Play: Oedipus

Oedipus was once an amazing king but he did not know himself. He did not know about his childhood, where he was from or even his parents. If he would have known about his horrific childhood or maybe even who his parents were, his life would have been dramatically different. He would have never known about the prophecy and no one would try to cover-up what he had done to save his dignity. Throughout this entire play Oedipus is striving to find himself, sort out the lies of the murder and learn his fate.

Oedipus’ parents try to kill him when he is three-days-old. Before Oedipus is born, his parents receive a prophecy from the gods. The prophecy states that Oedipus is going to kill his father and marry his mother. So they try to prevent its fulfillment by putting a stake through their son’s feet and placing him in the middle of a field on the hillside. They hoped that animals would get to him and tear him limb by limb or that the weather would be disastrous that night and kill him. They see this as if they are in the right because they would not kill him, the animals or the weather would. The exact opposite happens that night though; a shepherd saves the little baby and names him Oedipus . The shepherd takes the baby back to the city of Corinth and gives him to King Polybus. He tells the king where he found him and what condition he was in. The King takes him in and raises Oedipus as if he were his own son.

As Oedipus grows older, he hears rumors around town that he is not King

Polybus’ biological son. He does not believe the rumors but goes to the King for answers. King Polybis confirms the rumors and Oedipus gets angry. He wants to find answers to where he came from and why his parents did not want him. In search of this he gets ...

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...ould have been fiercely changed. He would have no knowledge about the prophecy and no one would try to cover up what he had done. Throughout this entire play we see Oedipus finding out who he really is and seeing him mature. He does battle with the truth all throughout this play but that is what makes it worth his while. In the end he may not have made the smartest decision but he did what he felt was right through what he knew was his fate.

Works Cited

Dodds, E. R. “On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex” Greece & Rome, 13.1. 1966, 37-49: JSTOR . Web. 13 October 2013.

Harshbarger, Kari. Sophocles’ Oedipus. Washington, D.C.: of America, 1979. Print.

Homer. Oedipus the King. The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Vol. A. 3rd ed. New

York. London: Norton, 2012.707-747. Print.

Johnson, Ian. Sophocles: Oedipus the King. Arlington, V.A. : Richer, 2007. Print.