Oedipus the King Key Themes 2


	Key Theme	Information
	Fate	Fate plays a key role Oedipus thinks he has avoided his fate of sleeping with his mother and killing his father by leaving Corinth and going to Thebes The gods determine fate, Oedipus is disrespectful to think he has outwitted his fate and therefore the gods Oedipus has in fact fulfilled his fate by sleeping with Jocasta and killing King Laius as they gave him up at birth The fate of Oedipus' family was determined by a curse put on every generation of their family many years before He cannot be completely responsible for his actions as it was his inquisitive nature that led him to REALISE what had actually happened and whilst he thought he was avoiding his fate he was walking right into it which he didn't do intentionally
	Development (Growth & change)	Other information
	Wisdom and knowledge	People such as Tiresias are filled with wisdom about the world Oedipus refuses to acknowledge this and therefore insults him about how he no longer has any real powers Oedipus desperately wants to gain the knowledge about what happened to Laius and in seeking this knowledge he happens to uncover the result of his attempt to avoid his fate He continuously struggles to uncover the truth about what happened as people consistently tell him to leave the truth alone

Fate plays a key role
Oedipus thinks he has avoided his fate of sleeping with his mother and killing his father by leaving Corinth and going to Thebes
The gods determine fate, Oedipus is disrespectful to think he has outwitted his fate and therefore the gods
Oedipus has in fact fulfilled his fate by sleeping with Jocasta and killing King Laius as they gave him up at birth
The fate of Oedipus' family was determined by a curse put on every generation of their family many years before
He cannot be completely responsible for his actions as it was his inquisitive nature that led him to REALISE what had actually happened and whilst he thought he was avoiding his fate he was walking right into it which he didn't do intentionally

People such as Tiresias are filled with wisdom about the world
Oedipus refuses to acknowledge this and therefore insults him about how he no longer has any real powers
Oedipus desperately wants to gain the knowledge about what happened to Laius and in seeking this knowledge he happens to uncover the result of his attempt to avoid his fate
He continuously struggles to uncover the truth about what happened as people consistently tell him to leave the truth alone

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