He tells Jocasta that, long ago, when he was the prince of Corinth, he overheard someone mention at a banquet that he was not really the son of the king and queen. He therefore traveled to the oracle of Delphi, who did not answer him but did tell him he would murder his father and sleep with his mother. Hearing this, Oedipus fled his home, never to return. It was then, on the journey that would take him to Thebes, that Oedipus was confronted and harassed by a group of travelers, whom he killed in self-defense.
This skirmish occurred at the very crossroads where Laius was killed. Oedipus sends for the man who survived the attack, a shepherd, in the hope that he will not be identified as the murderer. Outside the palace, a messenger approaches Jocasta and tells her that he has come from Corinth to inform Oedipus that his father, Polybus, is dead, and that Corinth has asked Oedipus to come and rule there in his place.
He now feels much more inclined to agree with the queen in deeming prophecies worthless and viewing chance as the principle governing the world. But while Oedipus finds great comfort in the fact that one-half of the prophecy has been disproved, he still fears the other half—the half that claimed he would sleep with his mother.
The messenger, a shepherd by profession, knows firsthand that Oedipus came to Corinth as an orphan. One day long ago, he was tending his sheep when another shepherd approached him carrying a baby, its ankles pinned together.
The messenger took the baby to the royal family of Corinth, and they raised him as their own. That baby was Oedipus. Oedipus asks who the other shepherd was, and the messenger answers that he was a servant of Laius. Oedipus asks that this shepherd be brought forth to testify, but Jocasta, beginning to suspect the truth, begs her husband not to seek more information. She runs back into the palace. The shepherd then enters.
Oedipus interrogates him, asking who gave him the baby. The shepherd refuses to disclose anything, and Oedipus threatens him with torture. Finally, he answers that the child came from the house of Laius. Questioned further, he answers that the baby was in fact the child of Laius himself, and that it was Jocasta who gave him the infant, ordering him to kill it, as it had been prophesied that the child would kill his parents. But the shepherd pitied the child, and decided that the prophecy could be avoided just as well if the child were to grow up in a foreign city, far from his true parents.
The shepherd therefore passed the boy on to the shepherd in Corinth. Realizing who he is and who his parents are, Oedipus screams that he sees the truth and flees back into the palace.
The shepherd and the messenger slowly exit the stage. A second messenger enters and describes scenes of suffering. Jocasta has hanged herself, and Oedipus, finding her dead, has pulled the pins from her robe and stabbed out his own eyes. Oedipus now emerges from the palace, bleeding and begging to be exiled.
Othello also suffers from the hamartia of pride. His pride, however, stems from his insecurity concerning his appearance and social graces. What is Oedipus complex in psychology? Oedipus complex, in psychoanalytic theory, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a concomitant sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process.
Sigmund Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams What is classic tragedy? Alternative Title: Classical tragedy. Article Contents. Tragedy, branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. By extension the term may be applied to other literary works, such as the novel.
Why did Oedipus kill his father at the crossroads? Oedipus learned from the oracle at Delphi of the prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother but, unaware of his true parentage, believed he was fated to murder Polybus and marry Merope, so left for Thebes. On his way he met an older man and killed him in a quarrel. Which Greek city did Oedipus live with his adopted parents? Hey, he didn't even realise that the guy that he encountered at the crossroads was the king of Thebes, and his father.
Aristotle in his Poetics writes that characters in a drama should have a fatal flaw, but nobody seemed to have told Sophocles that.
Granted Ajax may have had a fatal flaw, but Ajax is not Shakespeare , and is dealing with an issue that has nothing to do with his character. In reality, other than killing Laius at the crossroads though some could argue that he did so in self-defense , Oedipus has done nothing wrong.
In fact, if he had not investigated the cause of the plague then he would have been negligent. No, it is not Oedipus that has done anything wrong, but rather his ancestors.
Laius is cursed and I believe that going up the ancestral chain further we come to a situation where an ancestor fed human flesh to another human, mostly as payback I can't remember off hand who it was, it could have been Thyestes, but it could have been somebody else - one of Agamemnon's line is also guilty of a similar offense.
