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Introduction
Oedipus Rex is a play written by Greek dramatist Sophocles. It is among the most celebrated classical plays in the world. Oedipus Rex belongs to the genre of tragedy, as the central characters of the play undergo hardships at the hands of the fate, despite their integrity of characters and honest of intentions. The play follows all the components of an ideal plot outlined under classical dramatic structure – exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. The current essay discusses the presence of each of these components within the plot narrative of Oedipus Rex.
Exposition
Before the plot begins, a description of the place, time, settings, and the overall context is provided to the audience so that they can follow the thread as it unravels. This is called as exposition. The play Oedipus Rex opens with the Prologue wherein people of the city of Thebes who are reeling under the effect of plague. There is death and morbidity everywhere. The priest informs this to the King Oedipus who had earlier saved the city from a similar plague by killing the Sphinx who had cursed the city.
Oedipus is an able king who loves his subjects. He sends his brother in-law Creon to the oracles of Delphi to find out the reason and resolution of the plague. Creon comes back with the message from the oracles that the plague will not be lifted unless the murderer of former King Laius is found and punished. The murderer is residing in the city of Thebes itself.
Thus the stage is set – the audience is keen to know how Oedipus will find the murderer and save Thebes from doom. The audience also knows about most of the central characters in the play, including the slain King Laius, whom Oedipus had succeeded. Oedipus has been established as an able ruler, and the people of Thebes trust him to be their saviour.
Rising Action
This is where the drama in the plot begins. The characters begin their pursuit of achieving their objectives, and the story acquires pace. In this play, Oedipus has vowed to find the murderer and punish him so as to save the city of Thebes. He takes a series of steps to find the murderer – he calls the prophet Tiresias to name the murderer.
Everyone is intrigued to know the prophet’s answer. Tiresias names Oedipus as the murderer. Instead of resolving the riddle, this further complicates the plot because Oedipus refuses to believe Tiresias and sense a conspiracy by Creon to dethrone him. Tiresias repeats that the murderer is not a native of Thebes, and he will “turn out to be the brother of the children in this house, their father too” (Oedipus Rex, 554-55) He has bedded his mother, and killed his father. Oedipus sends him away, disbelieving him.
In another scene contributing to rising action, Oedipus’ queen Jocasta claims prophecies as false and also defends her brother Creon. She provides the information that according to an earlier prophecy, Laius was destined to be killed by his own son; however, the former King had died at the hands of bandits “where three roads meet” (Oedipus Rex, line 860) at Phocis. She also informs him that because of the prophecy that Laius would be killed by his son, Laius and Jocasta had got their new-born killed by the servants.
This information triggers the next set of action where mystery of Oedipus’ birth, and Laius’ death is resolved. Another reason why Oedipus is convinced that Tiresias’ prophecy is wrong because a news had arrived from Corinth that his father Polybus had died of natural consequences. So the prophecy that he is the slayer of his father is proved true. However, the messenger informs that Polybus and his wife Merope were not his biological parents. Oedipus as an infant was given to the messenger by a servant of Laius. He had brought him to Polybus who accepted him as his son.
Climax
According to the classical dramatic structure, a climax is the turning point in a play where the tension / drama has achieved its peak. Locating the exact point of climax is difficult because every scene constituting the rising action adds to the drama and brings the audience a point closer to revealing the mystery of the murderer, and the fate of the protagonist. The climax of the plot could be the point where Oedipus is only partially persuaded about his innocence – he can put two and two together about the circumstances surrounding Laius’ death and his role in it. From there on, it is close to falling action where one by one the truth is revealed that Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta.
Falling Action
The sequences under falling action constitute the resolution of the mystery and the reaction of the protagonists to the truth or the tragedy as it unfolds. Oedipus upon realizing the truth is shattered, while Jocasta commits suicide by hanging herself in her chamber. Oedipus finds the dead body of Jocasta and laments her death. He accepts his crime, that of killing his father and bedding his month, and gouges out his eyes. Thus, in a fit of guilt, Oedipus blinds himself.
Denouement
Just as the exposition describes the situation at the start of the play, denouement provides a description of the play and its characters towards the end. What happened to Thebes after Oedipus blinded himself? Was the plague lifted? What became of Oedipus, The King? Oedipus leaves the kingdom after Creon exiles him at his own behest. The prophesy has come true and the fate has won. Creon becomes the the King of Thebes, and also takes care of the Oedipus’ daughters.
Limitation of Time in Oedipus Rex
Sophocles maintains the three unities of drama throughout his play – unity of time, place, and action. The three unities are considered as hallmark for a good play that keeps the tension intact, and allows the audience to understand the play in a cohesive manner, without much deviation in the place of action and the action / plot itself.
The limitation of time is a technique to keep the action fast paced and gripping. It ensures that the play doesn’t drag at any moment. In Oedipus Rex, the entire story with flashbacks spans more than a decade or two. A part of it is told in retrospection – Oedipus killing the Sphinx, the death of Laius, the prophecy and the birth of Oedipus when after a short while he was handed over to a shepherd to be killed. As soon as the Prologue proclaims the plague in Thebes, Creon enters with the message from the oracles of Delphi. He is followed by the prophet, the messenger, and the shepherd.
Oedipus is firm in his determination to solve the mystery of the murderer, so that the gods lift the plague from upon Thebes as soon as possible and restore health and harmony in the city. The moment the cause of plague is revealed by Creon, Oedipus sets about finding the murderer. The revelations happen one after another, without pausing or giving time to the protagonists to reconsider their actions or reactions. Sophocles could have ended the play earlier, if Oedipus had believed Tiresias and banished himself then and there for killing Laius. However, that would have taken the dramatic element and the diluted central theme of ironic tragedy in the play.
The conversation with Jocasta, the arrival of the messenger from Corinth, and the shepherd from Thebes help put together the final puzzle that solves the mystery, and proves the fallibility of mortal beings at the hands of destiny. In that span of one day that the play takes place, the efforts of Jocasta, Laius, and indeed Oedipus to escape their destinies are shown and foiled.
References
Dawe, Roger D. Sophocles: Oedipus Rex. Cambridge University Press, 1982.
