Study On The tragic Play Oedipus The King: Summary and Analysis Read online

Literary study on the play

  The play rearranges these incidents. Sophocles reveals the story through dialogues and flashbacks. The play starts when people of Thebes are gathered at Oedipus alter calling him to rule them. Yet, he wonders why all these crowds are kneeling and begging. The play starts without giving credits neither for the reader nor for the audience about what is going on the stage or in the script. The reader as well as the audience will have a puzzled mind till the priest speaks. The following quotation "Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame I am Oedipus" shows the arrogant character by which the downfall will come. The story of Oedipus is revealed through the dialogues between the characters using flashbacks, and foreshadows. The dialogue that goes between the priest and the king Oedipus tells about the "former glory". The former glory is a hint to tell the reader, the audience about the achievement that Oedipus has scored. It is solving the sphinx. " we do rate you as first of men in both of our common crisis" suggests that there is a previous heroic history for Oedipus in Thebes. The idea is assured through "you lifted up our lives", " you helped us stand, only to let us fall once more", " Oedipus.. the man of experience", " the omens were good that day you brought us joy". The ironic tragic thing is Oedipus saved Thebes from the sphinx " the deathwatch" to bring them tougher plague, and curse unintentionally. The moment he knows that these people are calling him to be their king to get them way out of the plague, he sends Creon (his uncle, and brother in law) to Delphi: to Apollo the prophet's oracle. Creon comes back with a message from Apollo; says kick the murderer of Laius out of Thebes. Oedipus questions about the identity that may be behind of the murder. He is answered, Laius was murdered by thieves. Oedipus rejects the fact the murderer to be thieves but conspirators. Creon tells we would have thought of a conspirator to be the murder, but no one had shown up to help and then to name himself the king. This what has happened to the murderer of Laius; Oedipus "Laius murderer" solved the curse of the sphinx to bring them harsher one. Oedipus feels concerned about discovering the murder for his own sake; he fears this killer would kill him as well. Although at this stage of the play Oedipus counts himself a stranger to the country, he is a native Theban, as he counts himself stranger to the crime, he is the criminal himself, " as stranger to the story, as stranger to the crime". From this stage onward Oedipus's interest comes to be only to know the killer of Laius. Ironically, tragically, surprisingly, it is Oedipus himself to be the killer of his own father." You pray to the gods" let me grant your prayers. Come. Listen to me ---- do what the plague demands" here Oedipus addresses the people of Thebes. He asks them to name the killer of Laius. He promises them the committer of the murder will not suffer more than the exile " escape the brunt of the charge --- will suffer no unbearable punishment, nothing worse than exile unharmed. Oedipus gives orders to the people to follow. He also wonders if they know the murderer to be a stranger. He would prize the one who discovers a " handsome reward" and gratitude. These behaviors by the king Oedipus present him as a tragic hero. He will bring the destruction of his life by his own hands for the love to know the truth. The reader, the audience knows nothing about Laius but as the former king of Thebes. Sophocles adheres to the three unities. He does not go in detail about anything unrelated to Oedipus story. For example, the priest of Zeus, the reader, and the audience don’t know anything about him but as spokesman of Theban. Every single word is to the point " tragedy of Oedipus" . In addition the whole actions take place in Thebes; Oedipus palace. Yet true other places are mentioned only through a flashback for instance Corinth, Cithaeron, Apollo temple. There is no detailed expository information about these places, as well as there is no action takes place. The time unity is also there in the play, it can be performed within 24 hours. Up to this level, the actions in the play go in dialogues between Oedipus and the leader. The leader is a character modified to reveal details and to introduce other characters such as Tiresias. The dialogue tone raises by a quarrel goes between Oedipus and Tiresias; the blind prophet. The quarrel erupts when Tiresias rejects to tell Oedipus the truth he knows about Laius murder. Oedipus begs Tiresias to tell what he knows. Tiresias refuses to tell what he ''sees'' for his sake; he fears Oedipus to get mad. Yet, when Tiresias is irritated by Oedipus offending cursing accusing words" go in Oedipus answers to the blind prophet are " shameless, obscenity, absurdities, blind, betraying " Tiresias's reply " … unaware of the one you live with" is a slip of the tongue, since he is raged. Oedipus starts making fun of Tiresias's blindness. The more Oedipus enrages Tiresias the more information his tongue slips. He tells him at the end everybody will fling at you the very insult you are flinging at me. Here is a foreshadow for what would come at the end of the play. Tiresias tells Oedipus that he would fall not at his hands but at his own; in other words Oedipus would be the cause ( the causer ) of his downfall. The distinctive ironic thing about this dialogue is the blind who does not see sees the truth, but the one of full sight does not. Oedipus threatens Tiresias that he