Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King also known by the Latin title
Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles
that was first performed c. 429 BCE
Riddle of the Sphinx
 Greek mythology
 Sphinx sat outside of Thebes asked travelers
a riddle.
 Failed to solve the riddle, then death
 Correct, then the Sphinx would destroy
herself.
The Answer
"Man, who crawls in infancy, walks
upright in his prime, and leans on a cane
in old age."
Paradox
 “Central from the very beginning: the
idea of paradox, of riddling
wisdom, of the one-that-is-many:
much of the meaning of the play derives
from the specifics of the poetic wording”
Link to Family Tree / Images of Stage
 http://www.aug.edu/~nprinsky/Humn2001/oed-nq.htm
Cadmus- mythical founder and first king of Thebes, a city in
central Greece where the play takes place
Dionysus- Festivals of Dionysus
 Tragedies performed in spring at the annual state religious festival in
honor of Dionysus.
 Contest between three playwrights- three days.
 Each playwright – one trilogy of tragedies + one comic piece called a
satyr play.
 At most three actors + chorus
S
ource: http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Tragedy.htm
 Greek theatre was in the open air
 performances probably lasted most of the day. Performances
were apparently open to all citizens, including women, but
evidence is scanty.
 The theatre of Dionysus at Athens probably held around 12,000
people
Greek Theater - Masks
 All actors were male and wore
masks
 Masks may have amplified sound
 Masks exaggerated dominant
characteristics of the role.
The Greek Chorus
 A Greek chorus chanted, danced and sang (in unison)
 Presents background and summary information to help the
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audience follow the performance
Expresses to the audience what the main characters cannot
say - hidden fears or secrets.
Provides characters with needed insights
Comments on important themes
Reflects on the choices of characters and their validity or
morality
Entrance and exit sign like a curtain rising or closing
Role of the Chorus
 “The attention of the audience was not
primarily to be held by the factor of
suspense or the desire to see what happens.
And this was the most fitting condition for
the art form which was to invite not a
passing curiosity but profound
contemplation of eternal truths.”
The Chorus in Oedipus
 With them we are the citizens of Thebes
 We are both in the tragedy and spectators of it
 Represent the Theban Elders in Oedipus
What is close reading?
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
 Word choice
 Allusions (to philosophers, to Greek culture, to other
stories)
 Symbols
 Connotation of words
 Tone
Pay attention to details as you read. Connect the details to your
overall understanding of the text, its themes, motifs,
characters, and developing plot.
Symbols of Supplication
Who are the supplicants and why have they come?
 Why did the people carry boughs to the twin altars of Pallas?
Why did they place sacred embers of divination beside the
river of Ismenus? How does the presentation of boughs to
Oedipus impact the setting of the opening scene?
Film Rendition
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS9KJ_bAJLE
What is different about how the play is shown in this film
rendition?
Pay close attention to the film’s representation of The Chorus.
What is the role of The Chorus in the opening scenes?
Aristotle's Poetics and Oedipus
 The POETICS of Aristotle represents the first major work
of literary criticism in western thought.
 Reacting against Plato's (somewhat) serious charge that the
poet is father of lies--three times removed from the truth, he
offered ideas that have been applied (somewhat inaccurately)
to most plays written since his time.
 His favorite play and the one he used as a model for the
POETICS is OEDIPUS.
Link: http://www.stjohns-chs.org/english/Arist/Arist.html
Aristotle
 in his Poetics, Aristotle considered Oedipus the King to be the
tragedy best matched his prescription for how drama should
be made
 "Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious,
complete, and possessing magnitude.. .in the mode of action;
not narrated; and effecting pity and fear [what we call)
catharsis of such emotions."
 Link: http://www.stjohns-chs.org/english/Arist/Arist.html
Plot
 The imitation of the action is the plot. Tragedy is not an
imitation of men but of actions and life. It is in action that
happiness and unhappiness are found, and the end which we
aim at is a kind of activity... It is for the sake of their actions
that [agents] take on the characters they have. Thus, what
happens--that is, the plot--is the end for which a tragedy
exists, and the end or purpose is the most important thing of
all.. it is whole, [having] a beginning, middle and end.
Universal Truths
 Dramatic poetry's function is.. not to report things that have
happened, but rather to tell of such things that might
happen.. .to express the universal.
 Aristotle speaks of the need for mature tragedy to have a
complex action by which he meant that reversal and
recognition result logically from a change in fortune:
 Reversal is a change from one state of affairs to its exact
opposite.
 Recognition is a change from ignorance to knowledge.. on the
part of those who are marked for good fortune or bad.
Irony versus Paradox
 It is ironic that "Oedipus can only fulfill his exceptional god-
ordained destiny because Oedipus is a preeminently capable and
intelligent human being.
 Remember irony and paradox are related, but not the same thing.
 The fact that Teiresias is blind and yet can see the truth is not really
ironic. It is a paradox. Here we have two seemingly conflicting
ideas that coexist. The reason it is not irony is because there is no
reason why would necessarily expect a blind man to be ignorant;
therefore, it is not really ironic.
Fate versus Free Will
 Cedric Whitman noted that "the Oedipus Rex passes almost
universally for the greatest extant Greek play..."[9] Whitman
himself regarded the play as "the fullest expression of this
conception of tragedy," that is the conception of tragedy as a
"revelation of the evil lot of man," where a man may have
"all the equipment for glory and honor" but still have "the
greatest effort to do good" end in "the evil of an unbearable
self for which one is not responsible.[
Fate versus Free Will
 The idea that attempting to avoid an oracle is the very thing
which brings it about is a common motif in many Greek
myths
 Where do we see this in the actions of Oedipus?
Elements of Tragedy
 Downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some
combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods.
 Tragic hero encounters limits of human frailty: flaws of
reason and hubris.
