Date: 06-06-20
Question no. 01:
Sophocles as a writer:
Sophocles of Kolōnos was one of the most famous and celebrated writers of tragedyplays
in ancient Greece and his surviving works, written throughout the 5th century BCE, include such
classics as “Oedipus the King”, “Antigone”, and “Women of Trachis”. As with other Greek plays,
Sophocles’ work is not only a record of Greek theatre but also provides a valuable insight into
many of the political and social aspects of ancient Greece, from family relations to details of
Greek religion. In addition, Sophocles’ innovations in theatre presentation would provide the
foundations for all future Western dramatic performances, and his plays continue to be
performed today in theatres around the world.
The Greek literature had three great dramatists: Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles.
Their plays were often performed in theatres around Greece, and the best were even distributed
in written form for public reading, kept as official state documents for posterity, and studied as
part of the standard Greek education. Sophocles had an exceptionally long career. His first
competition entry was in 468 BCE and his last (whilst still alive) was in 406 BCE when he was 90.
A great admirer of his fellow playwrights, Sophocles even dressed the actors and chorus of his
final play in mourning to mark the death of Euripides in 407 BCE. Sophocles was, therefore, at
least in terms of victories, the most successful of the three great tragedians.
Tremendously popular in his own time, Sophocles was also an innovative playwright, as
he added a third actor to the tragedy play format and was the first to employ painted scenery (to
suggest a rural scene, for example), sometimes even changing scenery during the play. The use
of three actors (playing multiple roles and wearing masks) was a major breakthrough as much
more sophisticated plots became possible. Sophocles, therefore, stands between the earlier
Aeschylus and the later Euripides. Sophocles was more interested in realistic action than his
predecessors but kept the chorus segment as a more participatory cast member than his
successors. For Sophocles the chorus became both a protagonist and a commentator on the
events of the play, creating a closer relationship with the audience.
Sophocles also made a great user of theatrical metaphor, for example, blindness in the
Oedipus plays and bestiality in “Women of Trachis”, and his work in general sought to provoke
and disturb the audience from their ready acceptance of what is ‘normal’ and what is not,
forcing them through the play’s characters to make difficult or even impossible choices. Other
techniques he used to convey meaning and emphasis were dramatic entrances and exits of
actors and the repeated use of significant props such as the urn in “Electra” and the sword in
“Ajax”. Finally, in the language itself that Sophocles used, we see more innovation, rich
language, highly formalized but with flexibility added by running over sentences and including
segments of more ‘natural’ speech, and the unusual use of pauses results in Sophocles achieving
a greater rhythm, fluidity, and dramatic tension than his contemporaries.
The plays of Sophocles drew on classic tales of Greek mythology. He is very often not so
concerned with what happened (the audience already knew this) but with how these events
happened. Another typical feature is that amongst the principal characters, there is usually a
hero figure with exceptional abilities whose over-confidence and pride ensure a tragic ending.
A theme that runs through Sophocles’ work is right battling against right and that the
characters are mistaken in their interpretation of events. Only when tragedy results, when in
fact, it is all too late, do the characters recognize the truth.
Some of his famous works are “Antigone”, “Oedipus the King”, “Philoctetes”, “Oedipus
at Colonus”, “Ajax”, “Electra” and "Women of Trachis”. “Ajax” tells the story of the legendary
Trojan War hero who is driven mad by the vengeful goddess Athena. In” Antigone”, Sophocles
dramatizes a tragic conflict between human and divine law in the story of Oedipus' daughter and
King Creon. “Electra” takes for its subject the revenge of Agamemnon's children on their father's
killers. “Oedipus the King”, generally regarded as Sophocles' masterpiece, presents the myth of
Oedipus, the man fated to kill his father and marry his mother. He beautifully and skillfully shows
how passion is hard to harness, and if left uncontrolled, can lead to tragedy. Just like in
Oedipus Rex, the passion of Oedipus to find the murderer and punish him leads him to his own
tragedy. His setting of the tragic scene is also remarkable which raises pity in the hearts of the
audience. The scene of Oedipus getting blind and his lamentation upon discovering the truth is
remarkably set by Sophocles. The element of blaming that whatever happens, one can often only
blame oneself is also evident in his plays. Like Oedipus, all of the Thebans blame the murderer of
King Louise for all of their sufferings and the curse that falls upon them because of that one
person. His plays are like cautionary tales and the moral of the story is that ultimately, one
must accept one’s fate. The role of fate is also evident in the case of Oedipus.
In Poetics, Aristotle writes that the purpose of tragedy is to raise pity and fear in the
audience, and so create a catharsis — or cleansing of emotions — that will enlighten people
about life and fate. Each of the plays of the Oedipus Trilogy achieves this catharsis that Aristotle
defined as the hallmark of all tragedy. Sophocles then, has not only provided us with several
masterpieces of literature, but through his innovations, he also helped establish the standard
formula for Greek Tragedy, which along with Greek Comedy, would define the foundations of all
Western theatre for millennia. The work of Sophocles has also escaped the boundaries of
theatre and provoked discussion and reaction in other fields, notably psychology and the work
of Sigmund Freud, which is perhaps testimony to the depth and difficulties of interpretation in
theplays of this great Greek master.
In a nutshell, although Sophocles died more than twenty-four centuries ago, he
continues to live to this day as the greatest tragedian of all time. His themes—pride, justice,
obstinacy, flawed humanity, and the struggle between destiny and free will—are as timely today
as they were in his own time. Aristotle lauded Sophocles as a Supreme writer and called
“Oedipus the Rex”, “the most perfect tragedy”. According to drama critic John Gassner,
“Sophocles comprehended both the joy and the grief of living, its beauty and ugliness, its
moments of peace and its basic uncertainty so concisely expressed by his own line, ‘Human life,
even in its utmost splendour and struggle, hangs on the edge of an abyss’”.
Question no. 02:
What are the major themes in Oedipus Rex?
“Oedipus The King” is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in 429 B.C. Greeks
worshipped a great number of gods. They believed in oracles or prophets that brought down
word and future events from gods. They believed that whatever the gods willed would come
true and a prophecy sealed the fate of whoever received the divine predictions. In other
words, you could not escape fate, and no matter if a person had free will, he would eventually
suffer his fate.
The most important theme we come across in Oedipus Rex is the clash of fate versus
free will, on one hand, there seems to be no escape for Oedipus from his fate, which has been
sealed from his birth, on the other hand, all the actions performed were by choice and the
characters’ free will. No one had forced Laios to bear a child with Jocasta, Oedipus to commit
murder, and Oedipus to marry a woman of his mother’s age. All these actswere not enforced,
but committed by choice. So, this argument would forever last if the tragedy was ordained
by fate or free will.
