The line numbering varies by the particular version of the play 'Oedipus Rex'. According to some versions, the lines 1109-1110 occur around the time that Theban Queen Jocasta receives the news of the death of Corinthian King Polybus. This news reassures her, because her second husband, Theban King Oedipus, previously tells her of the Delphic Oracle's description of him as his father's killer. But Polybus dies a natural death in Corinth while Oedipus rules in Thebes. So Oedipus can't be a father and king killer.
According to other versions, the lines occur later on in the play. The later news upsets Jocasta. The chilling news later on is the survival of an infant whose ankles are pierced. That child is given to a Corinthian shepherd by the very trusted shepherd and servant to whom Jocasta entrusts heer three day old infant. The baby Oedipus is the predicted killer of his father and sovereign, Laius. Jocasta can't bring herself to kill Oedipus to keep him from killing her husband. All this time she thinks that her husband's life is safe, because of the shepherd carrying out her royal orders to kill the infant for her. Jocasta therefore realizes that Oedipus, her beloved second husband and the father of her four children, is none other than her own son.
Consider these lines, spoken by Jocasta: "Why should we fear, when chance rules everything, And foresight of the future there is none; 'Tis best to live at random, as one can." (1010-12) They represent the worldview that we have no control over fate.
Jocasta spoke these lines. Oedipus realizes that Lauis might be his father.
Many lines are spoken by Oedipus since he is the protagonist in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus has interactions with every single character in the play. He interacts with the priest of Zeus and the suppliants regarding the recent concerns of his people. He then interacts with the chorus leader, his brother-in-law Creon, his wife Queen Jocasta and his royal advisor Teiresias the blind prophet in his quest for clues into the unsolved murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. He finally interacts with the Corinthian messenger and the Theban shepherd in his search for his parentage.
"who thou art.... mayst thou never known!" (1006)
Antigone is a young girl in Oedipus and she has no lines. It is not until Oedipus at Colonus that her character begins to develop.
That Corinthians want Oedipus as their king because Polybus is dead
"who thou art.... mayst thou never known!" (1006)
Consider these lines, spoken by Jocasta: "Why should we fear, when chance rules everything, And foresight of the future there is none; 'Tis best to live at random, as one can." (1010-12) They represent the worldview that we have no control over fate.
"Of aliens slew, where meet the three great roads" (743)
Jocasta spoke these lines. Oedipus realizes that Lauis might be his father.
Between lines 709 and 725 in the Greek text is the point at which Jocasta informs her husband of fates not always coming true in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is worried about a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In the above-mentioned lines, his wife Queen Jocasta speaks of the inaccurate prophecy of her first husband King Laius' death by his own son. She reveals that the prophecy is both thwarted by their having their infant son killed and contradicted by Laius' death at the hands of foreign robbers.
Many lines are spoken by Oedipus since he is the protagonist in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus has interactions with every single character in the play. He interacts with the priest of Zeus and the suppliants regarding the recent concerns of his people. He then interacts with the chorus leader, his brother-in-law Creon, his wife Queen Jocasta and his royal advisor Teiresias the blind prophet in his quest for clues into the unsolved murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. He finally interacts with the Corinthian messenger and the Theban shepherd in his search for his parentage.
The line "Alas! Why breed such thoughts? The man is dead and gone" spoken by Jocasta suggests that she knows Oedipus's true identity, as she is trying to deter him from investigating his origins further. However, she later realizes the truth and takes her own life in despair.
The following lists where the scenes begin in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.):1. The prologue runs from the opening lines until Theban King Oedipus' dismissal of the priest of Zeus and the Theban suppliants.2. The first scene runs from the end of the choral ode calling to the gods until the end of Oedipus' interaction with Teiresias the blind prophet.3. The second scene runs from the end of the choral ode confirming Oedipus' innocence until the end of Oedipus' first interaction with Jocasta.4. The third scene runs from the end of the choral ode criticizing insolence until the end of Oedipus' second interaction involving Jocasta.5. The fourth scene runs from the end of the choral ode describing Oedipus' parentage until the end of Oedipus' interaction with the Theban shepherd.6. The fifth scene runs from the end of the choral ode describing Oedipus' disgrace until the end of the play.
"who thou art.... mayst thou never known!" (1006)
Antigone is a young girl in Oedipus and she has no lines. It is not until Oedipus at Colonus that her character begins to develop.
It helps establish Creon as a foil for Oedipus, thus highlighting Oedipus's tendency not to think before he speaks.