A Study of Sophocles’ King Oedipus
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A Study of Sophocles’ King Oedipus
The extract has been derived from Sophocles’ tragedy King Oedipus (Tr. E.F. Watling Pg. 34-
58). The tragedy is speculated to have been written somewhere in between 429 and 420 B.C. and
is one of the seven existing plays of Sophocles. Sophocles’ appropriation of the Oedipus myth is
perhaps culturally the most influential and enduring artefact of antiquity. King Oedipus traces the
birth and the eventual rise and fall of Oedipus who, on account of his fate, kills his father and
marries his mother and subsequently blinds himself in retribution.
The passage that I have chosen marks the moment of anagnorisis of the play. In other words, it is
the climax of the dramatic action and the revelation of Oedipus’ sin shall resolve the crisis that
has appeared in the plot. It begins with the entry of Tiresias, the blind soothsayer who was cursed
that no one would believe him despite speaking the truth. We see a heated argument ensuing
between Oedipus and Tiresias where the latter is unwilling to reveal the truth behind the present
state of Thebes. However, Tiresias finally proclaims that Oedipus himself is responsible for
Thebes’ degradation and as is expected he does not believe it. Later, when Oedipus, despite the
misgivings of Jocasta proceeds to summon the shepherd who shall finally make it known that
Oedipus himself was the son of Laius and Jocasta.
Sophocles’ King Oedipus has been regarded by Aristotle as the highest achievement in the field
of Greek tragedy. The play, according to Aristotle, demonstrates the perfect application of the
dramatic unities (Aristotle 1996: 8). In order to trace the significance of the story of Oedipus as
depicted by Sophocles one must attempt at understanding the purpose for tragedies. Aristotle
claims that human beings are different from other animals on account of a faculty that they
possess called tekhne. It roughly refers to man’s ability to think rationally and create art. And
subsequently, art being mimetic is a reflection of reality. Therefore, the purpose of tragedy is to
depict the truths underlying human behaviour. Ideally, a tragedy should elicit the emotions of
pity and fear in the minds of the audience and King Oedipus quite successfully does that.
Aristotle asserts that tragedy narrates the fall of a man who is neither morally exemplary nor
completely immoral but somewhere in between. The fall is related to some kind of flaw in
judgement of the protagonist known as hamartia. The reason for this tradition is that such a plot
which traces the fall of a person neither too moral or immoral is to make the protagonist
identifiable as one among themselves by the audience. They shall feel pity because the
protagonist, like Oedipus, did not completely deserve the predicament and fear because they
shall be aware about the fact that they themselves can be subject to the same fate.
58). The tragedy is speculated to have been written somewhere in between 429 and 420 B.C. and
is one of the seven existing plays of Sophocles. Sophocles’ appropriation of the Oedipus myth is
perhaps culturally the most influential and enduring artefact of antiquity. King Oedipus traces the
birth and the eventual rise and fall of Oedipus who, on account of his fate, kills his father and
marries his mother and subsequently blinds himself in retribution.
The passage that I have chosen marks the moment of anagnorisis of the play. In other words, it is
the climax of the dramatic action and the revelation of Oedipus’ sin shall resolve the crisis that
has appeared in the plot. It begins with the entry of Tiresias, the blind soothsayer who was cursed
that no one would believe him despite speaking the truth. We see a heated argument ensuing
between Oedipus and Tiresias where the latter is unwilling to reveal the truth behind the present
state of Thebes. However, Tiresias finally proclaims that Oedipus himself is responsible for
Thebes’ degradation and as is expected he does not believe it. Later, when Oedipus, despite the
misgivings of Jocasta proceeds to summon the shepherd who shall finally make it known that
Oedipus himself was the son of Laius and Jocasta.
Sophocles’ King Oedipus has been regarded by Aristotle as the highest achievement in the field
of Greek tragedy. The play, according to Aristotle, demonstrates the perfect application of the
dramatic unities (Aristotle 1996: 8). In order to trace the significance of the story of Oedipus as
depicted by Sophocles one must attempt at understanding the purpose for tragedies. Aristotle
claims that human beings are different from other animals on account of a faculty that they
possess called tekhne. It roughly refers to man’s ability to think rationally and create art. And
subsequently, art being mimetic is a reflection of reality. Therefore, the purpose of tragedy is to
depict the truths underlying human behaviour. Ideally, a tragedy should elicit the emotions of
pity and fear in the minds of the audience and King Oedipus quite successfully does that.
Aristotle asserts that tragedy narrates the fall of a man who is neither morally exemplary nor
completely immoral but somewhere in between. The fall is related to some kind of flaw in
judgement of the protagonist known as hamartia. The reason for this tradition is that such a plot
which traces the fall of a person neither too moral or immoral is to make the protagonist
identifiable as one among themselves by the audience. They shall feel pity because the
protagonist, like Oedipus, did not completely deserve the predicament and fear because they
shall be aware about the fact that they themselves can be subject to the same fate.
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