Other themes in Oedipus seem to clash as well. Throughout the play, the themes of
knowledge and ignorance clash with each other. Where at some points ignorance proves fatal,
at other points knowledge leads to utter demise and fall of characters. Oedipus was in
ignorance of his true parentage, which led him to flee Corinth and marry Jocasta, his birth
mother. Here ignorance proved fatal, while knowledge would have been a blessing, however,
years later, when everything was settled and Oedipus had had many children with Jocasta, the
phrase “Ignorance is bliss” proved true. Also, Oedipus was living in harmony. His thirst for
knowledge and truth was the cause of his demise. Oedipus was warned to forego his quest for
knowledge by many people; Teiresias, Jocasta, and the Shepherd, all warned him to let the
matter lie, however Oedipus in his quest for knowledge allowed his fall.
One of the major themes in Oedipus Rex is Sight versus Blindness. Sight and blindness do not only
come into play literally in the tragedy, but also in the metaphorical sense. Oedipus is intelligent,
so much so that he solves the riddle given by the sphinx which many men had failed to interpret.
It is Oedipus’ sight or wisdom that leads him to defeat the monster by answering his riddle.
Oedipus was a wise king and a fair ruler. However, at the same time, he commits many follies
which are caused by his blindness to happenings around him. He fails to realize that he indeed
killed a man of his father’s age who was his father by birth. Similarly, he married a woman of an
age rivalling his mother’s, when it was just prophesized that he would do so. He failed to see
when indeed he had sight. Instead, he was blinded by the glory he received by defeating the
sphynx and accepted his place as the king of Thebes by marrying Jocasta. Hence Oedipus having
sight
and
blindness
at
the
same
time
contradicts,
but
it still became a cause for tragedy. Oedipus also blindly accuses others like Kreon and
Teiresias,however, everything comes back to haunt Oedipus. There are many ironic statements
in the play, such as when Oedipus admonishes Teiresias.
“You sightless, witless, senseless, mad old man!”
But later Oedipus himself would turn out to be sightless, both literally and metaphorically.
Another theme is the theme of self-discovery. The reason Oedipus seeks the truth
despite many warnings from Iocasta as well as Teiresias and the shepherd is because he
wants to discover the truth about himself and his real parentage. Jocasta knows the truth but
still refuses to face it, and she tries to protect Oedipus from knowing how disastrous the
situation is. When Oedipus persists and says, "I cannot end this now. I must reveal the details
of my birth," Jocasta replies, "In the name of the gods, no! If you have some concern for your
own life, then stop! Do not keep on investigating this." Jocasta knows that Oedipus will suffer
once he discovers his true identity:
"O, you unhappy man! May you never find out who you really are!"
In the end, Oedipus indeed discovers the truth. His self-discovery is very painful, as the
circumstances of his being Laios and Jocasta’s son are revealed.
Another theme in the play is Pride. Oedipus prides himself in being a good, fair and just
king. He believes like he first saved the city from the sphynx, he can once again easily rid it of
the problem i.e., the plague. He promises the citizens that he would solve the problem of the
plague, without knowing any circumstances as to why the gods are punishing Thebes with the
plague. It is his pride in being a prince that leads him to murder without worrying about the
consequences. And later it is his pride as a king that has caused him to forget about the
murder he committed. Rather than believe that he himself is the criminal, he baselessly
accuses Teiresias and Kreon. The hamartia or fatal flaw of Oedipus is pride. Pride leads to his
fall.
Other important themes include prophecies, oracles and predestination. The Greeks
believed the oracle’s words to be true and the prophecies to be fulfilled. This compelled Laios
to act in a way that separated Oedipus from his true parents and hence started the prophecy.
The theme of predestination made it futile to resist the prophecy and decree of the gods. By
attempting to escape the prophecy dictated by the gods, he ends up fulfilling it. In doing so,
Oedipus becomes guilty of hubris as he tries to overcome his human limitations and rescind
the prophecy. In the end, a lesson is learned that the decree of gods is absolute and once
written, destiny cannot be escaped.
On one hand, the oracle gives the prophecy and compels the characters to act in a
certain way to avoid the prophecy, but on the other hand, the oracle itself is what causes the
fulfilment of the prophecy. Because the characters’ actions to avoid the prophecy eventually
weave the way for the prophecy to take place.
Hence, the main themes of Oedipus Rex are the tragic consequences of knowledge
and ignorance, the triumph of fate over individual will, and revealing versus obscuring truth.
All these together bring about the tragedy by intermingling in many ways.
Question no. 3:
Discuss “Oedipus Rex” as a tragedy.
Sophocles’ play “Oedipus Rex” has also been called “Oedipus the Tyrannus” in certain
chapters in the history of epic tragedy. At its best, it is a tragedy par excellence. Aristotle
referred to “Oedipus Rex” as an ideal tragedy in his book “Poetics” because it is the perfect
imitationof an action. It is serious and also affects a person to cause catharsis of pity and fear.
Moreover, it has a magnitude of actions and indeed it is complete in itself; it has a proper
beginning, middle and end. Aristotle focused on the plot of “Oedipus Rex” which is the prominent
element of a tragedy.
Sophocles embroidered the plot of “Oedipus Rex” very skillfully, due to which it became
the favourite of Aristotle. “Oedipus Rex” starts when the people of Thebes suffer due to an
unknown disease. The king of Thebes tries to find the solution to the problem; that part of the
play unveils different things. Thus, the middle of the plot is the combination of the beginning and
leading the plot towards the end. The plot has also a proper end as it has no further event but a
tragic finish. Thus, Sophocles masterly knitted every event of the plot in this tragedy.
The character of Oedipus in “Oedipus Rex” belongs to the class of kings; his nature is
noble; he is good but not perfect; his hamartia is the reason behind his sufferings; he falls from
prosperity to adversity. These requirements of a tragic hero cause the catharsis of pity and
fear. Hence, there is no denying the fact that “Oedipus Rex” does not go beyond the
requirements of tragedy as defined by Aristotle in “Poetics”.
