Oedipus the King: Literary Review and Summary

Setting, Time Period, Atmosphere:

Oedipus the King takes place in Ancient Greece, primarily in Thebes and the surrounding countryside. The time period is around 429 BC, the date the play was first preformed. The atmosphere ranges from tense to dark and depressing.

Plot Summary:

The play opens as citizens of Thebes beg Oedipus to find a solution to the plague that has beset the city. Creon, Oedipus's brother in law, returns from Delphi with a message from an oracle. He exclaims that the plague will only end when the murderer of Laius (the former king of Thebes) is expelled from the city. Creon tells Oedipus that was killed by thieves on his way to consult an oracle. Oedipus vows to find and expel the murderer from the city. Oedipus sends for a blind prophet to learn more about the murder. At first the prophet would reveal nothing, but after being taunted by Oedipus, he reveals Oedipus as the murderer. He then states that the murderer of Laius will be the father and brother of his children, and the husband of his mother. Oedipus is outraged, and accuses Creon and the prophet of conspiracy. Jocasta enters, and claims the prophet was mistaken. She notes that the Delphic oracle once told Laius he would be murdered by his son, when in fact his son was cast out of Thebes as a baby, and Laius was murdered by a band of thieves. She goes on to say that Laius was killed on a threeway crossroads just before Oedipus arrived in Thebes. Stunned, Oedipus recalls murdering a man in a similar crossroads before entering Thebes. A messenger visits the palace with news of the death of Oedipus's supposed father. This reassures Oedipus slightly, as he sees no way he could now murder his father and fulfill the prophecy. The messenger then exclaims that the King of Corinth was not Oedipus's biological Father. From a Sheppard, Oedipus learns that he in fact did murder his father and marry his mother. He returns to his palace to find his wife had committed suicide. He gouges out his own eyes and proceeds, after a short visit with his daughters, to expel himself from the city.

Major Characters: On Page Two

Oedipus: The protagonist of the story, Oedipus is the King of Thebes. He is known as an intelligent and just man. He has previously saved Thebes from disaster by solving a sphinx's riddle. Prior to this experience, on his way to Thebes, Oedipus kills his father and unknowingly marries his own mother. Oedipus is overconfident yet inherently just.

Jocasta: Oedipus's wife and mother, and well as Creon's sister. Jocasta is strong willed an intelligent. She believes her will to above that of the gods. When she learns that she has married her son, she commits suicide.

Creon: Oedipus's brother-in-law. Although at first Creon appears humble and aloof of leadership, by the end of the play he is perfectly willing to take the position. Creon is a voice of reason throughout the play.

Tiresias: The blind prophet of Thebes. Tiresias has a strong faith in his ability, and is steadfast to his prophecy of Oedipus's actions even as he is accused of conspiracy.

Sheppard: The source of Oedipus's epiphany and realization that in fact he did murder his father and marry his mother.

Possible Writing Topics and Observations:

Throughout the play, Sophocles utilizes dramatic irony in attempt to emphasize to conflict and tension felt by Oedipus throughout the play. This tension produces a feeling of sympathy for Oedipus and Jocasta, a feeling that makes the tragedy increasingly emotional. For this reason, Oedipus the King is used as an example of superior tragic writing even today.

It is noteworthy that there are many parallels and ironies between characters throughout the play. The most striking is Oedipus's accusation of Tiresias of speaking ignorantly, being both physically and mentally blind. This is ironic because in truth Oedipus is blind reason and at the end of the play, becomes physically blind by his own hand.

Three Important Themes:

Man's Will Vs. Will of the God's: Both Oedipus and Jocasta believe their will to be above the will of the god's. Both are given prophecies and both attempt to stop these prophecies from happening. In both cased, the result is tragedy. Neither had ever really had control over the situation

Man Sees Only What he Wants to See: Although the truth of Oedipus's actions was in front of him throughout the story, he chooses to ignore it in attempt to maintain a sense of stability and self belief.

Fate Vs Free Will: In Oedipus, it is easily apparent that Oedipus's life and the tragedy he experiences has been pre-ordained by the gods at birth. There was nothing Oedipus could have done to change the outcome of his actions, or the tragedy he was destined to experience.

