Oedipus at colonus characters. Oedipus Character Analysis in Oedipus at Colonus 2022-12-11
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In Sophocles' play "Oedipus at Colonus," there are several important characters that play a role in the story.
First, there is the main character, Oedipus. Oedipus is a former king of Thebes who has been banished from the city due to a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus is now an old man and is accompanied by his daughter, Antigone, as he wanders the countryside searching for a place to die. Oedipus is a tragic figure who is plagued by guilt and regret for the actions of his past, and he ultimately finds redemption and peace at Colonus, where he is buried after his death.
Another important character in the play is Theseus, the king of Athens. Theseus is a wise and just ruler who takes in Oedipus and grants him asylum at Colonus. Theseus is also a strong and courageous leader who is able to defend Athens against the invading armies of Thebes.
Another important character is Antigone, Oedipus' daughter. Antigone is a devoted and loyal daughter who stays by her father's side throughout his journey. She is also a strong and independent woman who defies the orders of her uncle, Creon, and buries her brother, Polynices, against his wishes.
Creon is another key character in the play. He is the current ruler of Thebes and is determined to bring Oedipus back to the city, either by force or by deception. Creon is a ruthless and power-hungry man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Finally, there is the chorus of old men from Colonus, who provide commentary and perspective on the events of the play. The chorus serves as a voice of reason and caution, urging Oedipus to be careful in his actions and to consider the consequences of his decisions.
Overall, the characters in "Oedipus at Colonus" are complex and multifaceted, each with their own motivations and desires. Through their interactions and conflicts, the play explores themes of fate, redemption, and the power of forgiveness.
Oedipus at Colonus Characters
Dear father, wrapt for aye in nether gloom, E'en in the tomb Never shalt thou lack of love repine, Her love and mine. ISMENE The toil and trouble, father, that I bore To find thy lodging-place and how thou faredst, I spare thee; surely 'twere a double pain To suffer, first in act and then in telling; 'Tis the misfortune of thine ill-starred sons I come to tell thee. OEDIPUS Dear friend—those accents tell me who thou art— Yon man but now hath done me a foul wrong. Have I found so? Then shall my slumbering and buried corpse In its cold grave drink their warm life-blood up, If Zeus be Zeus and Phoebus still speak true. OEDIPUS Zeus, may the blessing fall on men like these! New York: Oxford University Press.
Then let us go Back to Thebes, if yet we may Heal this mortal feud and stay The self-wrought doom That drives our brothers to their tomb. We are far off, but sure our voice can reach. OEDIPUS Hath Phoebus spoken thus concerning me? My spirit quails and cowers: my hair Bristles for fear. ANTIGONE Misguided youth, thy purpose then stands fast! CREON Listen, O men of Athens, mark ye this? I cannot live a life thus desolate. POLYNEICES Woe worth my journey and my baffled hopes! Wretch, now my eyes are gone thou hast torn away The helpless maiden who was eyes to me; For these to thee and all thy cursed race May the great Sun, whose eye is everywhere, Grant length of days and old age like to mine.
The Chorus Character Analysis in Oedipus at Colonus
Yet such the boon thou profferest now to me, Fair in appearance, but when tested false. And now what mission summons thee from home, What news, Ismene, hast thou for thy father? The chorus sings about the glory and beauty of Athens. I come with no ill purpose; I am old, And know the city whither I am come, Without a peer amongst the powers of Greece. Is it a thunderbolt of Zeus or sleet Of arrowy hail? O yield to us; just suitors should not need To be importunate, nor he that takes A favor lack the grace to make return. OEDIPUS Horrors from the boundless deep Back on my soul in refluent surges sweep.
Oedipus curses Polynices and predicts that his two sons will kill each other in the battle. Thou hadst thy wish 'mid strangers thus to die, But I, ah me, not by. The truth, I fain would hear. . Arise, begone and take thee hence straightway, Lest on our land a heavier curse thou lay. ISMENE O father, sad thy plight! OEDIPUS Who is this monarch, great in word and might? OEDIPUS Mean they to shroud my bones in Theban dust? THESEUS The grace thou cravest then is small indeed. CHORUS, citizens of Colonus.
Evil, methinks, and long Thy pilgrimage on earth. My sisters, ye his daughters, ye have heard The prayers of our stern father, if his curse Should come to pass and ye some day return To Thebes, O then disown me not, I pray, But grant me burial and due funeral rites. ANTIGONE We listened, and attend thy bidding, father. And thou, my child, whilom thou wentest forth, Eluding the Cadmeians' vigilance, To bring thy father all the oracles Concerning Oedipus, and didst make thyself My faithful lieger, when they banished me. ANTIGONE Who would not mourn Thee, brother, hurrying to an open pit! THESEUS, King of Athens. OEDIPUS O son of Aegeus, for this state will I Unfold a treasure age cannot corrupt. If aught thou wouldst beseech, Speak where 'tis right; till then refrain from speech.
CHORUS The tale is bruited far and near, And echoes still from ear to ear. Ever it points to issues grave. ANTIGONE What solemn charge would'st thou impress on him? CHORUS His end was blessed; therefore, children, stay Your sorrow. ANTIGONE The same that we surmised. OEDIPUS What now, Antigone? What can I, a feeble man? ANTIGONE Lead me thither; slay me there. CHORUS Pour thy libation, turning to the dawn.
Polynices Character Analysis in Oedipus at Colonus
Have not I more skill Than thou to draw the horoscope of Thebes? Flashes each bridle bright, Charges each gallant knight, All that our Queen adore, Pallas their patron, or Him whose wide floods enring Earth, the great Ocean-king Whom Rhea bore. OEDIPUS Hast thou indeed then entertained a hope The gods at last will turn and rescue me? But now some godless man, 'Tis rumored, here abides; The precincts through I scan, Yet wot not where he hides, The wretch profane! After brief space we looked again, and lo The man was gone, evanished from our eyes; Only the king we saw with upraised hand Shading his eyes as from some awful sight, That no man might endure to look upon. He led his children and Theseus away, then bathed himself and poured libations while his daughters grieved. O, by our fathers' gods, consent I pray; Come back to Thebes, come to thy father's home, Bid Athens, as is meet, a fond farewell; Thebes thy old foster-mother claims thee first. CHORUS Thy tale of cruel suffering For which no cure was found, The fate that held thee bound. OEDIPUS Pouring it from the urns whereof ye spake? My name, Though I be distant, warrants thee from harm. Anger has no old age but only death; The dead alone can feel no touch of spite.
CHORUS First make atonement to the deities, Whose grove by trespass thou didst first profane. Yet am I then A villain born because in self-defense, Striken, I struck the striker back again? CHORUS Yea, in three streams; and be the last bowl drained To the last drop. And the Muses' quire will never disdain To visit this heaven-favored plain, Nor the Cyprian queen of the golden rein. Yet add not curse to curse and wrong to wrong. ISMENE Thy angry wraith, when at thy tomb they stand. He has committed two crimes that render him a sort of monster and outcast among men: incest and patricide. If a suppliant, something grave.
As a younger man, Oedipus struggled against the terrible fate that had been prophesied for him. Howbeit, I know I waste my words—begone, And leave me here; whate'er may be my lot, He lives not ill who lives withal content. STRANGER The lord of Athens is our over-lord. CREON 'Tis war with Thebes if I am touched or harmed. Therefore again I charge thee as before, See that the maidens are restored at once, Unless thou would'st continue here by force And not by choice a sojourner; so much I tell thee home and what I say, I mean. OEDIPUS I pray thee do not wonder if the sight Of children, given o'er for lost, has made My converse somewhat long and tedious.