The opening scene of the play illustrates Oedipus as a saviour and sage among men;
however, the looming reality of his fate never wanders far from the audience’s perception. As the
great Oedipus embarks on a search for King Laius’ killer, the audience begins to sympathise with
Oedipus. It seems as he comes closer to the truth, he begins to recognize his doomed fate. The
purpose and perseverance with which Oedipus organizes the search for the former king’s killer is
symbolically significant. It is tragically a foreboding of Oedipus’ subconscious belief in his guilt. In
addition, his passionate insistence,
“As for the criminal, I pray to God—
Whether it be a lurking thief or one of a number—
I pray that that man’s life be consumed in evil and wretchedness.
And as for me, the curse applies no less
If it should turn out that the culprit is my guest here,
Sharing my heart”,
Ironically mirrors his own awaited doom. The harrowing realization that he is the killer
of the great King Laius and a perpetrator of incest is too much for Oedipus to bear. In a
moment of deep sorrow, he gouges his eyes out, for he cannot bear the thought of seeing the
results of his own sin. According to A.E. Haigh, it is at this moment when the realization of the
truth begins to surface amongst the audience for
“The audience knows the wrath of heaven will have crushed and shattered him”.
His fatal words create his destination when the truth is revealed which he is unable to
accept. The belief in Greek Culture was
“You would be the same way in the afterlife as you were when you died” (“Religion
Facts”)
The tragic significance of this last scene in the play adequately illustrates the brilliance
of Sophocles. The physical act of self-inflicted blindness not only signals self-purging but also
ametaphorical coming of age for Oedipus. In his newfound blindness, he has never seen more
and for Oedipus, this is an insurmountable and painful truth. Oedipus himself said that
“Oedipus: Apollo. Apollo. Dear
Children, the god was Apollo.
He brought my sick, sick fate upon me.
But the blinding hand was my own!
How could I bear to see
When all my sight was horror everywhere?”
The tragedy “Oedipus Rex” is a tragedy of fate; its tragic effect depends on the conflict
between the all-powerful will of the gods and the vain efforts of human beings threatened
with disaster; a resignation to the divine will, and the perception of one's impotence is the
lesson which the deeply moved spectator is supposed to learn from the tragedy. But if Oedipus
had not been hot-tempered, he might not have gotten entangled in a fight on the road and
might have not been guilty of murdering his father. Similarly, if he had been a little more
cautious, he might have hesitated to marry a woman old enough to be his mother. After all,
there was no compulsion either in the fight or his marriage. Both his acts may thus be
attributed to his defects of character. All at once it has to be accepted that the decree of the
oracles was inescapable. Even if Oedipus had taken the precautions, the prophecy was to be
fulfilled. The oracle’s prediction was unconditional; it did not say that if Oedipus did such and
such a thing, he would kill his father and marry his mother. The oracle simply said that Oedipus
would kill his father and marry his mother. What the oracle said, was bound to happen. After
the prophecy of the oracle came true and the self-blinding act of Oedipus, the Catharsis of
Oedipus Rex is shown in the following lines:
“... no more,
No more shall you look on the misery about me,
The horrors of my own doing!
Too long you have known
The faces of those whom I should never have seen,
Too long been blind to those for whom I was searching!
From this hour, go in darkness.”
Also, if Oedipus is the innocent victim of inescapable doom, he would be a mere puppet
and the play becomes a tragedy of destiny which denies human freedom. Sophocles does not
want to regard Oedipus as a puppet; there is reason to believe that Oedipus has been portrayed
largely as a free agent. The attendant in the play insistently describes Oedipus’ self-blinding as
voluntary and distinguishes it from his involuntary murder of his father and marriage with his
mother.
Oedipus’ actions are fate-bound, but everything that he does, he does as a free agent –
his condemnation of Teiresias and Creon, his conversation with Jocasta to reveal the facts, his
pursuing of his investigation despite the efforts of Jocasta and the Theban shepherd to stop him,
and so on. Oedipus, freely choosing a series of actions, led to his own ruin. Oedipus could have
left the plague to take its course but his pity over the sufferings of his people forced him to
consult the oracle. He could have left the murder of Laius uninvestigated, but his love of justice
obliged him to inquire. He need not have forced the truth from the reluctant Theban shepherd
but he could not rest content with a lie. Teiresias, Jocasta, and the Theban shepherd each tried
to stop Oedipus, but he was determined to solve the problem of his parentage. The direct cause
of his ruin is not fate; no oracle said that he must discover the truth. Still less does the cause of
his ruin lie in his weakness. His strength and courage, his loyalty to Thebes and his love of truth
cause his ruin. All this shows him a free agent.
Even though Oedipus is a free agent in most of his actions, still the most tragic events
of his life – the murder of his father and his marriage with his mother – were inevitable. Here
the responsibility of fate cannot be denied. The real tragedy lies in the discovery of truth,
which is due to his own traits. If he had not discovered the truth, he would have continued to
live in a state of blissful ignorance and there would have been no tragedy and no suffering.
But the parricide and the incest were pre-ordained and for this, fate is responsible.
The depth of Sophocles’ character development was unmatched, except by his
contemporary Euripides, for almost two thousand years. Sophocles’ drama is one of
psychological development. His audience saw Oedipus as a model for human greatness, but
also as a model for the human capacity to fall from a great height. This great tragedy is about
the limits of human knowledge; it is also about the limits and the frailty of human happiness. To
do full justice to the work some critics also said that Oedipus Rex is a tragedy of tragedies.
Question no. 4:
Plot Construction (I) Bring out some of the impossibility and inconsistencies in
“Oedipus Rex”.
(ii) How does Sophocles succeed in maintaining suspense in “Oedipus Rex” OR discuss
the use of irony in the plot?
The plot of “Oedipus Rex” is so remarkable that the drama has been called one of the
most perfect dramas in terms of its plot construction. That is why Aristotle took it as a model of
tragedy in his Poetics. The plot of this play is precise, and it is thematically compact. The action
progresses quickly. Sophocles introduces nothing that would not be demanded by the thematic
significance and the unity of the plot. The play unfolds all necessary actions in approximately a
single day's happenings in the royal palace of Thebes. However, within this single revolution of
the sun, Sophocles has brought to light the total life of King Oedipus since his birth.
It is necessary to understand Aristotle’s concept of tragedy to analyze the plot
construction of “Oedipus Rex”. According to Aristotle,
“A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, having magnitude,
complete in itself; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, each kind
brought in separately in the parts of the work; in dramatic, not in narrative form; with
incidents arousing pity and fear; wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions”.
Aristotle’s conception of tragedy is ‘biological ‘, i.e., he compares tragedy to a living
organism. Just as the living organism takes on a definite shape because of its skeleton, Plot
gives an important design to tragedy. According to Aristotle,
“Plot is the soul of tragedy.”
