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- When Oedipus does find out that he is the one who killed his father and married his mother, he stabs his eyes out so that he never again has to see the world that caused him so much pain. His literal blindness also symbolizes the metaphorical blindness, or ignorance, he possesses as he fails to see the truth of his family’s lineage.
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Why did Oedipus die?
He then took the gold pins that held her robes and, with them, stabbed out his eyes. He kept raking the pins down his eyes, crying that he could not bear to see the world now that he had learned the truth.
- Quick Quiz
What does Oedipus use to stab out his own eyes? Knives...
- Full Book Summary
The shepherd and the messenger slowly exit the stage. A...
- Motifs
The plots of Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus both revolve...
- Character List
Oedipus. The protagonist of Oedipus the King and Oedipus at...
- Context
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- Quick Quiz
When Oedipus does find out that he is the one who killed his father and married his mother, he stabs his eyes out so that he never again has to see the world that caused him so much pain. His literal blindness also symbolizes the metaphorical blindness, or ignorance, he possesses as he fails to see the truth of his family’s lineage.
- Early Life
- Oedipus, The Corinthian Prince
- Meeting with The Sphinx
- Strikes of The Plague
- The Truth Unravels
King Laius and Queen Jocasta had been longing to have a child of their own. Seeking the advice from the oracle in Delphi, they were upset upon the answer given to them. The oracle prophesied that if they bore a child, a son from their blood and flesh, he will grow up and later kill his own father and marry his own mother. This came as a shock to bo...
The shepherd brought the child to the court of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Both king and queen were childless, so they decided to adopt him and raise him as their own upon being presented with the child. And with that, they named him Oedipus, which means “Swollen Ankle.” As Oedipus grew up, he was told that both King Polybus and Queen...
Soon after, Oedipus met with the Sphinx, who was gate-guarding the entrance into Thebes’ city. The Sphinx presented Oedipus with a riddle. She would let Oedipus pass if he managed to solve her riddle, but if not, he would be devoured. The riddle goes like this: “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?” Oedi...
Several years passed, and a plague hit the city of Thebes. Oedipus sent Creon, his brother-in-law, to Delphi to consult with the Oracle. Creon returned to the city and told Oedipus that the plague was divine retribution for killing the former kingthat has never been brought to justice. Oedipus swore to get to the bottom of the matter. He had no ide...
Jocasta tried to comfort Oedipus and informed him about what had happened to her late husband during the process. To Oedipus’ dismay, it sounded similar to what he had encountered years ago that led to the argument with the unknown charioteer. Eventually, Oedipus figured out that he had killed his own father and married his own mother soon after. A...
When Oedipus finally sees the terrible truth of his life, Sophocles hammers home his metaphor by having the king stab out his own eyes. Oedipus says he does this because he can no longer look on the horrors that his unwitting actions have created.
Summary: Oedipus gouges out his eyes as a punishment for his ignorance and inability to see the truth about his own life and actions. His self-inflicted blindness symbolizes his earlier...
In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus blinds himself after seeing the corpse of the hanged Jocasta, using golden broaches from her dress to stab out his eyes; in Seneca’s play, Oedipus blinds himself before the death of Jocasta by pulling out his eyeballs, and thus is a much more direct cause of Jocasta’s death.
Oct 13, 2024 · He had been set out on a mountain to die, in an attempt by Laius to thwart a similar prophecy. When it is finally revealed that Oedipus murdered his own father and has been living in incest with his mother Jocasta, she hangs herself. Oedipus stabs out his eyes and prepares to go into exile once more.
