The theme of blindness in Oedipus Rex is used to foreshadow the outcome of the play. The intellectual blindness is what eventually leads Oedipus to his future as being physical blindness.
             Early on into the play the king seeks the prophet, Tiresias, for his insight as to how to find person that murdered Laios the king that ruled before Oedipus. This is referred to as the plague that haunts the city. The prophet is called upon to speak to the king and give his valuable insight since he serves Apollo and not the king. Oedipus begins by openly admitting that the prophet is blind. "Blind though you are, you know the city lies sick with plague" (Line 87 Scene 1.) The prophet replies with a comment that enrages the king and demands him to explain. "How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there's no help in truth! I knew this well, but did not act on it; else I should not have come" (Line 101, Scene 1.) This comment begins an argument between the two that was supposed to give the king some insight to his own future.
             Instead of seeing the insight the king is intellectually blinded by his own arrogance and fails to see that the prophet is giving him a look into his own past, present, and future. The prophet tells Oedipus to go and think over what he has said to him and then let him know if "no skill in prophecy" (line 246, Scene 2.)
             The intellectual blindness continues on the king's behalf by still failing to see that the prophet is referring to he, himself, as the murderer. The king blindly begins to accuse Kreon as the one who seduced the prophet into lying. No doubt does the king not see the prophet's fortune for his future he insults Kreon and blindly makes false accusations.
             The blindness that we see is ignorance on the king's behalf. The other part of the blindness is displayed is what the king is willing to see and that is the fact that he is not a part of the...