And,
“A tragedy is impossible without plot, but there may be one without character”.
Aristotle defines tragedy as an imitation of an action. The action is made up of several
logically connected incidents. The action is a change from fortune to misery. The plot is the
arrangement of the incidents. To Aristotle, Plot did not mean an external pattern of action
largely independent of the specific character, or agent. Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” follows the
ancient Greek traditions of unity of time, space and action. Unity of time means that all of the
action takes place within one day. Unity of place means that all of the action occurs in just one
location; in this case, it is the front steps of the palace where Oedipus resides with his wife,
Jocasta. Unity of action means that there is just one main plot and not lots of other smaller
subplots. The action imitated in the play is single and whole. The plot structure is such that the
removal or transposal of any part would disrupt or dislocate the whole.
The entire plot of the play is divided into the Prologue, exposition, the rise in action,
climax and exodus. The play opens with a Prologue, which is in the form of dialogue. In the
Prologue, the protagonist lays down the statement for the rest of the play to proceed. All the
necessary details about Laios’ murder are presented in the Prologue of the play. The Prologue
ends with a choral ode called the Parodos. The Prologue is followed by the Exposition. In the
Exposition, the plot takes a new turn with the introduction of a new character and the conflict
is presented. In “Oedipus Rex”, the old prophet Teiresias’ arrival and his revelations about
Oedipus’ birth and life serve this purpose. The Exposition also ends with an ode called Stasimon I.
The exposition is followed by the second act and this marks the rise of action in the play.
This is the longest act and is divided into three scenes: the confrontation between Oedipus and
Creon, the intervention and persuasion by Jocasta and the dialogue between Oedipus and
Jocasta. The act ends with the second Stasimon. The third act or the climax follows the second
act of high action. In this act, all the questions raised in the previous act find a solution. The
mystery of Oedipus’ dreadful and horrible life is solved and the play reaches its climax. The final
scene or the Exodus of the play presents the outcome of the tragedy. The queen commits
suicide and the devastated Oedipus blinds himself.
The plot of “Oedipus Rex” is of complex type and it has the elements of Peripety and
Anagnorisis which maintain the element of suspense throughout the play. According to
Aristotle,
“Peripety is the change from one stage of things within the play to its opposite of the
kind described, and that too the probable or necessary sequence of events”.
Peripety occurs in a plot when a course of action is intended to produce a result opposite
to the one intended. For example, in “Oedipus Rex”, the messenger from Corinth tries to pacify
Oedipus and dispel his fear of marrying his mother, but by revealing who Oedipus really is, he
produces exactly the opposite result. This is also connected with Tragic irony.
On the other hand, Anagnorisis or discovery is “a transition from ignorance to
knowledge”. It is a recognition of truth. The tragic effect is the greatest when Discovery is
accompanied by a change in fortune. And this is what happens with Oedipus: the change in
fortune takes place from the point where he discovers his true parentage. According to
Aristotle,
“The best of all Discoveries is arising from the incidents themselves, when the great
surprise comes about through a probable incident”.
The Discovery in “Oedipus Rex” arises from the very incidents of the play. It appears natural
and credible, and it startles the reader or the audience as well.
In addition to Peripety and Anagnorisis, the irony of action also maintains the suspense
in the plot. The fulfilment of oracles is marked with intense irony. The oracles’ prophecies are
fulfilled just after they seem of no consequence to the characters. There is irony in the
intentions of the rescuers and the outcome of their actions. Oedipus himself who is appealed
by the Priest of Zeus, is the very cause of the trouble against which they have come to
supplicate. For example, the following statement of Oedipus is highly charged with irony,
“But when he comes, then, may I prove a villain, if I shall not do all the God
commands”.
The irony is that Oedipus does not know he is going to be the subject of God’s
commands. And when the effort of the messenger from Corinth produces the opposite effect,
the irony of action reaches its peak. The intention of the messenger is clear from the following
statement,
“I come from Corinth and the news I bring will give you pleasure. Perhaps a little pain,
too”.
Little did the messenger know that his news would be the cause of Oedipus’ misery and not
pleasure.
According to Aristotle, the plot of a play should be governed by the laws of probability
and necessity. Organic unity is linked with the principles of probability and necessity. The
action of the play need not be historically true. The writer deals with something that might
happen or ought to happen in a certain set of circumstances. These two laws govern the plot of
“Oedipus Rex”. The events and situations follow one another ‘inevitability ` in the play. It is the
law of probability and necessity which govern the behaviour of the agents. People indeed
demand a greater sense of logicality and credibility from art than we do from real life.
Therefore, Aristotle says,
“A plausible impossibility is preferable to an implausible possibility”.
Probable Impossibility refers to a situation that is impossible to happen in the real world
but is probable in the universe of imaginary events that are assumed to exist. This lets the
reader/audience suspend their judgment concerning the impossibility of the narrative. This is
called the willing suspension of disbelief. On the other hand, Improbable Possibility refers to a
situation that is a possibility in the real world but is extremely unlikely. There is a great
consideration of plausibility in Oedipus ignoring all of the hints that are put before him by
Jocasta and others.
The plot of “Oedipus Rex” follows the laws of probability and necessity but it is not
without impossibilities and inconsistencies. Yet they are forgotten in the power and grandeur
in which Sophocles moves the story forward. One inconsistency lies in the Prologue, where
Oedipus first makes this impression on us that he does not know why the people of Thebes
have come to him, but later, he says that he knows about the whole situation and he has
already taken steps to eradicate the problem. It is also highly improbable that Oedipus and
Jocasta never confided in each other during the fifteen years of their marriage. It is impossible
for them not to discuss the circumstances of Laius’ murder and Oedipus’ reason for leaving
Corinth.
The behaviour of the Theban shepherd also raises some questions. It is not
understandable why he falsely reported that Laius was attacked by a group of robbers, or why
he kept silent when he saw Oedipus ruling in Thebes, but simply asked for his transfer to
the country-side. One may also wonder why he was treated with so much leniency when it was
found that he had abandoned his master and fellows dead by the roadside. The answers to
these questions are plausible. It is also inconceivable and preposterous that no else ever
mentioned to Oedipus that Laius was murdered while he was on a journey. The answers to
these questions are plausible. Yet these questions are overshadowed by the perfectly knitted
plot and characterization of the play. These impossibilities and inconsistencies in the plot of
“Oedipus Rex” do not follow the laws of probability and possibility.
In a nutshell, “Oedipus Rex” has a well-knitted plot which is like an organic hole. The plot
has been described as “the most perfect plot of a tragedy” by Aristotle on account of its
grandeur and intensity.
