Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus the King” is considered by most to be the greatest tragedy ever written. Even in his own time, Sophocles won the Dionysia Festival over twenty times, a feat that shows just how well expected he was. In order to follow the play, it’s helpful to know the back story. King Laius, ruler of Thebes, goes to the Oracle at Delphi to find out if he is going to have an heir or not. The Oracle tells him that he will, in fact, have a son. That son, however, will grow up and murder him. Not only that, this son will marry his wife. Laius, horrified at this prophecy decides he can’t allow this to happen. When his wife eventually gives birth to a son, he immediately has the child’s feet bound and orders a servant to leave the child somewhere to die. The servant, taking pity on the poor baby, doesn’t do what he’s told. Instead, he gives the child away to someone else. This person then gives the baby to their king and queen, who have been unable to have kids. The baby grows up to be Oedipus and one day goes to a party where a drunk party goer lets it spill that the people who raised him are not his actual parents. Oedipus ends up going to the Oracle to find out the truth. Without answering his true question, Oedipus is told the same prophecy his natural father heard many years before. Horrified by this, he decides to leave home. At the same time, King Laius is having difficulties and is traveling to get some answers from the Oracle. Along the way, he and Oedipus, not knowing who the other is, cross paths on a small road and get into a confrontation. Neither one is willing to give up ground for the other. The fight escalates and soon, Laius is dead and Oedipus continues on his way. He arrives at Thebes to find a Sphinx has taken the city hostage. Not one may leave or enter without solving its riddle. Oedipus does and, in absence of Laius, is made king of Thebes and married off to the Queen.
Oedipus the King follows the model of the Greek tragedy perfectly. Oedipus, a great king, is brought to ruin by his own character flaws (pride). He is such a great king, and so noble, that his downfall is disappointing. You feel pity, or catharsis, for him by the end because of this. Another element of the Greek tragedy is a reversal, or plot twist, that speeds up the action. In Oedipus, this occurs when the messenger arrives in Thebes and tells his the people he thought were his parents are not. This revelation makes him determined to discover who he really is, leading to the outing of him as Laius’ son and murderer. Another element of Greek tragedy in the play is dramatic irony. In other words, we, the audience, know Oedipus is his son. We know he killed Laius. The characters, however, do not. This leads to a heightened sense of tension as we wait for the proverbial shoe to drop. The chorus is another major element of Greek tragedy, and it’s one that Sophocles uses well. They are featured prominently, telling the story and giving us insight into the people of the city and what they think about the events unfolding before them. Because the members of the chorus are both observers of the action and participants, a bond is created between them and the audience.
Oedipus the King also makes wonderful use of irony. In the beginning of the play, Oedipus curses Laius’ murderer, not realizing he is actually cursing himself. His curse speech is full of irony, like when he says “I will speak out now as a stranger to the story.” Another example of this is when he says the line, “children born of the same mother might create blood bonds between us.” In the same speech, he says, “so I will fight for him as if he were my father.” In another scene, the messenger from Corinth comes to tell him that the man he thinks is his father has died. When he hears Oedipus is still afraid to come home due to the prediction he will kill his father and marry his mother, the messenger says he will rid Oedipus of that fear. He believes that if he reveals Oedipus was adopted, he will help. All it does is cause him more anxiety. Especially once he learns he was abandoned as a baby by one of Laius’ servants. Adding more irnoy to the story is the blind prophet, Tiresias. Despite his handicap, he clearly sees the truth when no one else can
Symbolism also plays a large part in the story of Oedipus. In one scene, Oedipus and Creon are arguing. Oedipus is convinced that Creon is trying to set him up to steal the throne. Creon has done no such thing and, of course, denies it. Eventually, Jocasta gets involved. “Have you no sense,” she asks them. “Such shouting. Why this public outburst? Aren’t you, with the land so sick, to stir up public quarrels? Into the palace now and Creon, you go home!” In this speech, she is scolding him as though she is his mother instead of his wife. In reality, she’s now both. Tiresius is also a symbolic character. He represents the unknown, the blindness of those who refuse to see the truth. There is also symblism is the riddle that made Oedipus king to begin with. The Sphinx’s riddle describes someone who is weak at birth, strong in youth, and weak again in old age. When Oedipus was a baby, his feet were bound. He then grew into a strong man, but as he got older, ended up blind and using a cane to get around.
There are several themes in Oedipus as well. The major theme is pride is destructive. Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta are all eventaully brought to ruin by their own pride and conceit.Odipus makes several comments throughout the play demonstrating this such as “I stopped te Sphinx. With no help of the birds, the flight of my own intelligence hit the mark.” Jocasta also displays arrogance and mocks the Gods. “You prophecies of the Gods, where are you now?” when she reveals to Oedipus that Laius has a son who was supposed to kill him and marry her. She tells of how he got rid of the child to avoid his fate. Oedipus himself left what he believed were his parents so he would not fall victim to the same horrible prophecy. In trying so hard to avoid their fates, Oedipus and Laius brought them to fruition.
Another theme in the play is loyalty. The citizens of Thebes are loyal to Oedipus because he saved them from the Sphinx. They see him as their savior and can not believe anything bad about him. After everything he’s done for them, they refuse to betray him. Creon also demonstrates loyalty in the play. After the truth is reveled about Oedipus, Creon is made King. He refuses to bnish Oedipus until he is basically forced to by the Gods to save the city. He then agrees to take care of Oedipus’ young children. I think Creon may have learned a lesson from the others and decided not to make any move until he is sure it is what the Gods demand. He has seen what happens when you go against them and he is unwilling to make the same mistakes. Jocasta shows her loyalty as well. She realizes the truth before anyone else does and tries to protect him from finding out the truth himself. He tried so hard to avoid fulfilling the prophecy and she does not want him to find out it was all for nothing. Even Oedipus shows loyalty in his determination to find out the truth and save the city. He is willing to do whatever is needed to help them, even at his own expense.
A final theme is betrayal. Throughout the play, Oedipus turns on people he should trust. This is evidence by Oedipus accusing Creon of trying to steal the throne. Another example is how he treat Tiresiaus.When the prophet reveals the truth about him, Oedipus gets angy and accuses him of being in cahoots with Creon and will not listen to reason. Creon tries to calm him by asking him “who in his right mind would rule and live in anxiety, rather then sleep in peace? Particularly if he enoys the same authority.” The logic is lost on Oedipus.
Oedipus is a classic model of Greek tragedy about the danger of excessive pride. It warns the audience not to get so caught up in pride, you refuse to listen to logic. It can lead to a serious downall.
