The Role of Teiresias in Sophocles' Oedipus.
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Teiresias is a cranky old man.We can see why.He can see better than anyone else around him.
He gets visions of the future from Apollo.Teiresias is able to tell the future from the behavior of birds.You might think these are great skills, but it's hard when everyone around you is doomed to die.It's annoying that people don't believe him when he drops a little knowledge.Jocasta and Oedipus are skeptical of his predictions.He accused Teiresias of treason.
The blind seer only shows up for one scene in the movie.The first real scene where we see any conflict is necessary to keep the audience interested in the play.In this scene, the prophet won't reveal the identity of Laius' murderer, so Oedipus gets angry.This scene is used by Sophocles to show Oedipus' temper.The king has been acting rationally.He is trying to save his people by allowing the Chorus to speak their minds.We might not believe in the multiple murders at the crossroads if we didn't see his anger here and later with Creon.
Teiresias' attitude towards the art of prophecy is probably the most interesting thing about this interchange.It's a good reason to be angry at him.The man with the knowledge needed to save Thebes is in front of King Oedipus, but he won't give the necessary information.He says there's no point in revealing the truth because everything will happen anyway.