Analysis Of Oedipus The King
...some to be the “par of excellence” for Greek tragedy (Brunner, 1). The second produced of the three Theban plays by Sophocles, “Oedipus Rex” shows a variety of character qualities of the king that may not have been shown without the extreme circumstances he was subjected to. What elements of his character are revealed through the course of the play? There are distinct elements, positive and negative, that are revealed in Oedipus’ character from events prior to the play’s beginning, during the play’s development, and after Oedipus knows for sure that he is the son of Jocasta and Laius.
History Prior to the Play’s Opening Scene
There is much of the story of Oedipus that happens before the play has ever begun. Oedipus, the protagonist, was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. When an oracle told the king that “he should die by a son’s hands, whom he should have by me(Jocasta the Queen) Laius had his sons ankles “pinned” and “cast him out” (28). The boy was given to a servant with orders to kill him. The servant reluctant to kill the child abandoned him in the mountains of “Cithaeron’s wooded dells”(39). A Sheppard found the boy, who didn’t have enough money to raise him, and named him, Oedipus that means “swollen foot” (Brunner, 1). The Sheppard then gave Oedipus to a man from Corinth who in turn gave the baby to the fruitless King Polybus of Corinth. Oedipus was raised to be a king in Polybus’ household. When a drunk called Oedipus a “changeling” he went and asked Polybus if he really wasn’t his son (30). The king “took the scandal grievously” but Oedipus still had to know for sure so he consulted an oracle (30). That was a great quality of Oedipus; he always had to know for sure. He wanted to know the truth. The oracle told him that he “should wed [his] mother and produce a race intolerable for men to see, and be [his] natural father’s murderer”...
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