In a sense then it is not the actions of Oedipus that brings about his suffering and downfall, but that of his father, and of his father's father. Poor Oedipus is only caught in the middle. One might wonder what was so appealing about a story that everybody knows. Well, it is the same with us. When we look through the video store at all the movies available we discover that the plots of each and every one of those movies are pretty much the same.
It is not the question of the plot, but how we get to the ending, and how the movie ends. We know that so we don't watch the movie for that, but rather how they get there, and how the good guys win. This was the same for the Greeks, and it is fortunate that we have versions of the Electra from the three great playwrights. In this we can see how the actual event differs and how each of the playwrights treated the subject.
No doubt with Oedipus, both Aeschylus and Euripides would have explored different themes, and painted Oedipus in a different light, so that despite knowing the outcome, we arrive there through a different method. He left his house to do the right thing and try to avoid killing his dad, just to come across his real dad and kill him anyway. It's really unfortunate and it really sucks for him. And then he had to go and skewer his eyeballs like yikes he's not having a good time, is he?
RIP Oedipus eyes, I'm sorry this happened to you. Honestly, I know this play is super tragic, and it actually is interesting how he tried to avoid his fate which led to him fulfilling it anywa honestly, I feel bad for Oedipus. Honestly, I know this play is super tragic, and it actually is interesting how he tried to avoid his fate which led to him fulfilling it anyway but you can't not laugh at his misfortune.
Or maybe I have to laugh to avoid thinking about the fact his siblings are his children This is my first reading of the ancient Greek play. Like so many stories that are part of our cultural consciousness, I thought I was very familiar with the plot but was so wrong. That, of course, is what happens but the true tragedy is that it was not intended. In the opening scenes of the play, Thebes has been plagued by f This is my first reading of the ancient Greek play. In the opening scenes of the play, Thebes has been plagued by failing crops, barren women, etc.
Creon, Queen Jocasta's brother, has sought the advice of an oracle who says King Laius was murdered and they must bring his killer to account, either by exile or death, to make things right again. Tiresias, the blind soothsayer, is brought to court and asked to identify the killer and he names King Oedipus.
At first, Oedipus thinks his brother-in-law is involved in a plot to gain the crown for himself. But then the truth begins to slowly come to light as various twists of fate are revealed. The moral of the tragedy seems to be that the fate the gods have planned for a person cannot be avoided. Excellent tale! No wonder it is still so popular after over two thousand years! I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy now. Oct 13, William Gwynne rated it really liked it Shelves: drama , historical , reviewed.
Check it out - The Brothers Gwynne Oedipus Rex is a fantastic play from around BC that is evidently timeless, as it has been popular during the entirety of its long life. It is twisted, clever, shocking, sickening and mind provoking.
By studying this piece, it showed how much depth there really is to this play, and the colossus amount that can be said about any number of subjects it tackles and portrays. The characters are diverse and intricate, with Oedipus featuring as the major character. His fatal flaw is his blindness. This hamartia leads the character through a journey of destruction and realisation, resulting in catastrophe and extreme reactions. It was impossible to predict how each cast member would react to the horrifying events that unfolded.
Oedipus Rex was a very interesting and gripping short play. It is obvious to me why it is recognised as such a seminal work. I would recommend to any who enjoy phycological ideals portrayed in plays, and those who enjoy theatre and ancient literature. Aug 30, Arthur Graham rated it liked it. What's interesting about fate, and what's different from our world and Oedipus's, is that "fate" doesn't really exist in our world.
No real oracles go around telling you you're going to sleep with your mother. Instead, it's a philosophical device. On one side you've got "free will" traditional very Western, very American even with the idea of the individual going forward , and on the other side you've got your fatalists see my mom and her Vietnamese cosmology [is that the word?
