Sabrina Smith, Alex Hoang, Savannah Hammond, and Jay Franklin Oedipus Sabrina Smith, Alex Hoang, Savannah Hammond, and Jay Franklin

Literal Explanation of Prompt The prompt is asking why and how Sophocles utilized these archetypes despite not being officially recognized until Carl Jung coined the term in his psychological studies in the early 1900’s. In reality, writing had been using recurring motifs for centuries before being given an appropriate name. For example, Shakespeare had repeatedly used The Flawed Ruler and The Big Lunk archetypes throughout his plays during the 16th century. Our prompt then proceeds to question the importance of the use of archetypes in literature to better connect the audience to the role of Oedipus and supporting characters. By integrating universally well-known symbols and concepts in these works, the audience can draw this new information back to what they already know. This link between new information and familiar themes further solidifies the understanding of the characters and the roles they play.

First example from the text “Oedipus, savior of our city, From that time on you were called King, You were honored above all men, Ruling over great Thebes. And now – is there a man whose story is more pitiful? His life is lived in a merciless calamity and pain – A complete reversal from his happy state.” (Page 90) One archetype that Oedipus himself fulfills is the Tragic Hero archetype, which describes the fall of a tragic hero that had previously held a position of nobility or glory. In this case, Oedipus was the king of Thebes and the head of the royal family after defeating the Sphinx on his journey to Delphi. His ultimate downfall was the revelation of his past when he unknowingly murdered his father at Phocis and married his mother, the widow, shortly after usurping the throne.

Another Example from the text “It was Apollo, friends, Apollo, who brought to fulfillment all my sufferings.” (Page 96) The second overarching theme we chose to discuss was the prevalent intervention of the Greek Gods. During the Classical Period or the Golden Age of Greece, faith in the Pantheon of the Greek deities was at an all-time high and Sophocles’ inclusion of the Twelve Olympians in Oedipus reflected that. The major intervention that the Gods made in Oedipus was expressing their divine will and prophecies which ultimately laid out the fate of Oedipus and his people. Every statement that came from Apollo’s oracle came true and would always come true no matter what precautions the mortals attempted to take against them.

Sphinx Oedipus defeats the villain that has been threatening Thebes, by solving what seemed like to be an impossible riddle. Thanks to this Oedipus becomes king and is known to be a very intelligent man, yet in what comes after this incident, the ordeal with Laius' murderer,  he seems to be blind. This is important because not only does he later mock Tiresias for being a blind man, but in the end of the book once he realizes that he has been blind the whole time he decides to make to make his blindness a physical punishment.

Tiresias Says Oedipus Killed the King Creon convinces Oedipus to summon Tiresias, an archetype of an old man, to come and shed some light on Laius’ killer. When Tiresias arrives he tries to refuse telling Oedipus who the killer is. When Tiresias finally reveals that the killer is Oedipus himself it begins to bring up unknown history. This is the starting point to the truth being revealed, even if at the moment it is thought to be a lie. It also leads Oedipus to doubt Creon’s loyalty, which is important because in the end of the story Oedipus’ life is in Creon’s hands along with the fate of Oedipus’ children.

Oedipus Finds Out the Truth About His Heritage When the Sheppard finally arrives, after a little convincing, he reveals to Oedipus that his wife/ mother was in fact the one who gave Oedipus to the Sheppard on the order to kill the baby. However, due to the Sheppard pitting the baby, Oedipus lives. This is very important because it means that not only has the prophesy for Oedipus come to pass but the one told to Jocasta is coming to pass as well. It also means that now that everything has been revealed the story is coming to an end and that the only thing left to do is deliver the punishments.

Situational Irony When Oedipus hears the he is destined to kill his parents, he leaves and goes to another city in hopes of escaping that fate. This is ironic because the parents that Oedipus were not his birth parents, and Oedipus traveling to a different city is what lead him to kill his actual father. This makes the fact that Oedipus killed his own father even more tragic because he was attempting to save his father also defines him as a tragic hero because he was originally a good man. “I was running to a place where I would never see that shameful prophecy come true” (56).

Wise Old Man Archetype Tiresias plays the role of the wise old man, who is “The man who sees most eye to eye with Lord Apollo” (17). He also proves his knowledge by revealing the true murderer of King Laius. The audience is inclined to believe that what Tiresias says is true because he is the wise old man. Oedipus on the other hand accuses Tiresias of conspiring against him, and Oedipus does not believe what the wise man says. This is what allows the audience to see the tragedy unfolding as they watch Oedipus try to find the murderer without being aware that he is the murderer, but this only works because the audience believes Tiresias due to him being the wise old man which the audience expects to give sage advice.

Symbolism: Blindness Tiresias is blind but knows the truth of the murder. Oedipus can see but is blind to the fact that he is the murderer. When Oedipus finally sees that he is the murderer, he blinds himself. Blindness plays a symbolic role in story that reveals how the ones with sight are blind while the blind know more. Also ends the fall of his tragic hero archetype. “I am afraid the blind prophet could see” (53).

2000 Prompt: “In Oedipus Rex, identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. In Oedipus Rex, the mystery continues to be “is the prophecy true?” This ultimately serves as the illuminating factor of the novel because although Oedipus reveals that he is a good king and man, he has had to find out if he is the husband of his mother and the killer of his father. His investigation, which includes finding the Shepperd, seeking advice from Jocasta, and is public quest to be right, shapes the novel and reveals the truth about him. Although he is almost positive that he is not the man of the prophecy, he is.

2017 Prompt: “Oedipus Rex features a character whose origins are unusual or mysterious. Analyze how these origins shape the character and the characters relationships, and how they shape the meaning work as a whole Oedipus has mysterious origins because he has no clue who his true birth mother and father are. This impacts his relationships because although he has married, his wife is his mother, and e kills his father, unknowingly. This shapes the meaning of the work because as Oedipus is a intelligent, good king, he unfortunately, loses the love of his life and kills his father due to his mysterious background.

Citations “Apollo.” Greek Mythology, www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Apollo/apollo.html “Carl Jung.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 Nov. 2015, www.biography.com/people/carl-jung- 9359134 “Oedipus and the Sphinx.” DeviantArt, taekwondonj.deviantart.com/art/Oedipus-and-the-Sphinx- 46276840. “Posts about Oedipus on Catherine Hardy - What I've Watched This Week...” Catherine Hardy – What I've Watched This Week..., catherinehardytv.wordpress.com/tag/oedipus/. “Self-Knowledge and the Pursuit of Truth.” Margaritas Ante Porcos, 9 Feb. 2013, margaritasanteporcos.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/self-knowledge-and-the-pursuit-of-truth/. “Tiresias in The Waste Land: Central Figure and Interested Spectator of the Modern Waste Land.” AD's English Literature, ardhendude.blogspot.com/2013/01/tiresias-in-waste-land-central-figure.html.