Question

In at least 150 words, explain how the following line relates to the major themes of Oedipus the King. CHORUS LEADER: “Our lord Teiresias, I know, can see into things, like lord Apollo.”

Answer 1

Answer:

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Explanation:

Prediction, prophecies, and blindness/sight are all major themes which the quote above deals with. Oedipus is blind to the truth, but Teiresias is physically blind. Oedipus can physically see just fine, but Teiresias can see the truth which Oedipus cannot. The quote also deals with prediction and prophecies. Teiresias can see things very clearly and, because in the play, the revelation that Oedipus fulfilled the prophecy that he would kill his father an marry his mother hasn't occurred yet, we can view this as a prediction or foreshadowing of what will happen later in the play.

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Answer 2

In the Oedipus play the most important element is the prophecy. We see that Oedipus is "blind" or foolish when he doesn't have a choice but to fulfill the prophecy of killing his father and married his mother. Oedipus is constantly seeking truth in the play and the reader will know that it would end as a tragic irony. So in this sentence "Our lord Teiresias, I know, can see into things, like lord Apollo" there is an allusion of blindness when the characters can see everything, in this play Oedipus look at the details and circumstances and pretend not to see them. So basically in the Oedipus play, we find to major themes sight and blindness. Oedipus has perfect outward sight but he is blind to his own self-knowledge while as we see in the sentence, Teiresias an old blind man is capable of seeing the prophecy and tries to warn Oedipus but it's already too late. This character is blind but can see more than Oedipus, it's kind of similar to a god's power, because they are mighty and almost can see everything, in this case we can relate to Lord Apollo, the god of truth and prophecy because he can tell the future or a prophecy and is the same for the character of Teiresias, the difference here is that Teiresias is blind. At the end, this line relates to sight and blindness, the major themes of Oedipus the King with Apollo representing sight and Teiresias representing blindness.