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Why does no one know how the king before Oedipus dies in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
That the death does not take place in Thebes and that their attention is caught up with more pressing matters are the reasons why no one knows how the king before Oedipus dies in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, King Laius is killed while traveling from Thebes to Delphi. Immediately after Laius' death, the Sphinx moves outside Thebes and starts killing and eating Thebans who cannot answer her impossible riddle. Then Oedipus solves the riddle, marries Thebes' beautiful widowed queen and distracts all Thebes with his role model family life and royal rule. Mandatory investigations into and cleansing rituals for the divine offense of killing a king take a back seat.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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Who is Oedipus' father?
Theban King Laius is Theban King Oedipus' father. But Oedipus doesn't know this critical piece of information when the play 'Oedipus Rex' begins. Instead, he believes himself to be the son and heir apparent of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth.
Who is laius' father?
Laius was father of Oedipus by Jocasta and the son of king Labdacus of Thebes.
Who is murdered in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Theban King Laius is murdered in 'Oedipus Rex'. He dies in a street brawl over the right of way at a crossroads. He thinks that he doesn't know his killer. His killer thinks likewise.But the perpetrator and the victim should have known each other very well. In fact, Laius is the father of his killer, who becomes Theban King Oedipus. But neither one of them knows that.
Does the audience know that Oedipus is Jocasta's brother?
No, the audience doesn't think that Theban King Oedipus is Theban Queen Jocasta's brother. They don't know it, because it isn't true. Instead, Jocasta is Theban King Creon's sister.
What does Oedipus know and suspect by the end of the first half of 'Oedipus Rex'?
That he kills someone at the same place as Laius dies is what Oedipus knows and that he may be Laius' killer is what Oedipus suspects by the end of the first half of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles(495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus must identify and punish the guilty in the murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. In the course of the investigation, Oedipus learns that the crime scene is the very Delphi-Daucis crossroads where he himself commits a similar crime to a similar person at about the same time. He therefore begins to suspect that Teiresias the blind prophet is correct in accusing him of being Laius' killer.
Oedipus Rex is also know by what title?
Oedipus the King
What does Theseus do for Oedipus in 'Oedipus at Colonus'?
Protect him and his daughters from Thebans and escort him to his death place are what Theseus does for Oedipus in "Oedipus at Colonus" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, disgraced King Oedipus ends up just outside Athens after years in exile from his Theban hometown. According to the Delphic oracle, Oedipus is a good luck charm to wherever he dies. Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law and former royal colleague, and Eteocles, Oedipus' own son, attempt to separate Oedipus from his daughters, the Princesses Antigone and Ismene, and to force Oedipus to be buried in an unmarked grave that will bring good fortune to Thebes. But Theseus asserts his authority and power as King of Athens and as Oedipus' protector and thereby receives the good fortune inherent in being the only person to know how and where Oedipus dies.
Who is Oedipus' father?
Theban King Laius is Theban King Oedipus' father. But Oedipus doesn't know this critical piece of information when the play 'Oedipus Rex' begins. Instead, he believes himself to be the son and heir apparent of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth.
Who is laius' father?
Laius was father of Oedipus by Jocasta and the son of king Labdacus of Thebes.
What happened to king laius in the Oedipus story?
Oedipus killed Laius years ago at the crossroads. He did not know Laius was his biological father and the king of Thebes.
Who is murdered in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Theban King Laius is murdered in 'Oedipus Rex'. He dies in a street brawl over the right of way at a crossroads. He thinks that he doesn't know his killer. His killer thinks likewise.But the perpetrator and the victim should have known each other very well. In fact, Laius is the father of his killer, who becomes Theban King Oedipus. But neither one of them knows that.
Does the audience know that Oedipus is Jocasta's brother?
No, the audience doesn't think that Theban King Oedipus is Theban Queen Jocasta's brother. They don't know it, because it isn't true. Instead, Jocasta is Theban King Creon's sister.
What does Oedipus know and suspect by the end of the first half of 'Oedipus Rex'?
That he kills someone at the same place as Laius dies is what Oedipus knows and that he may be Laius' killer is what Oedipus suspects by the end of the first half of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles(495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus must identify and punish the guilty in the murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. In the course of the investigation, Oedipus learns that the crime scene is the very Delphi-Daucis crossroads where he himself commits a similar crime to a similar person at about the same time. He therefore begins to suspect that Teiresias the blind prophet is correct in accusing him of being Laius' killer.
How does Oedipus know the truth in 'Oedipus Rex'?
It is from the Corinthian messenger and the Theban shepherd that Oedipus knows the truth in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, it is true that King Oedipus is not the biological son of Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. It is true that Oedipus is the killer of Theban King Laius, not of some random stranger, during a street brawl over the right of way at a fateful crossroads. But Oedipus does not know the first truth until he interviews the Corinthian messenger and the Theban shepherd. He does not know the second until the Theban shepherd confirms that Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta are Oedipus' biological parents.
Does Jocasta know that Oedipus is her son before she marries him in 'Oedipus Rex'?
No, Jocasta has no idea before her marriage that Oedipus is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta describes her first husband as an older version of her second husband, Theban King Oedipus. She does not consider the two to be father and son since her only child by Laius is supposedly killed in order not to grow up to a miserable fate. When she realizes that Oedipus is her husband's killer, her own son, and her children's half-brother, she kills herself.
Whom does Teiresias accuse of killing Laius?
It's Theban King Oedipus that Teiresias the blind prophet accuses of killing Theban King Laius. He also suggests that there's an equally dark truth behind the married life that Oedipus appears to lead so happily with Laius' widow, Theban Queen Jocasta. Teiresias says that before day's end Oedipus will know the truth of the accusations. Indeed, before not too long, Oedipus is confronted with his own true identity as the killer of his own father and sovereign, and the wedder and bedder of his own mother.
How did the dramatic irony of 'Oedipus Rex' arise from the audience's knowledge of the myth?
In Oedipus the King, Oedipus feels ill at ease because he does not know the true story of who his parents were, or how he came to be king. Oedipus feels that when he knows these things he will be happy. The audience knows (and Jocasta suspects) that the knowledge will be disastrous for Oedipus (and it proves so). The dramatic irony is that Oedipus is destroyed by his quest for knowledge; even though seeking out knowledge is usually a good thing.