Question no. 05:
Discuss the use of dramatic irony and irony of fate in “Oedipus Rex”.
Sophocles' play “Oedipus Rex” is a Greek Tragedy. And obvious enough the protagonist is a
tragic hero. In Greek drama, tragic heroes are characterized by a fatal flaw that indisputably
leads to their downfall. Sophocles' plays are exposed by the use of the irony of fate. Greek
Tragedy playwrights believed that the fate of men is pre-determined and therefore cannot be
changed. Men should bow before the power of fate. Similarly, in Oedipus Rex, fate is entwined
with the three characters i.e., Oedipus Rex, Jocasta, and Lauis, without even them knowing it.
Before the play, an oracle told King Laius and Queen Jocasta their unborn child would kill the
king and marry his mother. So, to avoid such unfortunate circumstances the infant was left on a
hill to die. But fate is not intending to be thwarted when the child gets adopted by the king of
Corinth.
Oedipus was bemused by the audacity of fate. He was fulfilling the strains of his fate by
not even realizing it. He was also told by an oracle that he would murder his father and marry his
mother. But he paid no heed to the signs of the prophecy being fed to him by the Oracle of
Delphi and did whatever pleased him. On his way back to Thebes, he killed his father unwittingly.
On returning to Thebes, he was made king due to his service of freeing the city from the trap of
the monstrous Sphinx. He married the widow Queen who is his real mother. He should have
been more conscious of the facts stated to him. Both Oedipus and Lauis neglected the ruthless
truths of their fate. They thought about the external factors more and stayed unmindful of the
knowledge of prophecy.
Sophocles also uses dramatic irony in his play to foreshadow the character of Oedipus.
How Oedipus, unknowingly condemns himself by demanding to know the truth about the
murderer of the former king. The entire action of the play is built on the dramatic irony that the
murderer that Oedipus seeks is himself. Dramatic irony is reported as when a character on the
stage is blinded to the reality that the audience knows through the dramatist. This ignorance of
reality is known to the character later after some time when the character himself is engulfed in
the shackles of his fate. In dramatic irony, the audience is always one step ahead of the
characters. A character involved in dramatic irony is, as G.G. Sedgewick expresses it, “acting in
ignorance of his condition.”
The use of dramatic irony was famously used by the Greek playwrights as a means to
keep the audience engrossed in the play and to build up suspense. The beginning of the play is
charged with dramatic irony when the people of the city of Thebes invoke their king, Oedipus, to
deliver them from the curse. This is quite ironic as Oedipus himself is the root of this infliction.
The irony of the situation doesn't end there. Oedipus endeavoured to seek out the murderer of
the former king, Laius. And punish the culprit. The irony lies in the fact that the murderer is no
other than himself. So, he is unknowingly talking about himself to get the penalty of the murder
which he committed unconsciously.
The irony is apparent to the audience when the blind seer Tiresias tells him that he is the
curse that has been inflicted on the city of Thebes. And that he is the murderer of Laius. Oedipus
got enraged and insulted his blindness. But the irony is that Tiresias is blind but can see the
truth; Oedipus has his sight but cannot see! And then Oedipus is genuinely cursing himself when
he thinks he is cursing the slayer of Laius. The audience knows whatever he is doing will come
forward as a danger to himself. He should surrender to fate. Every attempt he makes to rectify
thesituation and help his subjects of Thebes only serves to bring more harm to him. Both irony of
fate and dramatic irony work parallel to each other in the play. In the end, Oedipus gouged his
eyes after learning the horrible truth of his fate. He said;
“What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy”
These lines show that Oedipus is eager to accept his harsh, self-administered
punishment and accept it with all the grace he can muster. He is repenting. Oedipus tries to
escape his predicted fate but without realizing it, systematically acts to fulfil it.
The fulfilment of oracles is marked with intense irony. The oracles’ prophecies are
fulfilled just after they seem of no consequence to the characters. There is irony in the
intentions of the rescuers and the outcome of their actions. Oedipus himself who is appealed
by the Priest of Zeus, is the very cause of the trouble against which they have come to
supplicate. For example, the following statement of Oedipus is highly charged with irony,
“But when he comes, then, may I prove a villain, if I shall not do all the God
commands”.
The irony is that Oedipus does not know he is going to be the subject of God’s commands.
And when the effort of the messenger from Corinth produces the opposite effect, the irony of
action reaches its peak. The intention of the messenger is clear from the following statement,
“I come from Corinth and the news I bring will give you pleasure. Perhaps a little pain,
too.”
Little did the messenger know that his news would be the cause of Oedipus’ misery and
not pleasure. Thus, the plot of “Oedipus Rex” is highly charged with the irony of fate and the
dramatic irony which makes it “the most perfect tragedy” according to Aristotle.
Question no. 6:
To what extent is the concept of Hamartia applicable to the tragedy of Oedipus Rex?
OR -Character sketch of Oedipus
Oedipus as a tragic hero (in the light of remarks of Aristotle in "Poetics")
In your view is Oedipus a free agent or the victim of overpowering fate?
The immediate cause of Oedipus' ruin is not “fate” or “the gods”: no oracle said that
he must discover the truth. Still less does the cause of his ruin lie in his own
weakness. What causes his ruin is his strength and courage, his loyalty to Thebes,
and his loyalty to the truth. Comment.
“Oedipus Rex”, subtitled as ‘A series of unfortunate events’, written by Sophocles is preeminently the most legendary tragedy of all times. Oedipus is an ill-fatted tragic protagonist of
the play, who unknowingly falls from the heights of grandeur into the pits of incest and murder
and finally, chooses to take his own light and forces a self-exile upon himself. Although
Sophocles crafted Oedipus long before Aristotle developed his ideology in “Poetics”, Oedipus
fits Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero with startling accuracy. He is the tragic hero par
excellence and richly deserves the title of "the ideal tragic hero."
In Aristotle’s “Poetics”, the ideal tragic hero is the one who is neither an utter saint nor a
wicked incarnate. Aristotle points out that:
“The ideal tragic hero … must be an intermediate kind of person, a man not pre-eminently
virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity
but by some error of judgment.”
According to Aristotle, the audience must perceive the tragic hero as a "larger and better"
version of themselves. He must be a man of noble birth and higher rank than the audience.
