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Oedipus Rex
More than 2,420 years old but still studied today, the play ‘Oedipus Rex’ tells a tragic tale of mistaken identities, inescapable fates, and horrific human misdeeds. Contributors typically compare and contrast the play’s characters, storytelling techniques, and subject matter with similar pieces of literature from the same and different settings and time periods.
3,240 Questions
Why is 'Oedipus Rex' considered one of the greatest works of all time?
A piece of literature is considered great when it's remarkable in its effectiveness. For example, its characters and its plot find universal appeal among audiences throughout all times and in all places. In the case of 'Oedipus Rex', play readers and stage goers are drawn into the intense emotional conflict that's nowhere more perfectly exhibited than within the very character of the play's hero and anti-hero, Theban King Oedipus. The commentary and the entertainment of the choral odes link very closely and logically with what happens to the characters in the play's dramatic episodes. And so readers and viewers feel horrified fascination with Oedipus' headlong slide from heroism into villainy. The play's dramatic irony hits close to home as the reading and viewing audience witness the play's characters becoming ever more entangled in their fates just as they try so hard to escape.
Does Oedipus marries his mother?
He indeed marries his mother and has for kids with her. Oedipus was not aware that she was his mother. When they find out that he married his mother, she kills herself and he scratches his own eyes out.
What is Sophocles' philosophy on man's ability to understand the will of the gods?
Sophocles [496 B.C.E.-406 B.C.E.] seems to think that the will of the gods is mysterious to, and misapplied by, mortals. Mortals try to understand what the gods want and expect. But they often miss the mark.
For example, Theban King Oedipus learns of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. He sees this as a warning to flee from Corinthian King Polybus and Corinthian Queen Merope, who in fact are his adoptive/foster parents. But he ends up killing his own biological father, Theban King Laius; and marrying his own biological mother, Theban Queen Merope.
Instead, he needs to keep his guard up and remain vigilant. For example, he needs to avoid violent situations with men old enough to be his father. Likewise, he needs to avoid romantic involvements with women old enough to be his mother. But Oedipus does neither. So the further he runs from his fate, the more he makes it happen.
What family tragedies does Creon suffer?
The battlefield deaths of his nephews and the suicides of his wife, son and niece are the family tragedies that Theban King Creon suffers in 'Antigone'. From the previous 'Oedipus Rex', we know that Creon carries the weight of previous family tragedies. Specifically, there's the murder of his first brother-in-law, Theban King Laius. There's the suicideof his only sister, Theban Queen Jocasta. There's the self-blinding and exile of his second brother-in-law, Theban King Oedipus. There's the constant reminder of the previous tragedies in Creon's being responsible for Oedipus' and Jocasta's two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, the children of an incestuous mother-son marriage.
Are there real life 'Antigone' stories?
Yes, actual equivalents of the play 'Antigone' may be found in real life. In any place and at any time that individuals hold fast to their beliefs, the equivalents of Antigone may be found. All changes and all challenges to the inhumanity of government or of a majority to an individual or a minority come about because of individuals such as Antigone who come to the assistance of those who face injustice and can't defend themselves. For example, in the play, Antigone defends the disloyal Theban dead. They don't stop being Theban or being loved with death. But in death they rely on the living to make sure that they receive the proper preparation for proper reception into the underworld realm of the dead.
How does Creon change from the beginning of 'Antigone' to the end?
In the beginning of the play 'Antigone', Theban King Creon is haughty in his treatment of others. He is so secure in his kingly powers that he brooks no opposition, from family and non-family alike. At the end, the King is miserable. He loses everything that, without his realizing or appreciating it, gave his life meaning. For he no longer has the presence of his wife Eurydice or of his only surviving son Haemon. Neither does he have any longer the respect of the blind prophet Teiresias or of his people. During most of the play, he rules alone without regard for the experiences, feelings, and opinions of others. And so in the end, he leads his now empty personal and professional life on his own too.
Why is there a complex named after Oedipus?
