Abstract
Oedipus the King is the classic work of Sophocles, the great tragic writer in ancient Greek. It was praised by Aristotle as "a perfect tragedy" because of its most typical and perfect tragic fate. In the drama, Oedipus strived to escape his fate and fight with life, but inadvertently, he still killed his father and become the husband of his mother, fooled by the fate. Fate has a strong power, but O’s fight against fate is much more shocking and inspiring. Readers lamented and the process makes them fall into contemplation. Compared with fate, human may have weak power, but the courage and strength revealed in the struggle indicate people’s meaning of existence. On the basis of the brief introduction of the plot and the background of the author of Oedipus the King, this article shows that Oedipus never surrenders to the fate and even when he is played by fate, he will strive to defeat it with his good qualities such as wisdom, courage and strong mind through the four struggles between Oedipus and the fate.
Key words: Oedipus the King; Sophocles; tragedy; fate; struggle
Contents
Abstract ……………………………………….…………………………1
Contents…………………………………………………………………2
I.Introduction……………………………………………………….…3
II.About Oedipus the King and its author……………………….…… 3
III.The four struggles of Oedipus against the fate …………………………4
1.Escaping from the doomed fate ….…………………………………………4
2.Solving the Sphinx riddle …………………………………………………5
3.Insisting on the hidden truth……………………………………….……… 5
4.The self-exile after resistance ………………………………………………5
IV.Conclusion……………………………………………………….…6
V.References …………………………………………………………………. 7