The dynamic nature of Oedipus’ nobility earns him this grandeur. Even before the revelation
that Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta, the King and Queen of Thebes, he is believed to
be the son of Polybius and Merope, Royalty of Corinth. Oedipus also earns this respect at
Thebes when he solves the riddle of the Sphinx. As a gift for freeing the city, Creon gives
Oedipus dominion over the city. Thus, Oedipus' nobility derives from many diverse sources,
and the audience develops a great respect and emotional attachment to him.
Oedipus also qualifies for other parameters of an ideal tragic hero like having
goodness, being appropriate, true to life and consistent throughout the play. There has to be
probability in his actions, and words as well as in the situation in which he is placed, also
every development in character must be presented logically. Oedipus is a great king and a
good human being. The opening scene shows Oedipus’s goodness of character and his
magnificence and appropriateness as a king who is so concerned about the welfare of his
people. He addresses them as "my children", he appears to suffer equally with them due to
the plague in his city. Being a king, he is compassionate and considerate of his people. He
addresses them at the palace gates and says,
"Poor children! You may be sure I know
All that you longed for in your coming here.I
know that you are deathly sick; and yet.
Sick as you are, not one is as sick as I.
Each of you suffers in himself alone
…but my spirit groans for the city"
Oedipus is a great man with respectable moral values which shows he is a man of flesh
and blood and a consistent personality. His quest for truth is remarkable. The priest glorifies
the king as a man "Surest in mortal ways and wisest in the ways of god". He is a man who has
become the king as much through his intelligence as through his power. It is he who solved
the Sphinx's riddle and saved all citizens from the monster. He has always become the
ultimate and almost the only rescue and hope at the time of misfortune and proves himself to
be consistent.
Aristotle took Oedipus as a subject of his ideology of an Ideal tragic hero and
hypothesized the three parameters that define the tragic hero. First, his dynamic and
multifaceted character emotionally bonds the audience, second, his tragic flaw forces the
audience to fear for him, without losing any respect and third, his horrific punishment elicits a
great sense of pity from the audience. It means that his fortune must be reversed from
happiness to misery and he must suffer from his error of judgment that roots out of his
“hamartia”. The Greek term "hamartia," is taken from archery which literally means, ‘missing
the mark’ and is typically translated as "tragic flaw," which is actually closer in meaning to a
"mistake" or an "error," "failing," rather than an innate flaw.
In general terms, Hamartia may arise in three ways. Firstly, it may derive from an
ignorance of some material circumstances. Secondly, the error of judgment may arise from a
careless view of a given situation. Thirdly, the error may be voluntary though not deliberate.
This happens in an act of anger or passion. In Aristotle's understanding, all tragic heroes have a
"hamartia," but this is not inherent in their characters, for then the audience would lose respect
for them and be unable to pity them. Instead, the character's flaw must result from something
that is also a central part of their virtue, which goes somewhat awry, usually due to a lack of
knowledge; a kind of human failing and human weakness. Oedipus fits this criterion with the
unique and complex nature of his hamartia which is his lack of knowledge about his own
identity. Only if he knew and believed that he was not the real son of Polybius and Merope, he
would never have left Corinth and never have killed King Laius where three highways meet.
However, the audience fears for Oedipus because nothing he does can change the outcome.
Since the hero provides the moral axis of the tragedy, many critics believe that the hamartia of
Oedipus lies insome moral fault.
Moral dissection of Oedipus’s character yields both positive and negative aspects.
Aristotle points out that Oedipus' tragic flaw is excessive pride, hubris and self-righteousness.
Sophocles put it as,
"The tyrant is a child of Pride
Who drinks from his great sickening cup
Recklessness and vanity.”
In the duration of the play, Oedipus does appear to be proud and overconfident. He
angrily and impulsively accuses Creon and Tiresias of plotting against him and also seems to
outwit the oracles by leaving Corinth. However, it is interesting to note that none of the abovementioned factors directly caused or contributed to his fall. It is his positive and good nature
that brings him closer to his doom. His relentless quest for the truth for the welfare of his
people forces him to send Creon to seek help from oracles which ultimately brings his own
destruction. His biggest tragedy also stems out of his righteousness when he announces his
punishment and inflicts upon him the gore act of self-exile and self-blinding and surrenders to
the power of gods. Even though his actions have been taken unknowingly he takes full
responsibility for his sins and exclaims,
"No. For the love of God, conceal me
Somewhere far from Thebes, or kill me; or hurl me
into the sea, away from men's eyes forever.
Come, lead me You need not fear touch me
of all men, I alone can bear this guilt"
It is often argued that Oedipus could have avoided his ill destiny by taking certain
precautions. If he could promise never to kill a man and marry an aged woman, he would have
averted the fate. But Oedipus is a tragic character because he is humanly frail, morally
intermediate, and good, but not unflawed by a tragic weakness, and therefore relatable to the
reader in their inescapable human conditions.
Suffering is the base of the tragedy and also the third parameter of an ideal tragic hero.
It is fulfilled with Oedipus's downfall which elicits a great sense of pity from the audience and
causes purgation or catharsis. Through a self-blinding act as opposed to committing suicide
Oedipus achieves a kind of surrogate death that intensifies his suffering. Oedipus receives the
worst of both worlds between life and death. Oedipus himself and the Chorus both note that
Oedipus’ pain and suffering will continue after the tragedy's conclusion. The notion of
continued suffering makes the audience feel even greater fear and pity for him and leaves
them wondering if Oedipus suffers more than he deserves. In his own words,
“God. God.
Is there a sorrow greater?
Where shall I find harbour in this world?
My voice is hurled far on a dark wind
What has God done to me? "
Hence, the misfortune in Oedipus’ case is the result of the crimes of incest and parricide
which were committed by him though unintentionally. Oedipus as a tragic character is heroic
because of his struggle, and presents to the reader the moral paradox of human life and
reality. His tragedy arouses fear in the audience because of the universal truth of his realitythat
no matter how hard one tries to escape his reality, in the end, it’s all in vain.
“Oedipus is a kind of symbol of human intelligence which cannot rest until it has
solved all the riddles- even the last riddle, to which the answer is that human happiness is
built on an illusion.”
Question no. 7:
Do you agree with the view that the last scene shows Oedipus still a man of
decisive action and initiative?
What impression do you get from the last scene?
Write a note on the concept of Catharsis. Do you find any note of loftiness and
exaltation in Oedipus Rex?
Do you feel it all melancholic and pessimistic?
The last scene of “Oedipus Rex” is highly significant. It depicts the true, dominant, lofty
and intelligent personality of Oedipus. It also helps the audience to purge their bodies by
arousing powerful emotions in them. Oedipus remains active and decisive throughout the play.