I'm not really a fan of philosophy, and as far as I'm concerned the goodness of each approach is only to be judged by how useful they are to a specific person in a specific situation and place and time. I say that there is no fate in our world, but that's not really true. What separates fate from free will is foresight, and there's plenty of that in our world. A cancer patient like my aunt being told she has six months to live. Or even to the much lower level of common sense, like stock markets: what goes up so precipitously, without merit, is likely to come down just as precipitously.
Is it not true men will judge their relationships with women against that first relationship with their moms? She took hold of her finances for the first time in her life, she aired her grievances towards her husband and the frightful in-laws and her children instead of stewing in them, she tied up her inheritance to provide for her youngest through college, she got the death she wanted at home and with Buddhist rites , all so she could live her remaining months in peace, and die in peace, instead of continuing to live practically a lifetime in sorrow.
Is it fair she died so young? Is life fair? This was To be honest I kind of expected for this to be quite dry. I mean, I was required to read this for my English literature class and you know how it usually is. Plus, this old is pretty old, and not Shakespeare old. To be honest, I was kind of relying of Twilight to rescue me. But that was a hit and a miss.
But surprisingly enough, this was not at all what I expected. It was incredible. But it is for me. And at the end of the day, this play really motivated me to pick up a book and read. I love it and it is one of my favorites. Oh and by the way, Oedipus kind of reminded me of Thor and Kreon reminded me of Loki. Feb 06, Mya rated it it was amazing.
I can say that the movie and the book were both delightful. Sep 10, Toria rated it really liked it. I can't decide if it was more tragic or more bizzare. A man killing his father to marry his mother. Interesting play to have read, not as entertaining to read as other plays I've read but an interesting story nevertheless I can't decide if it was more tragic or more bizzare.
Interesting play to have read, not as entertaining to read as other plays I've read but an interesting story nevertheless Let every man in mankind's frailty consider his last day; and let none presume on his good fortune until he find Life, at his death, a memory without pain. Quick question for the day: how can one love Antigone and not have read Oedipus Rex? While dishonorable, it wasn't difficult given how prevalent the play is in our reality, the Freudian safeguards, the Lizard King finding such delight in a Florida retelling.
Much like those Star-Crossed Lovers I was prepared for enjoyment but found the craftin Let every man in mankind's frailty consider his last day; and let none presume on his good fortune until he find Life, at his death, a memory without pain. Much like those Star-Crossed Lovers I was prepared for enjoyment but found the crafting amazing, the chorus most stirring.
I appreciate how the royal arrogance turns to ashes amidst revelation. This is a foundational text, a lesson for the perils of self-awareness. Sure, poke your eyes out. Like that's going to help with anything. Apr 04, Danger rated it liked it.
And here I am, in , thousands of years later, reading it. Literature serves humanity in subtle yet profound ways; it is one of the only bridges we have into the psychology of the past. The world is so goddamn complicated. Reading books like this make me feel gigantic and tiny at the same time.
I actually like this one better than Antigone, the subject is very disturbing, but I liked the writing a lot. Readers also enjoyed. Videos About This Book. More videos About Sophocles.
Sophocles born c. Not many things are known about his life other than that he was wealthy, well educated and wrote about one hundred and twenty three plays of which few are extant. One of his b Sophocles born c. One of his best known plays is 'Oedipus the King' Oedipus Rex. Other books in the series. The Theban Plays 3 books. Books by Sophocles. Some of the best stories take a few hundred years to tell. Oedipus, the ruler of Thebes, has saved the city before by answering the riddle of the Sphinx and therefore removed a terrible plague.
He is again in the same position to save his people from an evil plague, only this time he must figure out what has caused the plague. The setting of the play is also presented in the Prologue. In Oedipus Rex , the city of Thebes acts as the background for the action. The desolate and the devastated city, which is in the grip of a deadly plague, is described as a ship which is:. This description of the city foreshadows the turmoil that will soon take over Oedipus as he begins to investigate who killed Laius.
The mood of the play is set up when Thebes is also compared with Hades, the kingdom of dead. Although he is highly intelligent, Oedipus carries the seeds of his destruction within himself.
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