Analysis of the Sophocles’ Oedipus the King
THESIS: In this paper, I am going to analyze the impact of fate and human behavior and actions in the development of action in the tragedy. I assume that, in spite of the fact that in the classical ancient Greek tragedy, everything must obey the will of the gods and the evil rock, in the tragedy of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, it can be observed a big role of free human will, which leads to a tragic end. The human factor influences to the unfolding of the plot of this tragedy and all the vicissitudes of fate are not a consequence of divine intervention, but human mistakes.
A summary of the Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Analysis of the characters of the play
Analysis of the principal character of the tragedy
Analysis of the characters of Laius and Jocasta
Everything in the tragedy Oedipus the King is about fate, blind fate, from which a person cannot escape. Every meeting, every event brings the main character closer to disaster. All the people he meets on his life path, one way or another, pushing him to fulfill the prophecy. If a slave does not felt sorry for the baby, if Oedipus is not adopted, if he had not been told that he was adopted, if the oracle has not confirmed that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother, if Oedipus doesn’t give the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx. If not all of these fateful meeting, the prophecy would not come true.
The basis of the tragedy is the myth of Oedipus, who killed his father and married his own mother. Oedipus was the son of the Theban king Laius. Laius and his wife Jocasta did not have children for a long time, it bothered them, Laius decided to go to the Delphic oracle and find the cause of infertility. The oracle predicted that the son of Laius would kill him and marry Jocasta. When the child was born, the king, in order to avoid his fate tied and pierced with acute iron the baby’s feet ordered a slave to throw the boy into the woods to the beasts. The slave was merciful he gave the baby gave to a servant of the Corinthian king Polybus, he took the boy and the king, who was childless, adopted the baby and called him Oedipus (Sophocles, Storr).
One day, when Oedipus was already an adult, one of the guests at home, told that Oedipus was an adopted child. Oedipus went to the oracle to resolve their doubts. The truth that he learned terrified him. To avoid the predicted fate, Oedipus decided to leave home. On his way from Delphi, Oedipus met a grizzled old man, who offended him and hit him. Oedipus kicked him back so the old man fallen dead. That is how the first part of the prediction realized. Oedipus didn’t know that he killed his father Laius (Sophocles, Storr).
On the way to Thebes Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx, so the grateful people proclaimed Oedipus their king, and he married Jocasta, he had no idea that she was his mother. After that, a great disaster befell Thebes, a terrible disease, and famine. Oedipus sent Jocasta's brother Creon to Delphi to ask the oracle how to get rid of the curse, the answer was to find and punish the murderer of Laius. After long searches and investigations, Oedipus found the terrifying truth. Oedipus is now clear that he had committed a terrible crime. Jocasta in despair committed suicide, and Oedipus blinded himself (Sophocles, Storr).
The most tragic thing about that play is that Oedipus wasn’t a bad person. His people used to see him as a just ruler. He has been called the best of husbands. He saved Thebes from the monster, to oppress the city, magnified to a wise rule. Oedipus felt responsible for the fate of the people, for their country and wanted to do anything to stop the plague in the country.
As it should be in a classic tragedy, the main force of the whole action is fate that no one can oppose. The more people try to escape it, the closer the outcome. The aim of an Ancient Greek’s tragedy is to raise sympathy for characters. For that purpose they shouldn’t be bad or evil, they just make mistakes and take wrong decisions. But characters also shouldn’t be too good, they need to be realistic.
That is why the Oedipus the King is one of the best tragedies of that period. Oedipus is brave, clever and just, but at the same time, he is full of anger and aggression. The intemperate character of Oedipus was the cause of the murder of an old man on the road. Oedipus is able to feel sorry for his actions. Suffering as a result of the crime for him was worse than death. That is why he chooses to blind himself as a punishment at the end of the play. It is important to note that although the will of gods is strong, as well as the spirit of Oedipus in Sophocles play, he and other characters try to fight his destiny, so never mind the end of it, there is the moral triumph of free will.
His parents are good people, wise and loving, but they are also cowardly and cruel. They also tried to avoid their fate in their own way. That is also their choice and their own will, so they can’t blame only their destiny. As they try to fight it, they start the chain of evil misfortunes which involves more and more people into it, as the plot evolves. Laius is just and noble, but bad-tempered; he cannot forgive disrespect, so he offends a passerby who won’t make way for him. That was his mistake, if Laius has more forbearance, he will stay alive and the prophecy won’t come true. He tried to trick his fate, but he was only a man with his weaknesses and drawbacks.
However, in my opinion, the main push to the story gives the mother of Oedipus. Ignoring the rules of morality, maternal instinct, duty, she makes an incredibly cynical act, she agreed to kill her own son to cheat the fate. It is the only minor character, which has an impact on the fate of Oedipus throughout the tragedy. After Oedipus killed Laius, his father, and defeated the Sphinx, Jocasta without hesitation married the hero whom the people proclaimed their king. In the text, there is no a moment of mourning for the murdered spouse or hesitation of the woman, whether to marry the hero or not. She was not forced to marry him, it was entirely her decision. She uses her free will and that leads her towards her death. To my opinion the main point of the tragedy is that one never should try to trick gods will if this person is not merit enough. She was not an impeccable person, so when she tried to take control over her destiny, she became a cause of all troubles. That is why she can be called a villain in the tragedy, but she regrets about everything she had done and commits suicide, also on her own will.
Deployment of the plot of the tragedy is realistically justified, the growth of doubt and anxiety, troubles, the culmination of the action, when the king Oedipus in his glory suddenly reveals the truth and then falls to misery and isolation, and all that collision are represented as a chain of mishaps and mistakes, without any supernatural intervention, that makes the story realistic and dark. Consequently, the Oedipus the King by Sophocles is not only the tragedy of fate, but it is also the tragedy of the characters, which proclaims the idea of spiritual freedom.
There are a lot of symbols and repetitions in the plot. For example, the Sphinx represents the fate. Oedipus solves his riddle, kills the Sphinx, and it seems that he defeated his fate, but it is not true. The Sphinx will soon be back to set his mind with unsolvable riddles, and the answers are going to be fatal to Oedipus. That is the fear, that increases during the tragedy: the Sphinx is not outside, but inside, in the soul of the winner. The prophet Tiresias says to Oedipus that he should save himself, and that is quite true because during the whole play characters are trying to fight their fate which is absolutely impossible. This is terrible, as death approaches, step by step, grows from a tiny grain quietly and steadily and finally embraces and absorbs the victim. The first shadow, the first hint of a suspicion flashed in the words of Tiresias. Oedipus does not feel the slightest anxiety. It is an insult to indignant suspects Tiresias and Creon of conspiring against his government and with the greatest zeal to look for the true villain, who murdered Laius.
And suddenly, in a random hint Jocasta, his wife, remembers something forgotten and sinister. He continues to look for the truth with greed, anger, but without fear. Fate laughs at him, the monster playing with him like a cat with a mouse. Meanwhile, the power of the evidence of the crime all grow and grow with a slow, inevitable gradually. This game of fate, these omissions, hints, ambushes, mockery, apprehension, makes him loose his composure, he calls upon the final denouement. He chooses to find out the truths and it scares him. But still at the very edge of the abyss, he has the power to throw a challenge to the fate. And at that moment, the mystery is exposed. He is a parricide, he his marriage is incestuous, he is the reason of all misfortunes of his people. He blinds himself but keeps his dignity.
Works Cited
Sophocles., F. Storr. Oedipus The King. Harvard University Press, 1912. Print.