would pay and suffer for what his tongue has committed of slips. Tiresias psychology is enraged, as a result of Oedipus speech. Tiresias had not intended to tell Oedipus what his tongue has slipped indicated by " you criticize my temper, revile me, forced me, twisted it out of me". Before Tiresias leaves he foreshadows that the killer of Laius will be revealed as a brother and father to his children, husband and a son for the wife he married. After this long quarrel, Oedipus accuses Creon of treachery to overthrow him (Oedipus). Creon denies the fact to be a traitor. Creon feels offended to death since what has been said was said in public. He tries to defend his reputation. He asks Oedipus to think calmly and rationally. Creon tells Oedipus I have never dreamed to be a king. Creon also tells I would rather prefer to be prince forever to handles the pains and suffers out of the kingship. These lines show Creon as a prudent, clever, rational person. These words don’t persuade Oedipus. Creon requests Oedipus to consul the Oracle Apollo. Oedipus asks Creon; did the blind prophet show up to solve the sphinx that I had solved. Oedipus sheds the light on that achievement in order to let Creon remember that it is the people of Thebes who had crowned him, and to show the inability of Tiresias and the lies make that man a prophet. He questions Creon if Tiresias named him" mentioned his name" at the moment Laius had died. Oedipus mentions this to tell the mob that this blind prophet's words are merely fabrication plotted in hand with Creon. Oedipus tells his guard to rest for a while since he could put an end to the conspiracy that Oedipus thinks Creon has plotted against him. The leader tries to calm things down but he fails. At the moment Jocasta shows up, the leader calls them to stop their quarrel and consult the queen. It is here the first presence of the queen Jocasta in the play. Jocasta is the mother and the current wife for Oedipus at this stage. Jocasta asks Creon to leave the palace. She scorns both for quarreling about private issues over their sick land, dying Thebes. The dialogue goes between Jocasta and Oedipus about what Tiresias had said. The past of Oedipus is revealed through the confession to his wife. Oedipus tells her the blind prophet is brought by Creon to accuse Oedipus by killing Laius. Jocasta treats Oedipus as her son, she tries to calm him down. She tries to let his fear of the prophecy that Tiresias has just made to get it gone. She tells him once there was a prophecy foretold that Laius would be killed by his own son. She tells about Laius death to prove to Oedipus that prophecies are nothing but lies. She asserts that Laius was killed by thieves on where the three roads meet. At the moment he hears the place where the murder of Laius took place, he feels freighted, he tells Jocasta about his past and how he kills a procession of the king. He feels afraid that procession to be the king's. Jocasta assures him, he would not be the killer because the story is narrated by the survived witness the shepherd; the killers are thieves not a single man. He feels a bit peaceful, and comfortable to know the fact of Laius killer is a " band of thieves". He asks about how does the king Laius look like. She says " he was swarthy, and the gray had just began to struck his temples, and his build… was n
ot far from yours" Oedipus then asks her to describe the "escort". Jocasta answers " there were five in the party, a herald among them, and a single wagon carrying Laius". Here Oedipus remembers the incident of murdering some men, " I can see it all, clear as day" He questions Jocasta " who told you all this this at the time Jocasta". She answers it is the " A servant who reached home, the lone survivor." She tells him he is not in the palace, she has given him permission to leave Thebes. Yet she assures Oedipus this shepherd can be brought at any time they want. She tells him even if it was you the prophecy won't come true. He hang things till the coming of this shepherd. This is to reemphasize that he must not fear any kind of prophecies. She tells about the shepherd that the one has asked her to be away of Thebes. Now all the matter is left till this shepherd shows up. Even it is early mentioned before. When a dialogue goes between him and Creon that there is no one witnessed but one was so much frightened and could not tell the story clearly. The actions go in climax till the moment the shepherd tells the truth. Note the anticlimax starts to occur with the shepherd words. Oedipus speaks about the story that brought him to Thebes. He tells her, once I was a prince in Corinth. My dad and Mam; Polybus is to be my father and Merope Dorian to be my mother. He confesses about an event that changed his life in Corinth. This event took place when he was at banquet. A drunker shouted in front of Oedipus you are not the son of your parents. Oedipus questioned Polybus and Dorian. Their reaction was the denial, and punishing the fool brutally. Oedipus tells Jocasta that he did not believe. He went to Apollo to make sure about the identity of his parents. Apollo flashes in Oedipus eyes scenes that he would kill his father and marries his own mother. Oedipus feels panic to death from what he saw for Polybus and Merope. He runs away from Corinth to protect his parents by adoption to commit these flashes with the actual real father and mother. Meanwhile the dialogue goes, there is a messenger from Corinth is coming by whom the turning point is caused in Oedipus's life. The messenger asks about where is Oedipus palace. He is told where he is, is the palace, and the ones

