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Dylan Karig
Ms. Schwartz
English 10H 3A
Date in this format 11 23 2014
Oedipus Rex Theme Essay
Oedipus Rex was, and still is, an amazing piece of literature that is
read in schools to this day. One of the reasons this has still continued to be a relevant piece of
literature is because of the way it was written. The theme of this story is another contributor to
the reason this literature lasted. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses diction and sentence structure
to portray the theme of this literature, which is that one cannot escape the fate he/she was
given.
In Oedipus Rex, diction is used to help portray the theme of the
literature. For example, Sophocles uses words like “fled” and “kill” to show the fate of
Oedipus. Oedipus had a prophecy that he would kill his own father and he would have babies
with his mom. To escape this, he fled away from his homeland. A quote from page XV of
Oedipus Rex states, “that I should lie with my own mother, breed children from which all
would turn their eyes; and that I should be my father’s murderer.” This sentence structure
shows the serious tone of Oedipus, which in turn shows the impact of the prophecy on
Oedipus. Oedipus was serious due tpo his worrying of the prophecy coming true. Following
that excerpt from Oedipus Rex was, “I heard all this and fled.” This shows him trying to twist
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fate, which is not something one should try to do, according to this Epic. There are other ways
that Sophocles shows the theme of Oedipus Rex.
Sentence structure is used in Oedipus Rex to portray the theme as well.
One excerpt from Oedipus Rex is, “he cannot show that Laios’s death fulfilled the oracle; for
Apollo said my child was doomed to kill him; and my child- poor baby- it was my child that
died first.” This sentence shows the confidence that Jocaste had in her prophecy having not
come true. This use of the semicolon showed the pause in her speech. The sentence had
showed that Jocaste had a prophecy that showed her son would kill her husband. She tries to
escape her fate, but she does not in the end.
The overall story portrays the theme very well. On page XXIII, it says,
“‘there had been more prophecies.’ ‘Tell me.’ It was said that the boy would kill his own
father…’ ‘Ah god! It was true. All the prophecies!’” This shows that although Oedipus, along
with Jocaste, tried to escape their prophecies, they still ended up fulfilling them. No matter
what they did, they still could not escape their fate. Oedipus even left his city to escape his
fate. Jocaste had her son (Oedipus) bound by his ankles to escape her prophecy. Oedipus and
Jocaste tried their hardest to keep away from their prophecies, but in the end, they could not
get away from them.
The diction, along with the sentence structure in Sophocles’ Oedipus
Rex, contributed to portraying the theme in this tale. The theme marks the belief in fate and in
human choice, which is a very controversial subject. It expresses the common belief in the
Gods and how they choose the fate of people, regardless of their luck and power. This theme
lets everyone know that they should not tempt fate.
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