Oedipus Rex Themes

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Oedipus Rex has many themes that we still see, like fate vs. free will, guilt and shame, and finding out the truth. All of these themes regard the social relevance of Oedipus Rex because society struggles with these themes every day. Another regard to the social relevance of Oedipus Rex is the artistry. The way Aristotle defined tragedy is exactly what Oedipus Rex is, a perfect tragedy which may make it socially relevant for centuries to come as it has still been socially relevant hundreds of years since it was written. Oedipus Rex is still relevant to current society mostly based on the themes of the play, because we as a society still struggle to find answers and struggle with the same themes that were present hundreds of years ago in Oedipus Rex. One of the most common questions regarding society is do us as humans act on fate or free will, are our lives planned out, or do we make our own paths. This was one of the reoccurring themes in the play, and still seems to be in modern society; due to this connection between the days of the play Oedipus Rex and current times the play is still socially relevant. Based on the theme of guilt and shame in Oedipus Rex which is also socially relevant, the play addresses issues that were around in the time of the play, and still play a role in society today. Guilt and shame are two feelings that everyone in modern times feels at one point in their life as did Oedipus in the play. An event like committing a crime in today’s society which would trigger the feelings of guilt and shame also made Oedipus feel guilt and shame in the play when he found out the truth of his life. Another big theme in Oedipus Rex which is also still socially relevant even after such a long amount of time is finding out the truth which we see when Oedipus is told about his life by the prophet. We are constantly finding out new truths as a
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