Tone

The tone of the story is sympathetically tragic. The tone is expressed by Oedipus's hubris and attitude as well as his eventual fate, one that he was always pre-ordained to fulfill. The tone is also shaped by the commentary of the Chorus. The Chorus expresses sympathy for the situations of the characters, yet at the same time maintains an awareness of upcoming events.

Structure & Point of View

The structure of Oedipus the King is a prologue with five episodes, each introduced by a choral ode. The structure enhances the topic of the episode and has a connection to the citizens of Thebes. They are part of the story, but expressed as if one person.

The point of view varies throughout the play. In fact, the same action viewed by different character's with different perceptions. Throughout the play the audience and the characters reconcile the differing points of view of Theban Kings Oedipus and Creon, Theban Queen Jocasta, Teiresias the blind prophet, a shepherd, a messenger, and the chorus.

Symbols

Oedipus's swollen foot: Oedipus gets his name from the fact that he was left in the mountains with his ankles pinned together. The injury leaves Oedipus with a vivid lifelong scar. Oedipus's injury symbolizes the way in which fate has marked him and has set him apart from the rest of humanity, doomed to a life of tragedy. It also symbolizes the way his movements have been confined and constrained since birth by Apollo's prophecy to Laius.

The Three-way Crossroads: Jocasta says that Laius was slain at a place where three roads meet. This crossroads is referred to a number of times during the play, and symbolizes the crucial moment in which Oedipus begins to fulfill the prophecy. The crossroads usually symbolize moments where decisions will have important consequences but where different choices are still possible. The crossroads symbolizes fate and the power of prophecy rather than freedom and choice.

Motifs, Images, & Illusions

Motifs: Suicide, Sight and Blindness, Graves, and Tombs.

Images: The chorus helps focus the story on particular images including, the setting of the story, certain artifacts, and the images of earth and soil. There are also horrifying images including the murder of Laius and Oedipus marrying his mother.

Allusions: The book is full of Greek allusions including; Apollo, Hades, Sphinx, oracle of Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Agnor, Tiresias, Mount Cithaeron, Delphi, and Corinth. These mythological images help represent the setting of the story in Thebes.

Important Quotes:

Oedipus arrogantly tells the Chorus, "You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers."

Oedipus is being hypocritical to the Chorus because he believes in a higher god. He has put himself in a spot where he can't stop searching for the murderer of Laius. Now he has made a point that he doesn't believe in the Gods by viewpoint of the chorus aka the community.

When Oedipus tells his wife that a prophecy from Delphi tells his awful fate, Jocasta reassures him, saying, "No skill in the world, nothing human can penetrate the future."

So if Jocasta says that no man can see the future, but in fact the gods have an impact on those in the future. The quote is understated and gives reinsurance that Oedipus is safe from the future, but he really isn't.

As Oedipus and Jocasta return to the palace, the Chorus takes the stage, describing Oedipus in not so flattering terms: "Pride breeds the tyrant violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin.... Can such a man, so desperate, still boast he can save his life from the flashing bolts of god?"

The chorus has just insulted Oedipus saying he can't save his life from the gods. The quote implies that the gods will make sure Oedipus meets his fate and dies from the prophecy told to him before. So if the chorus thinks he will fulfill the prophecy, why won't they tell him that he should leave and never come back to Thebes?

Oedipus gives his famous quote: "O god-all come true, all burst to light! O light-now let me look my last on you! I stand revealed at last-cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!"

Oedipus has finally realized that he has committed some of the worst taboos and now is saying his last words before he blinds himself. This quote is a declaration to the gods that he has the power to live on, but can't bare the horror and now wants to amend his mistakes.

Oedipus furthers Sophocles' sight metaphor when he defends his decision to humble himself through blindness: "What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy."

So Oedipus is implying that he doesn't want his vision, but has the will to still live. The world is a black hole to him and sorrowful, disturbing and shameful to look at. He made a decision to blind himself so that he may look at the world in a new perspective and avoid the guilt present.