FREE ESSAY ON BLINDNESS IN OEDIPUS REX

BLINDNESS IN OEDIPUS REX

Blindness in Oedipus the King
In Sophocles' play, Oedipus the King, one of the main themes is blindness. The 
author uses physical blindness, as well as intellectual blindness to illustrate Oedipus'
status 
as a tragic hero.
In the beginning of the play, Oedipus has perfect physical vision. However, he is 
blind and ignorant to the truth about himself and his past. He desperately wants to 
see, but he cannot. This is exemplified in the play when Oedipus states that once more 
[he] must bring what is dark to light (1259). Oedipus wants to overcome his 
blindness and he pursues this goal throughout the play.
Another ironic example of the theme of blindness is a prophet introduced later in 
the play, Teiresias, who is physically blind yet clairvoyant. Teiresias tells Oedipus
that he 
cannot see the evil (1264) and says to him You mock my blindness do you? But I say 
that you, with both your eyes, are blind (1266). This intensifies the fact that Oedipus
is 
ignorant to the truth. Teiresias, a blind prophet, can see the truth about Oedipus, and 
yet Oedipus, with his perfect physical sight, cannot see this truth.
Later in the play, Oedipus realizes the truth about his past. Oedipus can now see 
the truth clearly, and yet he still does not want to accept it or see it. Therefore, to
rid 
himself of this truth, Oedipus physically blinds himself, saying No more shall you look
on 
the misery about me...too long [you have] been blind to those for whom I was searching 
(1288). This malicious act is Oedipus' way of escaping from reality.
From the play, one may discover that one of Oedipus' tragic flaws is his 
blindness or unwillingness to see the truth. Sophocles uses ironic examples of this 
blindness throughout the play to clue the audience in to the main cause of the tragedy in

Oedipus' life. By using these examples, the writer provides a more subtle insight into
the 
blindness of Oedipus, rather than being blunt about it in the beginning of the play.