He retains his heroic personality even after the revelation of his true identity. At first, Oedipus
appears as a passive, shattered and defeated person in the final scene of “Oedipus Rex.” He
started to believe that the clouds of darker fate would always remain over him and the stinging
pain of memory would never let him alone. He desires that he should have died on Mount
Kithairon in his childhood. Soon he overpowers his desperate condition and makes a swift
recovery
from
the position of non-entity to which he had been reduced by his fate. He then retains his active
and decisive nature. He rejects the compromises offered by Creon and obstinately clings over
his propositions. He presses his point of view, of being exiled from Thebes, so persistently that
Creon has to yield over it.
His decisive action shows his assertive nature. He recognized his possibilities as well as
limitations and started to adjust himself to the changing circumstances. He tells chorus- leader
Choragos, that he can clearly distinguish his voice without looking at him. Oedipus also depicts
the same loftiness and exaltation in his character as he had before when he was ignorant of his
true parentage. He scolds with the same old impatience and courage when Choragos tries to
highlight his act of making a bad decision of blinding himself. The conversation between them
shows his authoritative nature;
“Choragos: you were better dead than alive and blind.
Oedipus: Do not counsel me anymore.”
Though his words are charged with the same fierce energy the words of entreaty come aseasily
from his lips as the word of authority used to come before.
Oedipus’ act was not due to his moral failure but due to intellectual failure. He was
ignorant of his crime but he never refused to pay his transgressions. He insisted that his
transgression could not compensate for the sufferings which he endured upon the people of
Thebes. His selfless love and devotion for Thebes also emphasize his loftiness. He requests
Creon;
“Drive me out of this Country
As quickly as you can.”
He knew that Thebes could only be cured of plague when the demand of Oracle was fulfilled.
He does not want the city of his ancestors to be doomed by himself. He remained true and
honest which also remarks his highness.
Another significance of the last scene is the use of the technique of Catharsis to evoke
strong emotions in favour of the protagonist. The intense last scene builds in the audience the
emotions of pity and fear that are then released at anticlimax or the end of the play. The key
factors of catharsis are surprise and unexpectedness which generated fear in King Oedipus and
his wife Jocasta. After the revelation of their tragic mistake, Jocasta commits suicide and King
Oedipus driven by the guilt of the impermissibility of incest and the emptiness caused by the
loss of his mother, gouges his eyes out as a penance. The Catharsis of Oedipus Rex is shown in
the following lines:
“... no more,
No more shall you look on the misery about me,
The horrors of my own doing!
Too long you have known
The faces of those whom I should never have seen,
Too long been blind to those for whom I was searching!
From this hour, go in darkness.”
In a nutshell, the last scene is partly pessimistic. No doubt it is full of melancholy due to
the wretchedness and despicable condition of Oedipus but it also generates positive feelings.
The strong, decisive character of Oedipus shows a ray of hope to the audience and gives them
the courage never to submit too quickly. His brave, valorous and sagacious nature retained his
loftiness even when he was outcasted. He was indeed crushed by gods but there is also
anticipation that he may be exalted by them in future. In Sophocles’ “Oedipus at Colonus”,
Oedipus Rex persuades the Chorus and the Chorus sings in favour of Oedipus;
“Many of the ills that were his, all uncalled for; may God in justice exalt him
again.” (1784-1785)
Question no. 8
Do you think that the oracle in "Oedipus Rex" only predicts the future or that he also
compels the king to act in a certain way? OR What is the role and significance of the
oracle?
The oracle holds an important place in Greek mythology as well as Greek dramas and
plays. In Greek mythology, the oracle is a priest or priestess acting as a medium through
whom advice or prophecy is sought from the gods. Often the response or message given by an
oracle is an ambiguous one. The oracle often predicted the future, though in ambiguous terms
and the form of riddles. The oracle was the charge of Apollo, the god of truth, sun, archery,
and prophecies, who prophesized the future through the oracle.
The oracle resided at the temples of Apollo and people would approach to ask questions.
The most famous of oracles was Pythia, the oracle of Delphi, or the oracle that resided in the
temple of Apollo in the region of Delphi. This is also the oracle we find in Oedipus the King. It
was believed that whatever was prophesized by the oracle would come true. Heroes and
demigods would question the oracle and seek their fortunes. People in trouble would ask the
oracle for answers. When the people felt the gods were angry with them or there was a curse
upon them, they would once again turn to the oracle. Hence the oracle was used to seek
answers, and quests and to resolve disputes. In the play “Oedipus the King”, the oracle
appears forthe same reasons.
The oracle is mentioned in several parts of the play. Its role is important because it is
believed to convey the words and will of Greek gods. Its significance is also highlighted by the
fact that it is the source of all revelations. All answers are eventually obtained by solving the
riddles and prophecies given by the oracle. The oracle only hints at certain events, but it
ultimately leads the characters to act in a way that itself leads to the prophesized conclusion. In
other words, the oracle itself causes the events it has prophesized. Hence, the instigator of
the tragedy of Oedipus Rex is the oracle itself.
To look at the role played by the oracle and its significance in the play, we must look
thoroughly through the chronological sequence of events. In the play Oedipus, The King, the
oracle appears for a total of three times. The very first appearance is to King Laios of
Thebes, who is reported that his death would be at the hands of his own son, and then his son
would marry his own mother, Queen Jocasta.
“The oracle was reported to Laios once
That his doom would be death at the hands of his own son
His son, born of his flesh and of mine!”
The prophecy here is very significant because King Laios has Oedipus’ ankles pierced and
orders him to be left on a hill for his death. Oedipus however is spared by the shepherd and
given to another man, a shepherd from Corinth to raise and then survives. Hence Oedipus
grows up as a prince of Corinth. If the oracle had not given the prophecy in the first place,
Oedipus would not have been separated from his birth parents, and hence would not be in the
dark about his true parentage.
The second time the oracle appears is when Oedipus is all grown up and he is given the
same prophecy, that he will kill his father and marry his mother. This incident scares him
enough to flee Corinth. He journeys and, on his way, to a place called Phokis, where three
roads meet, he encounters a chariot carrying Laios. Oedipus gets into a fight with this company
and ends up killing them all. Here too it is the oracle that caused Oedipus to leave Corinth and
head out, where he kills Laios. If the oracle had not scared Oedipus into leaving, he would have
lived in peace at Corinth. The oracle is also responsible for Oedipus having an unstable state of
mind, which might have been why Oedipus was agitated and killed Laios and his company due
to his rashness.