  Who answer him introduce him to the queen. Greetings go between Jocasta and the messenger. Afterwards, the messenger tells Jocasta I have got good news and bad ones in the same time. Jocasta asks to listen to them. The messenger tells the king of Corinth is dead. She asks who killed him. The answers comes he had died naturally, a result of his aging " light tip of the scales can put old bones to rest" . Jocasta calls the servant to tell Oedipus to come and hear the news himself. Jocasta says " you prophecies of the gods, where are you now? This is the man that Oedipus feared for years, he fled him not to kill him—and now he is dead, quite by chance, normal, natural death, not murdered by his son." The phrase "the man that fled" is meant to be Polybus. Oedipus hears the news that Polybus is dead. He feels bad, and happy that he avoided the dreadful prophecy. He still fears to go back to Corinth or to pass by because of the woman. He says the woman recurrently many times. Jocasta tells him don’t feel afraid any more. All the prophecies go in vain. The messenger wonders about this woman that Oedipus feels panic towards her to death. Oedipus says it is the queen Merope. Oedipus says it is Merope because "Apollo told me once___ it is my fate I must make love with my own mother, shed my father's blood". Since, the messenger wants to deliver the message that the people of Corinth wants him to be their king, and wants him to be there, he tries to assure these fears are useless. The messenger tells Oedipus I have something that makes your worries vanished " I would ride you of that old worry now". Oedipus promises the messenger with a rich" reward" if he does. The messenger says to let the fears of Oedipus go, and to return to Cornith, that " Polybus was nothing to you", " not in blood". The shock for Oedipus was really harsh.

  Now after the messenger tells Oedipus that he got him in the past from this shepherd is urged to get him into the palace. When the shepherd comes Oedipus asks him if he worked previously for Laius. He answers I did. Then he asks if he knows the messenger. He says I don’t remember. The messenger talks about what they used to do. The sphered memory gets refreshed. The messenger tells the shepherd the boy you gave it to me long time ago here is in front of you. The sphered reacts with aggressive words "shut up damn you" Oedipus asks the shepherd to be strict, direct and to the point to the messenger. The shepherd rejects to answer. Then he admits about the child that he himself he gave it to him Oedipus asks the shepherd to point to the house he has taken him from. He hesitates to say. There is melodramic line I myself find it funny to read. The more I tell the worse death I will get. At last the shepherd confesses about the identity of Oedipus parents it is to be Laius and Jocasta. Jocasta commits suicide. Oedipus blind his eyes hitting them brutally. He becomes a beggar. The words he utters almost are about "horror, blindness, darkness" as the blind prophet has told. The messenger takes the role of the chorus. The reader, the audience knows what goes on through his speech. Creon sympathizes with Oedipus. Oedipus recommends Creon to take care of his own daughters; Ismene and Antigone. At the end Antigone leads her own father to the cave to continue his life as a beggar.

  The end

 

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