One continuous metaphor is employed throughout Oedipus the King, sight versus blindness and light versus darkness.
When Tiresias and Creon are falsely accused of conspiracy by Oedipus, a reference to metaphor occurs.
<em>"Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profit-seer blind in his craft!"</em>
By using the same metaphor Tiresias respond that
<em>"So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this. You with your precious eyes, you're blind to the corruption of your life, to the house you live in, those you live with-who are your parents? Do you know? All unknowing you are the scourge of your own flesh and blood, the dead below the earth and the living here above, and the double lash of your mother and your father's curse will whip you from this land one day, their footfall treading you down in terror, darkness shrouding your eyes that now can see the light!"</em>
Eventually, Tiresias is right and turns out to be the winner and is revealed when Oedipus learn about his tragic fate,<em> " O God-all come true, all burst to light! O light-now let me look my last on you! I stand revealed at last-cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!"</em>
The above lines represent the metaphor of light representing knowledge and truth.
Hence, the eyes which were blind for so long, cause the king to gouge out his eyes.
<em>"You, you'll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind from this hour on! Blind in the darkness-blind!"</em>
<em>"What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy."</em>
Hence, through various excerpts from the play one can infer that the idea of sight is critical in play. In comparison, though Tiresias who is physically blind can see the truth whereas, Oedipus who had physical sight is blind towards his fate. Therefore, in the end, Oedipus when finally learns the truth blinds his eyes and sees finally.