Oedipus defeats the Sphinx and is given a chance to become the King of Thebes by
marrying the queen Jocasta. He takes this chance, unknowingly marrying his mother and living
with her for many years, bearing many children upon her. Now, this could have gone on and
passed, however, there is a plague in the city of Thebes, a curse due to the vile circumstances
of the king and queen, so the oracle is questioned in a quest to lift the plague. Once again, the
oracle appears and gives hints that could lift the plague. This ultimately leads to the revelation
of Oedipus’s true parentage as well as the murder of Laios that he had committed. If the oracle
would not have revealed the reason for the plague, the characters could have lived on in
ignorance. Furthermore, it only brought about the revelation many years after the deed was
done.
When we look into the very start of the events, we see how it was the oracle that got
Oedipus out of his own home, without any knowledge of his true parentage. If there had been
no involvement by the oracle, King Laios would not have sent Oedipus to be left for death, and
so nothing would have started that led to the eventual demise of the characters. The oracle
also chose to remain quiet when Oedipus first became king. If his murder had been revealed at
that point, further tragedy would have been avoided. Hence, we can conclude that the oracle
compelled Laios to expel Oedipus and was the instigator of all dire events in the future.
However, one thing cannot be refuted and that is that whatever the oracle prophesizes
will come true because once the oracle gives a prophecy, there is no other path that would
remain open for the people. After all, the oracle does not simply predict or foresee the future,
but it tells those particular events that would inevitably come true. In other words, it tells the
only possible version of future events.
Thus, we cannot blame the oracle for the demise of Oedipus and his family, since his fate
was already sealed.
Question no. 09:
Role and significance of Chorus in Oedipus Rex:
In the theatre, a chorus is a group of singers and dancers who take part in drama and
are accompanied by music. Chorus was an important part of the Greek Tragedy. Like in
Oedipus Rex, the chorus sings lyrical, poetic kinds of comments during the pauses in the
dramatic plot.The chorus is the ritual part of the thematic device that plays a much larger role
in Greek tragedy than in the other genres. The movement of the group is symbolic and it
indicates the theme and creates the mood of the play. The music that they sing and the type
of mask they wear also develop the mood and atmosphere of the drama.
The basic function of the chorus is to sing comments about the ongoing situation in the
drama. The chorus used to be allowed to speak at the moment of acute need and the chorus
also guides the audience with the appropriate feelings and attitude towards the events in the
drama. The chorus acts as the role of a bridge between the imaginary world of drama and the
real world of the audience. They mediate in terms of space and in terms of understanding
because the scene is far away from the immense theatre. The chorus usually seems to suggest
what is going to happen next, thereby suggesting to us to get ready and accept things as they
happen.
A Greek chorus could number as many as 50 people, but Sophocles set its number at 15.
There were originally 12 chorus members all male but Sophocles added 3 more to make it 15.
Like most ancient Greek tragedians, Sophocles divides his choral odes into strophe and
antistrophe. Both sections had the same number of lines and metrical patterns. In Greek,
strophe means ‘’turn’’, and antistrophe means ‘’turn back’’. Sophocles may have split them
into two groups so that it was as if one part of the chorus was conversing with the other.
The contribution of the chorus in the “Oedipus Rex” is considerable. They link the play
with common humanity. They fill in the gaps in the action when no other character is there on
the stage. They add to it the element of melody which must have been one of the attractions
of Greek tragedy. They provide an appropriate shift between the titanic, heroic figure of
Oedipus and the mass common humanity represented by the two shepherds in Oedipus Rex.
The tragedy of Oedipus is very well revealed by the chorus in its exode.
The chorus appears five times in Oedipus Rex and each ode they sing makes a reflection
upon each climate situation. The first song of the chorus sounds immediately after Oedipus
has declared his resolution to trace the murderer of Laios. The chorus has already learnt the
message from Delphi and consequently expressed uncertainty about who the murderer might
be. The choric song also intensifies the sorrowful condition prevailing in the city. Sickness has
overpowered the city like an epidemic and no remedy is available. The fields grow no corn and
mothers in pain of delivery cannot give birth to babies. The words of the chorus are,
“See, how our lives like birds take wing,
like sparks that fly when a fire soars,
the plague bums on, it is pitiless,
though pallid children laden with death
Lie unwept in the stony ways.”
The second song is introduced just after Oedipus is accused of being a murderer
himself. The chorus is not prepared to believe the allegation against Oedipus and instead urges
the horriblemurderer to be free from the city immediately. The third song is a meditation upon
a serious defect of Oedipus’s nature. In his dealing with Creon, Oedipus has exhibited extreme
pride, arrogance and ill temper. The chorus indirectly speaks of the possible fall of tyrants
through pride. The fourth ode comes up while Oedipus is occupied by the crisis of his identity.
The chorus speculates on some romantic affair between gods and nymphs on the mountainside
and assumes that Oedipus must be such a semi-divine product.
The final chorus song is an interpretation of Oedipus’s fall and reflection upon the
short-lived happiness of human beings. The crisis of identity of Oedipus has been solved and in
reaction Jocasta committed suicide and Oedipus plucked off golden brooches and jabbed them
into hiseyes. This chorus condemns the fate of Oedipus in these words,
“What madness came upon you, what demon
Leaped on your life with heavier
Punishment than a mortal man can bear?
No: I cannot even
Look at you, poor ruined one.”
The choric songs thus intensify and analyze the developing dramatic situation helping the
audience to understand the drama more fully.
The chorus also takes part in the dialogues. When Oedipus consults them about the
ending of the plague in the city, they express disappointment that the oracle has not guided them
about the identity of Laios’s murderer. They also tell to Oedipus what they know about the
murder of the previous king and its circumstances. When Creon, learning that the king has
accused him of treason, comes on the stage and talks to the chorus, who tells him that the King’s
accusation was probably made in heat of anger. When Oedipus passes a sentence upon Creon,
Jocasta arrives on the scene and first talks to the chorus. Chorus requests her to settle the
difference between the two. They were worried when they saw Jocasta going into the palace in a
very dejected mood, and they gave expression to their apprehension. Chorus sympathizes with
Oedipus when they see him after he has blinded himself.
Thus, it is clear that the chorus never takes a direct hand in the action. It does not consist
only of spectators but influences the action in various subtle ways. The chorus links the play
with common humanity. Paul Roche comments on the chorus as ‘’function is the origin was to
bridge the gap the audience and the players to intensify the emotions’’. And this function is
artistically performed by the chorus in Oedipus Rex.