Yusella 1
Amy Yusella
AP Literature and Composition
Mrs. Martin
27 March 2012
General Questions 1-6
1. Throughout Oedipus the King the peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catastrophe all occur at the
same moment. This moment that the reversal, recognition, and catastrophe of the
situation all occur was when Oedipus finally realized the fact that it was he who killed his
father and slept with his mother. Oedipus is the character that is affected the most by this
event because it is the first time that he understands two things. The first major thing that
Oedipus now knows is who his true birth parents are and the fact that he was given away
at birth to be raised by a shepherd. The second major things that Oedipus is now able to
see is that he has unknowingly until this point fulfilled his destiny; to kill his father and
marry his mother.
2. The way in which Sophocles presented the story of Oedipus was definitely inverted. Had
Oedipus’s story been told in chronological order it would have been so much more
predictable earlier on in the story. If told in chronological order the first event would be
Oedipus’s birth followed by Jocasta and Laius giving their son to a shepherd to be raised.
The next major part of the story would be Oedipus being raised not ever knowing his true
identity and eventually killing the person who was, at the time, an unknown man.
Oedipus then goes on a mission to find the person who has killed King Laius; the prophet
Tiresias knows the truth but when he tells Oedipus he does not want to believe him.
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Tiresias then riddles that the murderer of Laius will turn out to be both the brother and
father to his children and both son and husband to his mother. After ignoring Tiresias’s
words, Oedipus then hears Jocasta’s views on the death of Laius. Oedipus then starts to
believe that it actually was him who is responsible for the death of Laius. Oedipus then
asks the shepherd to reveal exactly what he saw at the crossroads and when it comes out
that it was Oedipus who had killed Laius, his father, Oedipus realizes his destiny. Jocasta
hangs herself out of despair and Oedipus stabs his eyes out so that he can no longer see
this backwards world.
The way that Sophocles ordered his play was unique in the fact that he did not put events
in chronological order. He used this inverted order of events in order to keep certain
scenes and key pieces of information away from the minds of the main characters. One of
the biggest coincidences that I found interesting throughout Oedipus the King was the
fact that Tiresias was blind in the physical sense, but had a much greater knowledge of
basically everything than Oedipus did, even though he could see. Oedipus is a perfect
example of a coincidence within the text because of the way he is “blind” to the words in
which Tiresias, who is actually blind, is trying to share with him even though it could
have greatly helped him.
3. The main conflict within the play is when Oedipus refuses to believe Tiresias’s prophecy
that he is the one who killed King Laius. Along with this major conflict, several other
conflicts arise throughout the play between Oedipus and several other characters. One of
the other major conflicts was actually within Oedipus’s own self. He probably on some
levels had to of known that it was a possibility that he was the person who was
responsible for the murder of Laius. Oedipus simply refused to believe any of the
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warnings he was given and eventually fell into the destiny that had been foretold of him.
Sophocles’ way of presenting Oedipus’s complex and conflict full story was to invert
some of the key facts of Oedipus’s early life. This brought up a lot of questions to the
characters; questions that were not always easily answered.
4. The play Oedipus the King is a tragedy in that the main character loses something but
also achieves a new perspective. Oedipus throughout the play is at a loss because he
never knew anything of his past or anything about his parents. However, it is because of
this loss that Oedipus eventually stabs his eyes out and is not blind. Being blind in his
case may not be a bad thing, surprisingly. If along with this new blindness comes the
wisdom that the blind prophet, Tiresias, had, then Oedipus will be much better off.
5. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony throughout Oedipus the King was an essential part in
the ways that the story was played out. The biggest use of dramatic irony came when
Oedipus was trying to discover the murderer of Laius when all along not knowing that it
was actually he himself who had committed it. This idea is evident in the prologue as
Oedipus is making a big deal out of finding and exiling the person who has committed
such a crime, when really it was him all along.
6. The Chorus and the Choragos play an essential role in the overall flow of the play. Their
most important role is in the passing of time and filling in of space in between the
episodes. Often times the main reason for having the chorus within plays is to have an
account of the action that is taking place within the play. Often times, most especially
within Oedipus, the main story goes back into flashbacks and something is needed to
keep the reader in the mindset of what is still happening in present time.