 The gods (through oracles, prophets, fate), or nature factor
into the conflict.
Aristotle
 Aristotle says that the tragic hero should have a flaw and/or
make some mistake (hamartia). The hero need not die at the
end, but he / she must undergo a change in fortune. In
addition, the tragic hero may achieve some revelation or
recognition (anagnorisis--"knowing again" or "knowing back"
or "knowing throughout" ) about human fate, destiny, and
the will of the gods. Aristotle quite nicely terms this sort of
recognition "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond
of love or hate."
Hamartia: Mistake or Error
.. Good men ought not to be shown passing from prosperity to
misfortune, for this does not inspire either inspire pity or
fear, but only revulsion; nor evil men rising from ill fortune
to prosperity.. neither should a wicked man be seen falling
from prosperity into misfortune.. We are left with the man
whose place is between these extremes. Such is the man who
on the one hand is not preeminent in virtue and justice, and
yet on the other hand does not fall into misfortune through
vice or depravity. He falls because of some mistake:'[often
mistranslated as a tragic (moral) flaw].
Hubris
 Often said to be his "hubris/hybris" (both spellings are
acceptable). What is hybris? NOT really "pride"-- a poor
translation. Rather, it is the quality of not keeping awareness
of your human limitations: the opposite of sophrosyne (=
"moderation").
 "know thyself" = "know that you are not a god, that you
have human limitations"
 hamartia = "error"
Elements of Plot – Aristotle/ Tragedy
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http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/oedipusplot.html#unity
 The plot must be “a whole,” with a beginning, middle, and
end with a causal relationship between events.
 The plot must be “complete,” having “unity of action.” By this
Aristotle means that the plot must be structurally selfcontained, with the incidents bound together by internal
necessity, each action leading inevitably to the next with no
outside intervention, no deus ex machina (context).
Elements of Plot – Aristotle/ Tragedy
 The plot must be “of a certain magnitude” both quantitatively
(length, complexity) and qualitatively (“seriousness” and
universal significance).
 The plot may be either simple or complex, although complex
is better. Simple plots have only a “change of fortune”
(catastrophe). Complex plots have both “reversal of intention”
(peripeteia) and “recognition” (anagnorisis) connected with the
catastrophe.
Link: http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html
Characters in tragedy should have the
following qualities (context):
 “good or fine.” Aristotle relates this quality to moral purpose and says it is
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relative to class: “Even a woman may be good, and also a slave, though the
woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless.”
“fitness of character” (true to type); e.g. valor is appropriate for a warrior
but not for a woman.
“true to life” (realistic)
“consistency” (true to themselves). Once a character's personality and
motivations are established, these should continue throughout the play.
“necessary or probable.” Characters must be logically constructed according
to “the law of probability or necessity” that governs the actions of the play.
“true to life and yet more beautiful” (idealized, ennobled).
Source: http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html
OEDIPUS REX-Prologue
The city of Thebes is
ravaged by plague
Citizens beg King
Oedipus for help
OEDIPUS REX-Prologue
Oedipus sends his
brother-in-law, Creon, to
the oracle of Apollo at
Delphi.
OEDIPUS REX-Prologue
Creon returns and
announces that the plague
will end when the Thebans
punish the murderer of the
their previous king, Laius.
OEDIPUS REX-Prologue
Oedipus tries to take the
role of savior and vows to
do everything in his
power to apprehend the
murderer and save his
people
OEDIPUS REX-Prologue
Oedipus does not realize
that his vow will
relentlessly lead him to an
encounter with himself,
his past, and his darkest
secrets!!!
MAIN CHARACTERS
Teiresias
blind prophet and
servant of Apollo
reveals the reasons for the
devastation and plague in
Thebes
Teiresias
one of the most powerful
characters in the play
tells Oedipus he will
become blind and poor
Jocasta
the wife and mother of
Oedipus
she tells Oedipus not to trust
in the oracles
she tries to protect Oedipus
from the awful truth
Jocasta
she alternately condemns
and upholds the authority of
the oracles as best suits the
direction of the argument at
the moment
Oedipus
protagonist
his name means “swollen-
foot”
he inspires both pity and
fear
Oedipus
 a hereditary curse has been
placed on his family, and he
unknowingly has fulfilled the
terms of the prophecy that he
would kill his father (Laius)
and marry his own mother
(Jocasta)
Oedipus
when he curses the
murderer of Laius he is
cursing himself and
predicting his own exile and
consequent life of
“wretchedness.”
Oedipus
he is wise, revered by his
subjects, and dedicated to
the discovery of truth
he wants to rid Thebes of the
plague, but fate and the gods
have other things in store for
him
Chorus of Theban Elders
 men of Thebes who honor and
respect the king and the gods
 their odes reveal both a strong
attachment to the king as well
as grounding in religious
culture
Creon
 brother of Laius
 Oedipus feels threatened by Creon
and believes that he covets the
throne
 Creon defends himself saying he
has no desire to be king and that
Oedipus harms himself in making
such accusations
Messenger
 tells Oedipus that King Polybos of
Corinth is dead
 Oedipus learns from the messenger
that Polybos was not his father
 the messenger had been given
Oedipus as an infant by one of
Laius’ men
Shepherd of Laius
 reveals his information only after Oedipus
threatens his life
 admits to receiving the infant (he gave to
Polybos’ messenger) from Laius and Jocasta
 Oedipus eventually realizes his own identity and
his crimes of patricide and incest after hearing
the shepherd’s story
Second Messenger
announces and describes
Jocasta’s suicide
predicts future sorrows for a
people whose kings descend
from this polluted line
The Chorus
choral odes bring an
additional viewpoint to the
play
offer a broader and more
socio-religious perspective
than those offered by
individual characters