A love for one's mother and a lack of it for one's fathermay be said to be the basis for the Oedipus complex, and for Theban King Oedipus' problems. According to the complex, a healthy adult male needs to move a childhood stage of making the mother important to an adolescent stage of listening to his father. Oedipus can be said not to do so. He kills his father, and takes his father's place by marrying his father's wife. That wife isn't a stepmother. She's Oedipus' biological mother.
Why does Antigone choose to kill herself the way she does?
In the play 'Antigone', the main character of the same name commits suicide by hanging herself with her own halter. The play doesn't explain why Antigone chooses this particular method. The other two suicides are by stabbing. For Antigone's first cousin and fiance, Haemon, turns his own sword on himself. And Haemon's mother Queen Eurydice stabs herself in the chest. Hanging is considered a loathsome form of capital punishment. On her way to her final resting place in a remote cave, Antigone regrets having no husband or children. But she may not be articulating these unrealizable dreams out of self-loathing. Instead, she's a practical individual who considers the consequences of her acts. It may be that in the realm of means, hanging is the method that guarantees the quickest and surest end to her suffering in the world of the living. For Antigone says that she respects the dead, and looks forward to her time in the realms of the underworld god.
Why is Antigone's plan dangerous?
Antigone's plan to bury her brother Polyneices is dangerous. It's against the law to give a proper burial to the dead among the Argive enemy and their traitorous Theban allies. It's a difficult job to do. Antigone asks for her sister Ismene's help, which isn't forthcoming. The punishment is death by stoning.
What is an allusion in 'Antigone'?
An allusion is an indirect reference to something. In 'Antigone', one example of an allusion is the phrase 'bewailing the loss of his bride'. The possessive adjective 'his' refers to Haemon. The noun 'bride' refers to Antigone, who is Haemon's cousin and bride-to-be. Another example is the phrase 'the Cadmean bride'. The adjective 'Cadmean' refers to the Cadmeia Palace on the Theban acropolis. The noun 'bride' refers to Semele, who is the daughter of Theban founder Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of the god Bacchus. Semele's home is the Cadmeia Palace.
How would you compare and contrast the characters of Antigone and Creon?
In the comparison between Antigone and Creon, her uncle and her king, both characters have strong wills. As an example, Antigone is as determined to respect the god-given laws regarding the dead as Theban King Creon is determined to enact and enforce his own manmade laws. Both chance losing a great deal if what they do boomerangs on them. For example, Antigone risks losing her life for violating the law, and the King risks losing his kingdom for enacting and enforcing an inhumane, unfair, unjust, unpopular law. And both are descended from Cadmus, the founder of Thebes. Antigone descends from Cadmus through her father King Oedipus. The King and Jocasta, the mother of Antigone and the wife of Oedipus, descend from Cadmus through their father, Menoeceus. In contrast, Antigone believes that manmade laws must harmonize with the higher god-given justice, morality, rites, rituals and traditions. But the King believes that he can issue his own manmade laws that directly contradict the god-given. Additionally, Antigone considers the hatreds of a lifetime as ending with death. She therefore believes that both the disloyal and the loyal Theban dead need to be given proper burial. But the King considers a dead enemy as much an enemy as a live enemy, and therefore not deserving of the same funerary treatment as living and dead friends. And finally, Antigone thinks of the consequences of her actions, in terms of the passage through life into death. But the King considers only his own needs and wants, as he consolidates his power over his family and his people. He doesn't think in advance of the repercussions of what he does. And he certainly doesn't think of the pain and suffering of the loved ones that the dead leave behind. In fact, he doesn't think of anything regarding the living and the dead until his deeds and misdeeds catch him up in the end.
Why does Ismene plead with Antigone not to defy Creon?
