Sophocles, Oedipus the King - Book Report/Review Example

? Oedipus the King is one of the most influential stories that helped shape Western literature. The great Greek tragedy tells the story of the hero Oedipus and his fate. The entire plot of the story takes place in a short span of time but chronicles decades in the lives of the characters. The play is regarded as a classic and most noteworthy among the ranks of Greek tragedies. Like many others within the same category, there is the underpinning theme of the inescapability of the destiny of the main characters of the play. But beyond this can be seen the conviction that is enveloped in the dramatic irony that is revealed in the climactic end of the story. It starts out with the caucus in the house of Oedipus as the kingdom of Thebes is under a plague which has led the people to drought, hunger and suffering. The people are calling to the gods in fervent prayer that the kingdom does not suffer its downfall. Oedipus meets them to query on what they are doing and calms them as an answer to their prayers is soon to come. Hence he assures them and gives his promise that he will do everything to put an end to it. Creon utters what will be the solution from the gathered information and that is to punish the killer of Laius, the previous King whom Oedipus succeeded. This is where the plot thickens and the entanglements of their relationships unfold. Forewarned by a prophecy that a son born to Laius and Jocasta would slay his own father and marry his mother to father his very siblings, Laius ordered the death of his son upon its birth. Bound by the feet, thus Oedipus’ name, and abandoned in Mt. Cithaeron, the king had presumed that what had been foretold had been prevented. But the baby survived and was saved by the shepherd who found him in the mountain. Upon his delivery to Polybus of Corinth there had been an incident of another slurring in a banquet wherein he was jested as not being a true son of his recognized parents. Then he sought the truth from Apollo and was informed of the same prophecy already known to Laius and Jocasta “Woes, lamentations, mourning, portents dire; To wit I should defile my mother’s bed. And raise up seed too loathsome to behold. And slay the father from whose loins I sprang” (Sophocles trans. Storr, 1999/1912). Oediopus left Corinth in search of his destiny. On his journey he met a man who humiliated him. Contrary to the belief that Laius was killed by robbers, it was in Oedipus’ own hands that his life came to an end. Thereafter, he came to Thebes and was hailed for solving the riddle of the Sphinx and gained the love of the people who suffered therefrom. He was made the king by the people and assumed himself in the position that was formerly belonging to Laius. This included everything from his riches down to his queen widowed by the former’s death. Under his rule, the kingdom of Thebes was in a prosperous state and flourished until the advent of the succeeding plague which haunted the king in search of its end. Oedipus was firm in ensuring the people that they are not to worry and that he will be able to put an end to the plague in the same way that he had previously done with the Sphinx. Driven by this promise, he sets out to find the culprit and initially blaming Creon as the mastermind in a plot to oust him from his throne. But what unfolded was something that was beyond his contemplation. His own history and the prophecy came together to reveal the biggest irony of his quest. Teiresias, the kingdom’s greatest oracle reveals the link between Laius and Oedipus. The king had been reluctant to accept the reality of the prophecy and to what it means in his identity. The blind prophet had been accused many things in his denial but was later vindicated by the inevitable truth that has been stabbing at Oedipus all along. Like many of the unwanted realities that men exert all effort to evade, the Greek hero was the same. But ultimately the truth shall prevail and that fate is inescapable though we may try hard to do so. There are voices of reason that should have prevented him from revealing too much of himself. He had become arrogant in his rule as the king. There was the constant manifestation of his power and the idea that he shall rule forever and that he is living the life most envious to the people. But he had been blind to the reality. Here, the author sets the contrast between the wisdom of Teiresias who had been literally blind and deprived of his sight and that of Oedipus who is high and proud, without any physical impediment but has been figuratively blind of the truth behind his transgressions. Thus the chorus sang (Sophocles trans. Storr, 1999/1912): “Of insolence is bred The tyrant; insolence full blown, With empty riches surfeited, Scales the precipitous height and grasps the throne. Then topples o’er and lies in ruin prone;” The act of Oedipus blinding himself is one, if not, the most pivotal of all his actions. It redefines his beliefs on who he is and where he stands. It is a sacrifice and it is also an act of reason. In it he hopes to see more clearly not only the physical perceptions but most importantly the truth. His arrogance in ascertaining the people of their safety divulged into his own hands the guarantee that the same will be enforced and he remained faithful as hero in that even though it is with shame he still kept his promise. He was still a leader up to the very end of his reign because being so does not dictate that one remains in power forever but that one is willing to give it up for the sake of the greater good. Bibliography Sophocles (1999). Oedipus the King. (F. Storr, Trans.). Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University. (First Published 1912). Read More