Theme Of Plague In Oedipus

In the opening scene, Oedipus, king of Thebes, comes outside of his palace to find a priest and group of children praying to the gods to release them from the city-wide plague which has destroyed the crops and left the women barren. He sends Creon, his brother-in-law, to the Oracle at Delphi to find the solution to the plague. At his return, Creon declares that Thebes would be cured once the murderer of the previous king, Laius, was found. Thus, Oedipus swears to find the killer and banish him.

At the Chorus’s suggestion, he sends for the blind prophet Teiresias for consultation. When the prophet arrives, he appears hesitant in answering the king’s questions and warns Oedipus that he would not want to know the answers. Teiresias is coerced

The oracle tells Oedipus that the Laius’ murderer is the source of the plague, and health would only come with the death of the killer. In this, “plague” is used both literally and metaphorically. The physical plague indeed is present, but a sort of moral decay- a moral plague, if you will- is also being exposed. Next, knowledge is a major theme in Oedipus Rex. Throughout the play, Oedipus looks for knowledge and the truth behind Laius’ death. However, the truth became corrosive as more of it was uncovered, eventually leading to Oedipus’ death. With this theme, Sophocles suggests that knowledge, in all its glory, cannot be the source of

Likewise, In 2 Samuel, the prophet Nathan comes to David and rebukes him for the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. When they initially hear the respective stories of Laius’ murder and the unfair treatment of a poor man, they both condemn the transgressors in their stories. To draw another parallel, Oedipus and David both marry the widows of the men they killed. After realizing their sins, Oedipus and David must reconcile themselves. Oedipus does this by gouging out his eyes, and David reconciles by repenting to the Lord. The main difference between the stories is that, when confronted with the mistakes of the past, Oedipus has no place of comfort or solace. Oedipus is distraught and must deal with his sins, while David is eventually able to find forgiveness from God and begin serving him