Ismene doesn't want her sister Antigone to defy their uncle, Theban King Creon. The King has decreed the non-burial of the enemy dead in the recent struggle with Argos. And yet among that enemy dead is the King's own nephew, Polyneices. Ismene is willing to leave the dead body of her brother exposed to the elements, dogs, and birds. The reason is fear for the lives of herself and her sister, as the sole surviving children of their parents, King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta. She fears a punishment far worsethan what faced her parents who unknowingly broke the law. Punishment would be even more severe for knowing, deliberate, consensual disobedience. Additionally, she sees the disobedience as doomed. In fact, she specifies, 'A hopeless quest should not be made at all'. She points out that violation of the law throws the individual against the power and numbers of the State. It also puts them in the losing position of being weakerwomen in the face of stronger men.
Antigone dies because she disobeys a royal decree. The decree forbids the burial of the disloyal Theban dead from the recent armed struggle against the Argive invaders. She decides to violate the law, because her brother Polyneices is among the disloyal Theban dead. She can't leave his body above ground and exposed to the elements, dogs, and birds. She also violates the law because of its direct contradiction of the god-given rights of the dead to proper funerary procedures before passage into the realm of the underworld god. The decree is issued by Antigone's uncle, Theban King Creon. The King believes in an ordered society in which his word alone counts, and in which violators are punished.
Antigone's fiance Haemon and then her future father-in-law Creon found her dead. She was walled up in an isolated cave. Haemon managed to break through, but not in time to keep her from hanging herself. Neither was Creon able to save her or his son from their untimely deaths by suicide. Creon had repented of his harsh punishment of Antigone for having buried her brother Polyneices. But he got to the cave in time to find Antigone hanging by a linen halter, and his son clinging inconsolably to her dead body.
What does Haemon reveal about public opinion regarding Antigone?
Haemon appears twice in the play 'Antigone'. In the first instance, he has a conversation with his father, Theban King Creon. The King says that his son won't be allowed to marry Antigone. Instead, Antigone is going to be punished for having disobeyed the law of non-burial of enemy Argive and Theban dead. In response, Haemon informs his father of the admiration of the people of Thebes for Antigone's defiance of the law. Specifically, Haemon says, 'For the dread of thy frown forbids the citizen to speak such words as would offend thine ear; but I can hear these murmurs in the dark, these moanings of the city for this maiden; 'no woman,' they say, 'ever merited her doom less - none ever, was to die so shamefully for deeds so glorious as hers' who, when her own brother had fallen in bloody strife, would not leave him unburied, to be devoured by carrion dogs, or by any bird: deserves not she the meed of golden honour?'
Was the character Antigone prosperous?
The play 'Antigone' gives no information on the financial situation of the main character of the same name. But readers of the play and viewers of a performance tend to think of Antigone as having financial resources and social standing. She's the niece of the currently reigning Theban King Creon, who is to be her father-in-law. For she's the fiancee of his son and her first cousin, Haemon. She's the sister of the immediately preceding monarchs, the twin brothers Eteocles and Polyneices. She is the daughter of Theban King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta, the monarchs immediately preceding her brothers. Through both her father's and mother's family lines, Antigone is the great great great granddaughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes in about 2000 B.C.; and the great great great great great granddaughter of Poseidon, the sea god.
What is the larger moral issue at stake in the dispute between Creon and Antigone?
Religious beliefs and ethics versus Law/ Politics. Creon attempted to stop a religious process using his legal authority and status. Also, individual rights versus the majority and what they want/ need.
Perhaps the majority wanted the traitor left out there, but Antigone wanted her brother to go to the afterlife. The conflict between Creon and Antigone is a representation of the tension between the Rule of Law (which requires that the law must apply to everyone equally for it to be capable of maintaining order) and the freedom and rights of the individual within civilized society. Although Creon can see the inhumanity in denying Antigone the right to bury her beloved brother so that he may be put to rest with peace and dignity, he feels that the need to establish firm and consistent order through rigid and draconian laws was more pressing in the aftermath of the civil war that nearly led to Thebes' collapse. This theme recurs regularly in current events when debating issues such as The Patriot Act, or the legitimacy of practices at Guantanamo Bay or of extaordinary rendition.
