Literary Devices In Oedipus The King By Sophocles - 810 Words

Over two thousand years ago in 400 B.C. Sophocles, a Greek dreamer, wrote the story, â€Å"Oedipus the King†. One might think that a story that old may be boring or poorly written, but in fact it is very descriptive and entertaining. Sophocles even employs different literary devices to enhance the themes throughout the story. Some of these techniques includes: metaphor, personification, imagery, symbolism, tone, meter, setting, and diction. Even though Sophocles uses metaphors during the story, the main subjects being compared are blindness and sight. A reference to this is in the beginning of the story, which is used by Oedipus towards Creon and Tiresias, â€Å"Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry†¦show more content†¦Eyes, crossroads, and Oedipus’ ankles are symbols revealed to the reader throughout the story. Eyes are a very important symbol in the story, they indicate knowledge. In the story the character Tiresias is a wise, blind prophet that can ‘see’ the truth, while Oedipus can visually see but is ‘blind’ to the truth. Tiresias says to Oedipus, â€Å"So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this, with your precious eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life...†(468-471). The crossroads (which is the place Oedipus killed his father, King Laius) symbolizes Oedipus’ choices and paths he can ta ke. The choices he makes seals his fate, â€Å"Making my way toward this triple crossroad†¦ a man just as you described him†¦ and the old man himself were about to thrust me off the road...the driver, I strike him in anger...with one blow of the staff†¦ I knock him out†¦ I killed them all-every mother’s son!†(884-894). Oedipus hot temperedness causes him to go down a painful, mortifying path, which caused his terrible fate to occur. The name Oedipus means swollen ankles, which was given to him because of his childhood ankle injury. It became a symbol of Oedipus ignorance and a scar of his destined fate. Tragic and foreboding are some of the many tones that overlook â€Å"Oedipus the King†. Oedipus is a hero with mostly good intentions but because of his tragic flaw of ignorance ends himself in agony. The factShow MoreRelatedExposure to Tragedy in Sophocles Oedipus the King702 Words   |  3 PagesSophocles background influenced him to write the drama Oedipus the king. One important influence on the story was his exposer to tragedy all around him. Jeffrey buller in â€Å"Sophocles† told us that Sophocles learned the art form of tragedy from Aeschylus. Sophocles later went to the Great Dionysus a competition for the greatest tragedy and won first place over Aeschylus. 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In his version of the beloved tale, Sophocles concentrates his attention on the events directly leading to Oedipus destruction, portraying Oedipus as a helpless pawn of fate. The most promine nt literary device is dramatic irony, primarily of the spoken