Oedipus Rex

1. Character analysis of teirisias?

Ans:

 Tiresias was the son of a shepherd and a nymph. He became blind when he accidentally saw the goddess Athena bathing, and she took his sight away for this. When Athena blinded Tiresias, she also gave him foresight, the ability to see into the future.  He is often portrayed as the oracle of Apollo, a man who could see the future and the will of the gods. It is in this role, as a prophet and an oracle who possesses the gift of foresight, that Tiresias appears in Oedipus Rex.

 Tiresias could see the future. He provides glimpses of this future to King Oedipus. Two particular prophecies are especially important to the story. First, Oedipus was Laius's killer. The second prophecy,  King Oedipus would leave Thebes in rags, blind, and exiled.

2. Biography of sophocles.

Answer:

Sophocles, (born c. 496 BCE, Colonus, near Athens [Greece]—died 406, Athens), with Aeschylus and Euripides, one of classical Athens’ three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.

  Life And Career: Sophocles was the younger contemporary of Aeschylus and the older contemporary of Euripides. He was born at Colonus, a village outside the walls of Athens. Sophocles himself received a good education. Because of his beauty of physique, his athletic prowess, and his skill in music, he was chosen in 480, when he was 16, to lead the paean (choral chant to a god) celebrating the decisive Greek sea victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis.   In 440 he was elected one of the 10 stratēgoi (high executive officials who commanded the armed forces) as a junior colleague of Pericles. Sophocles later served as stratēgos perhaps twice again. In 413, then aged about 83, Sophocles was a proboulos, one of 10 advisory commissioners who were granted special powers and were entrusted with organizing Athens’ financial and domestic recovery after its terrible defeat at Syracuse in Sicily. . He died at 406.

3. Character analysis of creon

Answer:

In Oedipus Rex, Creon is a brother of queen Jocasta, the wife of King Laius as well as Oedipus. Laius, a previous king of Thebes, had given the rule to Creon while he went to consult the oracle at Delphi. During Laius's absence, the Sphinx came to Thebes.

 Creon is powerfully built, but a weary and wrinkled man suffering the burdens of rule. A practical man, he firmly distances himself from the tragic aspirations of Oedipus and his line. As he tells Antigone, his only interest is in political and social order.

    Creon survives at the end of the play, retaining rulership of Thebes, gaining in wisdom as he mourns the death of his wife and son. Haemon, Creon's son, commits suicide after Antigone's death. Eurydice, Creon's wife, commits suicide after hearing of the death of her son Haemon

Creon is the tragic hero because he tries to restore order in Thebes and is a good ruler but ends up alone due to his excessive pride. Antigone is the tragic hero because he sticks to her beliefs in the Gods and family and dies because of her loyalty to them.