They received the story’s central prophecy when Oedipus was born. Whether or not Creon is trying to overthrow Oedipus, there’s no denying that his words are the spark for all of the action in the play. Creon’s quick judgment sets the entire tragedy into motion by provoking Oedipus to call down various curses that ultimately add to his own anguish. He claims that to cure the city’s plague, “the purge is banishment, or else death for death” (100). At the start of Oedipus Tyrannus, Creon returns to Thebes and immediately delivers his own personal interpretation of the oracle’s prophecy. When characters make judgments based on “just enough” knowledge of fate, things tend to go south. Rather, human interpretation and ignorance are to blame for the suffering that comes with learning a prophecy. This truth is neither good nor evil, just as the C programming language is amoral. So, let’s assume fate is locked-in, and prophecies are clear visions that provide glimpses of fate’s absolute truths. While knowledge of someone’s fate may not include the details for every event along the way, his or her final destiny can often be predicted. Apollo knows the course of fate, and men like Tiresias have the gift to peer through the window of prophecy and see certain parts of the flow.
Fate is considered absolute, external truth characters and events always converge toward pre-set destinies. She delivered an identical prophecy to Laius and Jocasta at the time of Oedipus’ birth (711), to Oedipus himself as he left Corinth (790), and a bit of that prophecy to Creon at the start of the play (95). The oracle at Delphi is on the same prophetic page. Tiresias knows this, and he claims “what will be will be” (341) even before he repeats the prophecy to Oedipus, saying that Apollo “has it all in hand” (377).
The main prophecy in this play revolves around the son of Laius and Jocasta growing up to kill his father and marry his mother. Indeed, prophets and oracles are sources of absolute truth.įurthermore, it seems like everyone’s fate is sealed regardless of what Tiresias says. There’s no good reason to distrust Tiresias in Oedipus Tyrannus, either: if anybody is plotting, it’s Creon.
THE BLIND PROPHET IN OEDIPUS HOW TO
For example, he tells Odysseus how to make things right with Poseidon upon his return to Ithaca. Throughout Greek mythology, the blind prophet Tiresias gives good counsel. Indeed, prophets and oracles are sources of absolute truth. Tiresias specifically points out that Oedipus’s “blessing proves to be curse” (442). Tiresias knows that self-knowledge can lead to destruction, especially for Oedipus. When Oedipus first demands to hear the cause of the city’s plague, Tiresias tries to convince the king that “in such precarious times it’s best that nothing” (325).
THE BLIND PROPHET IN OEDIPUS FULL
Tiresias, the eminent prophet of Thebes, knows the full power of his craft and attempts to shield the city from his knowledge. Throughout the course of the play, it becomes crystal-clear that prophecy is serious business. Knowing “just enough to be dangerous” leads to destruction. A few people deliver snippets of prophetic truth, the recipients jump to conclusions, and eventually Oedipus ends up blind and miserable. That’s basically what happens in Oedipus, except with prophecies instead of computer programs.
That student could then show up to an internship, claim to know C, attempt to fix a bug, and literally set fire to the company’s testing server. For example, a comp sci student could spend a few weeks of class learning about the C programming language - enough to understand the general feel of the language, or at least enough to pass a test. He or she knows enough to get things done, but not necessarily in the most efficient and safest way. Oedipus Tyrannus brought one classic computer science phrase to mind: “I know enough to be dangerous.” This idiom is most often applied when someone has learned the basics of a programming language. We deal with technical definitions, the names of companies and people, Internet culture, some common euphemisms, and at least 216 acronyms. The computer science world is full of jargon.
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