Blog 5

Word: Dark/darkness

The image of the contrast of light and dark plays a key role in Oedipus the King. Darkness has both literal and symbolic meanings in the play. Oedipus lives in darkness his whole life because he does not know who he really is. He thinks he knows who his parents are, but he does not know his past or the prophecies about his life. He is literally living in dark when he blinds himself at the end of the play. Teriaecius is another example of darkness in the play because while he is physically blind, he is the one that can actually see the truth through prophecies. The dramatic irony is that he is able to bring light to situations through his prophecies even though he lives in darkness. However blind to the truth Oedipus may seem to the audience throughout the play, it can be argued that he is actually casting light. When Oedipus first solves the riddle of the Sphinx and becomes king he saves the town. By killing blinding himself and running away he saves the rest of the city.

Thesis: The darkness of the play symbolizes how Oedipus lives in darkness

Example 1

-“Teiresias: Do you know the family you come from? Without your knowledge you’ve become the enemy of your own kindred,
those in the world below and those up here,
and the dreadful feet of that two-edged curse

from father and mother both will drive you
from this land in exile. Those eyes of yours,
which now can see so clearly, will be dark.”

Teireasias says that the Oedipus’ eyes will be “dark” which both foreshadows that he will physically blind himself but his line is also ironic because he says that Oedipus’s eyes “now can see so clearly” which is physically true, but Oedipus is actually blind to the truth. Teiresias asks Oedipus questions that Oedipus thinks he knows the answers to, but is actually shaded from. Teireasias is telling Oedipus that he will blind himself, but says it vaguely enough that Oedipus does not understand. Oedipus lives in darkness to this prophecy because he does not fully understand his destiny.

Antithesis: Darkness in the play symbolizes how Oedipus brought light to the surrounding world

Synthesis: Oedipus brought both light and darkness upon himself and others first by solving the riddle of the Sphynx but then brought darkness upon himself literally by blinding himself. He also lived in the dark because he did not know the truth about his past.

Quotations including darkness:

-Oedipus: You live in endless darkness of the night, so you can never injure me or any man who can glimpse daylight.

-Oedipus later says: “What fate does Apollo bring to light?”

-Oedipus: "You will no longer see

all those atrocious things I suffered,
the dreadful things I did! No. You have seen
those you never should have looked upon,
and those I wished to know you did not see. So now and for all future time be dark!"

With these words he raised his hand and struck,
not once, but many times, right in the sockets.
With every blow blood spurted from his eyes
down on his beard, and not in single drops,
but showers of dark blood spattered like hail.

-Oedipus: O the dark horror wrapped around me, this nameless visitor I can’t resist swept here by fair and fatal winds.

-Oedipus: Then I will start afresh, and once again shed light on darkness.