The theme of fate and tragedy in "Oedipus the King".

First of all I will be looking to see if he deserved or could have prevented his downfall. In my opinion his downfall began not when the oracle told Jocasta that her son was going to kill his father and marry his mother. I think it was when his parents which he believed to be his real ones told him a lie instead of the truth. Another unfortunate incident was him not killing all of the guards which were with king lias. This unfortunate mishap he would live to regret because the one survivor remembered that it was just one man who killed the king and not a group as was previously thought. Not only was this shepard/survivor responsible for his downfall he was also responsible for keeping him alive. Oedipus’ actions were not the only thing which contributed to his fate. His personality  also let him down. For example his argument with Creon flags up qualities which lead to his fate. Creon talks about how Oedipus has eyes but is yet so blind, and this is shown when Jocasta realises what is going on before Oedipus.

His character is not the only factor that helped him reach his downfall, the influence of the gods also play a major role. They play a major role because the play is also trying to illustrate that the gods and the oracles are all seeing and that you cannot escape your fate. There were events that he could of never have changed for example at the very beginning where he should have been killed. You could argue that his parents in Corinth lying to him was a set event but then maybe if Oedipus had dug a little further into the matter then he may not have left Corinth. When Creon foreshadows the events that are to come such as Oedipus tearing out his eyes, the audience knows at this point that Oedipus has gone past the point of no return, no matter what happens. We know this because Creon speaks to Apollo and of course the gods cannot be seen as being wrong.

Overall, I think  that the gods and his own self have their part to play in his downfall. I think this play shows hubris and nemesis perfectly because this play shows that the gods and your personality will play a part in your fate. King Oedipus was not solely responsible for his fate; there were influences from other people in his life that helped contribute to it.