Fate and Ignorance in Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex is a story that can be interpreted on many different levels of thinking. The ancient tale has existed for centuries and has been subjected to countless forms of analysis. What is it that makes Oedipus the King such a fascinating story? Is it the suspense of a developing mystery that captivates the audience? Or perhaps the wonderful feeling the readers get after vicariously experiencing the horror Oedipus feels? And if not that, could it be that the reader is intrigued at Sophocles' description of one man's disbelief in the gods? Whichever way one looks at it, Oedipus Tyrannus was, and remains, one of the "most highly admired plays of all time" (Wood, et al, 163).

One way of interpreting this story is by looking at it as if it were a detective story. When initially reading the play, one can see that the whole plot is focused around Oedipus' search for the truth. On a more specific level, "Oedipus Rex involves a hero trying to clarify a situation involving a murder" (Shaw, 78). It's easy to think of him as a sort of Sherlock Holmes, focused on the ever-present knowledge that there is a murderer out there. Vincent Badger describes Oedipus Rex as "a mystery play. Showing to the characters on the stage the inexorable unfolding of a truth we knew from the beginning." (Badger, 1). From the very start you know that Oedipus is a supposedly good detective, as he had solved the riddle of the Sphinx years before the play takes place (Daniels and Scully, 17). However, knowing this, one would expect Oedipus to realize that there are many questions that he has failed to answer. For example, such obvious things as "Where did the scars on my ankles come from?" or, "Am I marrying my mother?" (Daniels and Scully, 25). These w...

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...view" English Journal 54:7 (1965) p.592-600.

Daniels, Charles B. and Scully, Sam. What Really Goes On In Sophocles' Theban Plays. Lanham: University Press of America, Inc: 1996.

Knox, Bernard M. W. "The Oedipus Films: A Reply." English Journal 55:5 (1966) p.541-550.

Reinhold, Meyer. Essentials of Greek and Roman Classics: A Guide to the Humanities. New York: Barron's Educational Series, 1971.

Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge. New York: Twayne, 1993.

Shaw, Harry. Consise Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999

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Wood, Kerry et. Al. Classics in World Literature. Glenview, IL: Scott-Foresman, 1989.