Oedipus Rex is one of the monuments of world literature and its plot looms large in the popular consciousness--despite the fact that few have heard of its Greek progenitor, the dramatist Sophocles.
Oedipus Rex is a tale full of high majesty and unspeakable tragedy in which a great man is entwined in a fall of his own making. So enduring was the power of this play that it provided a template for the tragic works that followed it, and was identified by Aristotle (in his Poetics) as the purest of all the classical tragedies.
Oedipus Rex: Overview
The story revolves around a nobleman, Oedipus, who leaves his city when a prophecy is revealed to him that says he will kill his father and marry his mother. He travels to the Thebes to escape his fate. On the outskirts of the city, he meets and quarrels with a group of riders, all of whom he kills.
When he finally arrives in Thebes, he finds that the Sphinx is tormenting the people. The Sphinx refuses to leave the city unless someone answers his riddle. King Laius has been killed, and the land is without a monarch. Oedipus takes on the challenge, answers his riddle, and becomes King of Thebes. He also marries Jocasta, the widow of Laius.
Oedipus Rex: Overview
The story revolves around a nobleman, Oedipus, who leaves his city when a prophecy is revealed to him that says he will kill his father and marry his mother. He travels to the Thebes to escape his fate. On the outskirts of the city, he meets and quarrels with a group of riders, all of whom he kills.
When he finally arrives in Thebes, he finds that the Sphinx is tormenting the people. The Sphinx refuses to leave the city unless someone answers his riddle. King Laius has been killed, and the land is without a monarch. Oedipus takes on the challenge, answers his riddle, and becomes King of Thebes. He also marries Jocasta, the widow of Laius.
The play is set many years later. A plague has descended on the land, so Oedipus summons the blind prophet, Tiresias (who brings dire warnings).
Through a number of conversations, Oedipus discovers that killed on the road was none other than the king. Oedipus has more of a claim to the throne of Thebes than he'd ever imagined. In fact, he was Laius's son. Laius heard the same prophecy as Oedipus, and had sent his baby son away to a distant city, where a noble couple had taken him and pretended that he was their own. Far from running away from his fate, Oedipus had run towards it. He fulfilled the first prophecy when he killed Laius. When he married Jocasta, he made his own mother his queen.
Jocasta rushed into the palace, closely followed by Oedipus. She kills herself by hanging. Oedipus is tormented, in a state close to madness when he sees that she killed herself. So, Oedipus blinds himself and then says goodbye to Thebes. We see the blind Oedipus walking away, with his daughter as his guide.
Through a number of conversations, Oedipus discovers that killed on the road was none other than the king. Oedipus has more of a claim to the throne of Thebes than he'd ever imagined. In fact, he was Laius's son. Laius heard the same prophecy as Oedipus, and had sent his baby son away to a distant city, where a noble couple had taken him and pretended that he was their own. Far from running away from his fate, Oedipus had run towards it. He fulfilled the first prophecy when he killed Laius. When he married Jocasta, he made his own mother his queen.
Jocasta rushed into the palace, closely followed by Oedipus. She kills herself by hanging. Oedipus is tormented, in a state close to madness when he sees that she killed herself. So, Oedipus blinds himself and then says goodbye to Thebes. We see the blind Oedipus walking away, with his daughter as his guide.
Revelation and Transformation in Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex is brilliant in the slow, steady way that its plot is revealed and the dramatic irony that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The realization of who Oedipus is and what he has done arrives early on. We spend the rest of the time waiting in desperate expectation of Oedipus's realization.
Here, Sophocles plays with the psychological transformations in Oedipus. Through the course of the play, Oedipus becomes more aware of who he is. He discovers the truth about the fateful events that have facilitated his downfall. Oedipus fulfills the prophecy from which he was trying to escape. He cannot escape fate.
Blind in Oedipus Rex
Oedipus blinded himself. Writers from John Milton to Sigmund Freud have written about this incredibly symbolic event. In the moment before that horrible act, Oedipus was utterly powerless. The gods had overpowered all of his designs to accomplish their will and torment him. Oedipus can no longer bear to look on his people, himself, or the world. He must escape from that world into darkness and, in the final moments of the play, into exile.
As one of the great works in Western literature, Oedipus Rex is full of powerful poetry and incredible imagery. The voice has echoed through the centuries, and has lost none of its terrible power.
Oedipus Rex is brilliant in the slow, steady way that its plot is revealed and the dramatic irony that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The realization of who Oedipus is and what he has done arrives early on. We spend the rest of the time waiting in desperate expectation of Oedipus's realization.
Here, Sophocles plays with the psychological transformations in Oedipus. Through the course of the play, Oedipus becomes more aware of who he is. He discovers the truth about the fateful events that have facilitated his downfall. Oedipus fulfills the prophecy from which he was trying to escape. He cannot escape fate.
Blind in Oedipus Rex
Oedipus blinded himself. Writers from John Milton to Sigmund Freud have written about this incredibly symbolic event. In the moment before that horrible act, Oedipus was utterly powerless. The gods had overpowered all of his designs to accomplish their will and torment him. Oedipus can no longer bear to look on his people, himself, or the world. He must escape from that world into darkness and, in the final moments of the play, into exile.
As one of the great works in Western literature, Oedipus Rex is full of powerful poetry and incredible imagery. The voice has echoed through the centuries, and has lost none of its terrible power.