Why does Tiresias keep mentioning King Oedipus's parents?
The fact that Theban King Oedipus doesn't know who his real parents are is why Teiresias the blind prophet mentions them. That knowledge is critical to the solving of the problems that overwhelm the Theban people and their king. The reason is that the seemingly happy, model royal couple are living in sin. That sin pollutes the entire city of Thebes and all of its people.
Oedipus and his people believe Corinthian King Polybus and Queen Merope to be none other than the monarch's biological parents. Oedipus and his people believe Theban Queen Jocasta to be a legitimate royal consort. And Oedipus and his people believe the royal marriage to be decent and valid.
But in actuality, the Corinthian monarchs are foster parents to Oedipus. In actuality, neither Oedipus nor Jocasta may be considered as legitimate spouses to each other. Their true relationship prevents all notion of legality or legitimacy. In fact, they're mother and son. So their marriage is neither decent nor valid. It comes about through the murder of Jocasta's first husband, Theban King Laius. And the albeit unknowing murderer is Oedipus.
What happens to Oedipus when he finds out his true identity?
Blindness, homelessness, and joblessnessare what happen to Theban King Oedipus once he finds out his true identity. He becomes blind through his own efforts. He just can't bear to look at himself or the mess of his life upon learning that he's a murderer and a sex offender. He becomes homeless and jobless through the sentence that at least one of his crimes demands.
Albeit unknowingly, he kills his father and his sovereign, Theban King Laius. The penalty is death or exile. Oedipus ends up with exile through the decision of his uncle and brother-in-law, Theban King Creon.
How does Creon believe the act of burying Polyneices was carried out?
Theban King Creon believes that Thebans who oppose his rule are behind the burying of Polyneices. Polyneices was Creon's nephew. But he invaded Thebes, and therefore is considered by the King to be disloyal and unworthy of god given rights to proper burial rites and rituals.
No, Theban King Creon isn't Theban King Laius' brother. Instead, he's his brother-in-law. Laius' wife, Theban Queen Jocasta, is Creon's sister.
What does Antigone's father do to himself as punishment in the Oedipus plays?
Blinding himself is what Antigone's father does as punishment in the Oedipus plays by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (496 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Oedipus discovers that he is married to his own mother, Theban Queen Jocasta, because of having killed his own father, Theban King Laius. The facts that he kills a man old enough to be his father and whom he resembles and that he marries a woman old enough to be his mother and whom he may resemble somewhat in gesture or speech were always right before him, staring him in the face. The truth always has been there for those with eyes to see it.
And yet the only person in all of Thebes to recognize the truth is the blind prophet Teiresias. Oedipus accordingly blinds himself with Jocasta's brooches. In one fell swoop, he thereby hopes to punish himself and also to have the clear vision and understanding that eluded him during the sighted portion of his miserable earthly existence.
What is the meaning of Haimon's statement Antigone's death will cause another?
The death of his father or that of himself is what Haemon means by saying that Antigone's death will cause another. Antigone is Haemon's beloved first cousin and bride-to-be. She's sentenced by Theban King Creon, Haemon's father and her own uncle, to death by being walled up in a remote cave. Haemon tries to kill his father. When he fails, Haemon turns the sword on himself.
What did Oedipus do after he found out Jocasta was his mother?
Jocasta discovered the truth before Oedipus, and she proceeded to commit suicide. Oedipus, seeing the truth and a dead wife-mother, blinded himself with her broaches(pins). He chose not to kill himself for two reasons: so he would not have to face the people of Thebes and see their disappointment in him, and so he could carry out the same punishment he mentioned before: exile.
What is the central ethical question in 'Antigone'?
Ethical questions deal with good versus evil, and moral questions with right versus wrong. The central ethical question in the play 'Antigone' admits the possibility that a law may be evil and do harm and wrong to the people whose well-being it's supposed to promote and protect. The question then becomes obedience or non-obedience to an inhumane, unfair, unjust law.
