Tiresias, Oedipus, and Self Essay -- Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Tiresias, Oedipus Rex, and Self The play Oedipus Rex, writ decennary by Sophocles, tells a alarming tale about one(a) mans quest for the truth. In the play, King Oedipus was burdened with the task of finding his predecessors murderer so that order may be restored to his kingdom. piece of music his conscious mind was seeking the murderer, his unconscious mind was retarding his progress in order to conceal the truth. Tiresias, prophesies the truth to Oedipus, but Oedipuss unconscious mind would not go through it. Thus, when the awful truth is finally revealed, Oedipus is overwhelmed by it. This causes the physical and emotional wounds that would last him a lifetime. A supplementary piece of literature, Tiresias by Tennyson, was written to complement this play. In Tennysons poem, he told about a man who was touched by the Gods, when he reached the point of enlightenment in his life this man is Tiresias. Through the study of Tennysons Tiresias, one can better understand the play Oed ipus Rex, Oedipus the character and ones self. In Tiresias, the narrator speaks about his desire to be like his friend Fitz. The perception of Fitz given by Tennyson is that he was a very spiritual man touched by the Gods. Tennysons first attempt to be like Fitz was to become a vegetarian And once for ten long weeks I tried Your table of Pythagoras, And seemd at first a thing enskied, As Shakespeare has it, airy-light To float above the ways of men, Then fell from that half-spiritual extremum Chilld, till I tasted flesh again One night when the earth was winter-black, And all the heavens flashd in frost And on me, half-asleep, came back That wholesome alter the blood had lost, And set me climbing icy capes . . . (Tennyson, 14-... ...inds frailty consider his last day and let none presume on his good fortune until he find life, at his death, a memory without pain. (Sophocles, 757) This imagery of peace and serenity causes one to strive for such enlightenment. After an extensive examination of both works, ones savvy of Oedipus Rex the play, Oedipus the character, and ones self is heightened. One can better understand how Tiresias, Oedipus, and ones self are bound to the ways of the flesh. One also understands that in order to break reposition from the ways of man, one must reach enlightenment which is done when one is touched by the Gods. Works Cited Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Elements of Literature. Ed. Robert Scholes, Nancy R. Comley, Carl H. Klaus, and David Staines. Toronto Oxford University Press, 1990. 714-757. Tennyson. Tiresias. ENGOA1 Handout.