A Solemn Success-a Study Of The Innocence And The Noble Spirit Of Oedipus In Oedipus The King From The Perspective Of Nietzsche’s Dionysianism

Since the first performance of Oedipus the King, studies and evaluations of this great play has been in an inexhaustible variety, while the protagonist Oedipus, who kills his father and marries his mother, has received a mixed treatment. Among these studies, there are two prevailing interpretations on Oedipus’ tragedy. One is tragedy of fate, and the other is tragedy of character. These two interpretations focus on the question whether Oedipus is responsible for his behaviors from the perspective of destiny in ancient Greek and theory of personality.The purpose of this thesis is to prove that Oedipus is not only innocent, but also noble for what he did. Different from the previous interpretations, this thesis analyzes Oedipus in Oedipus the King from the perspective of Nietzsche’s Dionysianism. The main method used in this thesis is text analysis. To begin with, it uses Nietzsche’s Dionysianism to embody the noble spirit of Oedipus. Then it compares Oedipus with other protagonists in many respects in order to prove his nobility and it also briefly analyzes the other Theban plays to explore the similar characteristics of Sophoclean figures. Moreover, it uses Lacan’s mirror stage theory to prove the innocence of Oedipus and it picks out some "mistakes" in the play, for example, the discrepancy of the numbers, oracles and testimonies and analyzes their implications for such intentional arrangements.In summing up, it may be stated that Oedipus is not only innocent but also noble for what he did. It also reveals Sophocles’ true attitude toward humanity and divinity. This thesis hopes to provide a new understanding of this play and add something new into the study of Sophocles and literary criticism about this great work.