape. The quote illustrates one of the components of tragedy, spectacle, because it resonates with the audience.
ReplyDeleteThe chorus says, “The deeds and the strange prophecies / Must make a pattern yet to be understood,” (Page 1186; Lines 38-39) Basically, the chorus is in the play to help the reader and audience understand the plot of the play and also give them hints as to what will happen in later events. Specifically, this line in the chorus foreshadows that the prophecy is true, even though all the pieces may not be together. Therefore, the purpose of the chorus is to guide readers along the plot, while giving their own inquiries while also hinting to the readers as to what they should think.
ReplyDelete"They say it was Laios' child/ But it is your wife who can tell you about that." (line 57, page 1193)
ReplyDeletePlot: This line is powerful to plot because even though the reader could infer that Oedipus was Laios' child, it was something unknown to Oedipus. This is important to the plot and the story as a whole, because it was Oedipus in the beginning who was set on a search for the man who killed Laios. This was all while his entire life, his family and himself were trying so desperately to escape the fate that was going to befall him. It was also the point that Oedipus realized his wife was his mother which meant that the prophecy had come true despite Oedipus’ best efforts. This was not distressing to him as a person, but he also emphasized he wanted to protect his parents as well but failed to do so. The author used irony to make the plot more interesting and ultimately convey the theme that you cannot avoid fate.
Character:
ReplyDelete"Yea, I am wroth, and will not stint my words,
But speak my whole mind. Thou methinks thou art he,
Who planned the crime, aye, and performed it too,
All save the assassination; and if thou
Hadst not been blind, I had been sworn to boot
That thou alone didst do the bloody deed."
This passage is taken from Oedipus' conversation with Teiresias, the blind prophet. Teiresias is trying to say that Oedipus should be more careful with the bold claims he is making, but Oedipus disregards his warning. Teiresias then tells Oedipus he is the one guilty of the murder, but Oedipus then dismisses this too. Had he listened to Teiresias, Oedipus may have escaped some punishment in the long run. However, as king, he became too arrogant to listen to the words of others, especially a blind person like Teiresias.
Page 1189, Scene 3, Line 92 and Line 98
ReplyDelete"No: I will never go near my parents again"
"What is the dread that is always in my heart."
Character: This quote conveys Oedipus' tragic flaw is pride. He doesn't want to return to Corinth and denies his fate of killing his father and sleeping with his mother. Oedipus is the one that saved the Thebes from the Sphinx, so it’s only natural that his tragic flaw is pride. This moment I believe is one of the greatest moments of pride because he tries to escape his fate by never going back to the city of Corinth. This moment lets Oedipus’ pride shine through because he thinks he’s so great that he’d never do any of those things.