Oedipus the King Summary
How It All Goes Down
Oedipus dedicates himself to the discovery and prosecution of Laius’s murderer. Oedipus subjects a series of unwilling citizens to questioning, including a blind prophet. Teiresias, the blind prophet, informs Oedipus that Oedipus himself killed Laius. This news really bothers Oedipus, but his wife Jocasta tells him not to believe in prophets, they've been wrong before. As an example, she tells Oedipus about how she and King Laius had a son who was prophesied to kill Laius and sleep with her. Well, she and Laius had the child killed, so obviously that prophecy didn't come true, right?
Jocasta's story doesn't comfort Oedipus. As a child, an old man told Oedipus that he was adopted, and that he would eventually kill his biological father and sleep with his biological mother. Not to mention, Oedipus once killed a man at a crossroads, which sounds a lot like the way Laius died.
Jocasta urges Oedipus not to look into the past any further, but he stubbornly ignores her. Oedipus goes on to question a messenger and a shepherd, both of whom have information about how Oedipus was abandoned as an infant and adopted by a new family. In a moment of insight, Jocasta realizes that she is Oedipus’s mother and that Laius was his father. Horrified at what has happened, she kills herself. Shortly thereafter, Oedipus, too, realizes that he was Laius’s murder and that he’s been married to (and having children with) his mother. In horror and despair, he gouges his eyes out and is exiled from Thebes.
Setting
In Front of the Palace, Thebes, Ancient Greece
Oedipus the King is set in that doomed city-state called Thebes. Though most Greek playwrights were Athenian, their plays are hardly ever set in their home town. In fact, they weren't allowed to do so. The tragedies did take on issues current Athenian issues, however. For example some scholars think the plague in Oedipus the King is referencing a recent plague in Athens. It seems, though, that Athenians preferred a little objective distance when examining their woes.Athenians also liked objective distance in terms of time. Tragedies were almost always set in Greece's distant past. Sophocles and his buddies adapted their stories from their peoples' rich oral tradition. These tales of gods and heroes had been handed down for generations. Oedipus was an ancient figure even to the ancient Greeks.
Some the earliest written references to the tragic king can be found in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. What's interesting is that in Homer's version of the tale, Oedipus continues to rule Thebes after the horrible truth is revealed. There's no blinding or exile. It's important to realize that none of the ancient stories were set in stone. Sophocles's audience expected him to mutate the myth to his own ends. They enjoyed watching the way the playwright adapted the tales in order to examine both universal truths and topical Athenian issues.
On the micro level, the play is set in front of the palace of Thebes. This was the same place from which Oedipus's father Laius once ruled. Oedipus sleeps in the same bed in which he was most likely conceived. It's more than a little ironic that Oedipus meets his downfall in the same place from which he sprung.
Tragic, Sympathetic, Foreboding, Ironic
It’s important to know Sophocles didn’t make the whole Oedipus story up. The Oedipus myth had been around, so Sophocles’s audience would have been familiar with the tragic ending before the play began. This has a distinct impact on the tone of the plays. The actions of the characters (think of Oedipus’s endless determination to solve the mystery of Laius’s murder) take on a sense of irony and foreboding in this context.Because this play doesn't have a narrator, the tone is profoundly shaped by the commentary of the Chorus. The Chorus expresses genuine sympathy for the situations of the characters, yet at the same time is acutely aware of the upcoming events.
Oedipus the King Plot Analysis
Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Initial Situation
Oedipus is aware that there is a curse on Thebes and has Creon gather insight into how to lift it
These are the circumstances at the beginning of the play. At first, it seems like this us just another "Thebes has a problem, Oedipus makes it go away," deal. Conflict
No one wants to provide any information to Oedipus about Laius’s murder.
Oedipus struggles to get Teiresias, the messenger, and the shepherd to talk. He’s desperate to solve the mystery but he keeps being urged to drop it. Complication
Oedipus begins to realize that he is somehow implicated in Laius’s murder.
The more Oedipus learns, the more he wants to know. Although he is inching closer to the truth, he is damaging himself in the process. Climax
Oedipus realizes he’s slept with his mother and killed his father.
In a moment of horror, Oedipus understands what he’s done. This is the emotional and psychological climax of the play.Suspense
Oedipus enters his bedroom and sees that Jocasta has hanged herself.
Oedipus sees that Jocasta, too, has realized what they’ve done. The suspense is inherent in the fact that we don’t know if Oedipus, too, will kill himself. Given that this is a Greek tragedy, we’re a little bit scared that everyone involved will suddenly commit suicide as well. It’s quite suspenseful.Denouement
Oedipus gouges his eyes out with a brooch from Jocasta’s dress.
With complete knowledge of what he’s done, Oedipus inflicts injury on himself and begs to be exiled from Thebes. Conclusion
Oedipus is exiled from Thebes.
In the last moments of the play, Oedipus is banished from his home.source:www.shmoop.com
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