Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King

The setting is Thebes around the fifth century. The inciting incident right away turns up with the plague that now afflicts the citizens, whom King Oedipus calls the "new blood of ancient Cadmus." Cadmus was the founder of the mythological Thebes. These citizens crowd at the king's palace for his action on the feared plague, and as was the custom at the time, the king has already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to consult with the Oracle (or diviner/fortune-teller) at Delphi (Sophocles c 430 BC) for advice and he tells this to the people. Creon returns to relay the Oracle's message to Oedipus that the plague will end only if the murderer of the former king of Thebes, Lauis, is caught and driven out. The message also says that the murderer is still in Thebes. King Lauis was killed by thieves while on the way to consult an oracle (Sparknotes 2003). To pacify the people and bring peace to Thebes, Oedipus promises to find that murderer and drive him out. This part represents the point of attack.

But Oedipus wants to know more, so he calls in the blind prophet, Tiresias, for details. Tiresias initially refuses to tell what he knows, but Oedipus curses and insults him to force him to reveal that knowledge, even threatening to accuse him of conspiracy with the murderer. Tiresias also bemoans his ability to see the truth when it brings only pain. But eventually, he reveals that Oedipus is the murderer himself, which Oedipus of course denies in shock. These are the exposition and rising action. In disbelief, Oedipus even accuses the prophet and Creon of conspiring against him and concludes that Tiresias is crazy. To substantiate his accusation, Oedipus taunts the prophet that she did nothing when Thebes previously suffered from a plague, the Sphinx, which held the city captive until its riddle could be answered. Oedipus boasted that only he could and did.

But Tiresias argues that his excellent skills as a prophet are recognized even by his (Oedipus') parents who trusted him. Oedipus is surprised that the prophet knows his parents. Before leaving, Tiresias tells him a riddle that the murderer of Laius is the father and brother to Oedipus' children and the son of his (Lauis') own wife. As he leaves, Oedipus threatens that he will have Creon killed or exiled for conspiring with Tiresias. This is part of the rising action.

Jocasta has heard their loud talking and she inquires about it. When told, she defensively concludes that all prophecies are false. To prove her statement, she says that the Delphic oracle already made a mistake when it predicted that Lauis, her former husband, would be killed by his own son, yet that son was cast out of Thebes as a baby and that Lauis was, instead, killed by thieves.

But in this unexpected revelation and confrontation between them, Oedipus recognizes the details of the murder of Lauis at that three-way crossroad just before Oedipus' arrival in Thebes. He tells Jocasta that he may, indeed, be that thief who killed her husband. He tells her that he was long ago the prince of Corinth and was prophesied at a banquet that he was not a real son of the king and queen of Corinth and that he would murder his father and marry his own mother. This drove him towards the Oracle, which told him the same thing. He thus decided never to return in order to avoid that destiny. But on his own to Thebes, a group of travelers harassed him and he killed one of them in self-defense. One traveler survived to give testimony: a shepherd, named Polybus. But a son of this shepherd who is a messenger in the palace comes with the news that his father has just died. Jocasta celebrates this development as a negation of the reliability of oracles, because the lone witness has been eliminated from the scene by natural causes. Oedipus is also glad that it seems so, but the other part of the prophecy about marrying his own mother continues to burden and trouble him. Jocasta flees into her chamber in angst. This constitutes the turning point.

This messenger further reveals that Oedipus was brought by another shepherd as a baby to the royal couple of Corinth, who raised him as their son. Oedipus searches for more information, but Jocasta tries to stop him. But Oedipus sends for that other shepherd-witness, who testifies that the said baby was a son of Lauis and Jocasta, whom Jocasta herself gave to him (the shepherd-witness) precisely to kill because of a prophecy that this child would murder his father and marry his own mother.

The play's falling action is the revelation that the shepherd-witness, instead of killing the infant, kept him alive and raised him, believing that the prophecy could be reverted if the child were to grow up in another place far from his real parents. From thereon, this shepherd-witness passed the growing Oedipus on to Polybus who took his turn in raising him.

The realization shocks Oedipus extremely and drives him into the palace. Jocasta has already hanged herself in unbearable guilt and agony and Oedipus discovers her body. He pulls the pins from her robes and blinds himself on both eyes. This is the climax.

Now blind and bleeding, Oedipus comes out of the palace and asks Creon to exile him from Thebes. At the same time, he asks Creon to take care of his two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. Creon has become a greedy man and willingly assumes his crown and power. This is the denouement.