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What are the main events of Oedipus' life before the play begins?
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∙ 14y ago
The play 'Oedipus Rex' begins with Theban King Oedipus coming outside his palace to speak with a priest and congregated Thebans. Oedipus' people are concerned about the unabated losses and suffering from a stubborn plague that reduces their numbers, their livestock, and their harvests. Until the concluding scene, the rest of the play in many ways works as a flashback on Oedipus' life. What readers and viewers find out in the rest of the play is what Oedipus does with his life before he becomes king.
In essence, Oedipus is the son of Theban King Laius and Theban Queen Jocasta. But he's left on a hillside as the prey of the weather, the dogs, and the birds. Such a quick end to a three day old baby nevertheless is averted.
Through the help of two shepherds, Oedipus ends up in Corinth as the adopted son of King Polybus and Queen Merope. The couple need a male heir, Oedipus fits the bill, and the truth of the adoption is kept from many, especially Oedipus. But the rumored adoption comes to the attention to Oedipus, who decides to find out the truth from the Delphic Oracle. But the Oracle warns Oedipus of his fate as the killer of his own father and the husband of his own mother.
Oedipus decides not to return to Corinth, which he thinks is the home of his true parents. Outside of Delphos, he ends up in a street brawl with a surly stranger over a right-of-way. In self defense, Oedipus kills the stranger, who actually is Theban King Laius en route also to consult the Oracle.
The identity of the victim is unknown to Oedipus, who must choose his escape route from one of three roads. He chooses the road that takes him to Thebes. Outside the city, a Sphinx terrorizes all passersby with a fateful riddle. No one has the answer, so all die. But Oedipus realizes that man is the living being that moves on all fours in the morning, on twos in the afternoon, and on threes in the evening of life.
Oedipus' life is saved, the Sphinx ends up dead at the bottom of the nearby cliff, and Thebans see the end to fear and taxes. In gratitude, they offer Laius' vacated throne and grieving widow to their savior. And so Oedipus takes on his father's familial and royal responsibilities. He has the love of his people, his wife who also is his mother, and his children who also are his half brothers!
But Oedipus is polluted and a polluter. He needs to be cleansed of the murder of his own father and of his sovereign. Father and king killing are serious offenses. And that's not all. He also is the perpetrator of both murder and incest. Both demand ritual cleansing. And so the unclean Oedipus is making his city and his people unclean as well, because his lack of cleanliness opens the door of Thebes to the plague.
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What suspicion does Oedipus begin to harbor about Creon in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That he is trying to take away his job and possibly his life is the suspicion that Oedipus begins to harbor against Creon in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus heads an investigation into the unsolved murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. He looks for help from his royal advisor, but Teiresias the blind prophet charges that Oedipus is Laius' killer. This turn of events shocks Oedipus, who does not remember ever meeting Laius. Because such a charge is treasonous and can cost him his job if not his life as well, Oedipus thinks that Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague, must be behind the presumed lies since he stands the most to gain with Oedipus' overthrow.
Is life unfair to Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Yes, life is unfair to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus gets a fate that he does not deserve. His fate is determined before he is born. Once he learns of his fate as an adult, he makes efforts to outrun it and outwit the gods.
What makes 'Oedipus Rex' a tragedy?
The fact that the main character meets with an unfortunate end makes "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) a tragedy.Specifically, a tragedy is a recounting of an unfortunate series of events that bring down the main character. The description fits the play's telling of the life and times of Theban King Oedipus. For example, Oedipus begins as a role model of personal happiness and professional success, but ends up sightless, jobless, homeless and friendless.
What character has direct memory of what happens to Oedipus as a baby in 'Oedipus Rex'?
It is the Theban shepherd who has direct memory of what happens to Oedipus as a baby in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Theban shepherd is Theban Queen Jocasta's most trusted servant. He has direct memories of two critical events in Jocasta's and her second husband Oedipus' life. The first direct memory concerns the sparing of the life of Jocasta's son Oedipus.
Is Oedipus a tragic character and why in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Yes, Oedipus is a tragic character in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a tragic character experiences an unfortunate end, or meets with a misfortunate turn of events, in life. The description fits disgraced Theban King Oedipus. Oedipus moves from a position of great personal happiness and professional success to the depths of humiliation, loss and pain.
Whom does Oedipus ask to see before his exile in 'Oedipus Rex'?
It is his daughters that Oedipus asks to see before his exile in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, disgraced Theban King Oedipus has to be executed or exiled for killing King Laius, his royal predecessor and his wife's first husband. He hopes to force the issue towards a miserable life over a humiliating, painful death. He plans to survive and seeks to see his daughters, the sister Princesses Antigone and Ismene, before being kicked out of Thebes or life.
When did Oedipus free Thebes from the Sphinx in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Some fifteen to twenty (15-20) years before the action of the play "Oedipus Rex" Oedipus is considered to have freed Thebes from the Sphinx.Specifically, ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) gives no dates or times for the events before and during the action of the play. But Oedipus indicates that he is not worried about what will happen to his twin sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, who are already grown up. Based upon what is known about eligibility to take over the throne, which both of his sons could and would do, the general notion is that defeating the Sphinx, marrying Theban Queen Jocasta and becoming King of Thebes happened in Oedipus' life about 15-20 years before his fall from grace as a killer and sex offender.
Is Teiresias a man or a woman when he meets Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?
It is as a man that Teiresias meets Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet has a complete gender experience. He knows what it is like to be a woman before and after his life as a man. He presents himself in permanent male form when he advises Theban King Oedipus.
Why did Sophocles write 'Oedipus Rex' 'Oedipus at Colonus' and 'Antigone' as a trilogy?
Actually, Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) did not write his Theban plays "Oedipus Rex," "Oedipus at Colonus" and "Antigone" as a trilogy.Specifically, the ancient Greek dramatist did not write his Theban plays as an official three volume set of plays. Instead, he spaced the writing over the last forty (40) years of his life. The order of publication was not in correct chronological order in terms of the occurrence of the events within disgraced Theban King Oedipus' life:1. "Antigone," around 441-440 B.C.E.;2. "Oedipus Rex," around 430 B.C.E.;3. "Oedipus at Colonus," in the last years of the playwright's life.
What role does the Messenger have in Oedipus' life history in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Contributing to Oedipus' mistaken self-image and delaying fate are the roles that the Messenger has in Oedipus' life history in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Corinthian messenger gets the three-day-old infant Oedipus from a fellow Theban shepherd. The messenger gives Oedipus a home until he returns to Corinth. Then he hands Oedipus over to the childless royal couple, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. But he never informs Oedipus of the true circumstances of his birth. By relocating him to Corinth, he makes it possible for Oedipus to reach adulthood before realizing an inescapable fate as his father's killer and his mother's husband.
Who holds the key to the truth about Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?
The Theban shepherd holds the key to the truth about Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Theban shepherd is Theban Queen Jocasta's most trusted servant. He is present at the three most critical events in Jocasta's life: the planned killing of her infant son Oedipus, the murder of her first husband King Laius, and her marriage with her second husband Oedipus. Apart from Teiresias the blind prophet, he alone among Thebans is in the know regarding Oedipus' true identity.
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