The Plot of the Sophocles Oedipus Rex - Essay Example

What does the prophet Teiresias mean when he says to Oedipus “This day will bring your birth and your destruction”? (based on Sophocles’ "Oedipus Rex") 2009 Since the purpose of this report is to understand the meaning of particular phrase of the prophet Teiresias in “Oedipus Rex” tragedy by Sophocles, I analysed the plot of the tragedy itself, its text and the context of this gialogue between Teiresias and Oedipus. Concerning the phrase itself, it was uttered by the prophet when Oedipus virtually interrogated him about who had killed Laius, and the prophet mentioned the King’s parents to whom he, Teiresias, seemed wise. Naturally, Oedipus, who was not yet aware of the fact that Laius was his real father, asked the prophet for clarification; and that is when Teiresias proclaimed: “This day shall be thy birth-day, and thy grave” – therefore, I presumed that the phrase referred to Oedipus discovery of who his real parents are. Of course, this seems pretty much obvious as we know how the tragedy ends, and even if we had not read it we all certainly heard about Oedipus complex that the psychoanalysts describe as the man’s (boy’s) desire to perform incest with his mother and to emiminate (i.e. “kill”) his father. However, although the “grave” (or “desctruction”) part of the prophecy is pretty clear, why is Teiresias speaking about the “birth”, and which is more – why is he putting the two notions together and linking them, how can they happen on the same day, and how are they interrelated? This is the issue I am going to speculate upon in this paper. First of all, I strongly believe that the words of Teiresias the prophet “This day shall be thy birth-day, and thy grave” can, and should, be viewed in at least two different contexts: (1) the exact and direct meaning of these words with regard to the plot of Sophocle’s tragedy and (2) the meaning of this phrase in the context of Sophocle’s philosophy and his views on the issues of power of fortune and human choice. The direct meaning of the prophet’s words is more obvious. As we can further see from the tragedy’s plot, the same day when Oedipus got to know his real parentage brought his destruction: hence, the “birth” and the “grave” happened simultaneously. The concept of “birth”, however, can also be regarded in its figurative meaning – since by discovering the person guilty of Laius’ death the King of Thebes was supposed to regain and strengthen his authority among the citizens. At the end of the tragedy, the two notions – those of greatness and destruction – are very naturally brought together in the lyrics of the choir: Look ye, countrymen and Thebans, this is Oedipus the great, He who knew the Sphinxs riddle and was mightiest in our state. Who of all our townsmen gazed not on his fame with envious eyes? Now, in what a sea of troubles sunk and overwhelmed he lies! Therefore wait to see lifes ending ere thou count one mortal blest; Wait till free from pain and sorrow he has gained his final rest. These last lines of the choir in Sophocle’s tragedy symbolize that Oedipus’ destiny is by no means unique, and that pretty much any human being can experience the same desctructive events in life. And hence we come to another, as I believe much more complicated and interesting angle of viewing Teiresias’ phophesy: that of the interrelation between the fortune and human choice in Sophocle’s tragedy and in the outlook and philosophy of the Ancient Greece of the period when the tragedy was created. One cannot fail to notice that a very important place in Sophocle’s tragedy “Oedipus Rex” is occupied by fortune, or destiny. One of the main ideas of the antique literature (especially in the works of Euripides) is that a human being is not completely free in his or her choice, and this belief can be traced in Sophocle’s “Oedipus Rex” as well. However, important for the tragedy is the combination of the “external” law of the destiny and the freedom of human will. To the contrast to his predecessors, Sophocles in his tragedy “Oedipus Rex” attempts to slightly shift the focus and the attention of the audience from the idea of fortune: the essence of this work is not the power of fate but the feelings and experiences of a human being. However, the fortune still produces significant influence upon the lives of humans, and namely, the King Oedipus. There is an opinion that the crime conducted by Oedipus is not the result of his personal behaviour or choice – the reasons for it roots in the “fortune”. According to this opinion, Sophocles in his tragedy speaks about the power of fate and its everlasting domination over a human being. The fact that Oedipus managed to solve the riddle of Sphinx, the prophet Teiresius attributes to the fortune: this fortune made Oedipus the Theban King, made him renown among people as a wise person, - and yet the same fortune will take from him all that he has and will destruct him. Therefore, the discussed words of the blind prophet address the notion of fate that can either bring happiness or unhappiness and that has the omnipotent power over people. The fortune is almighty. It is the fortune that makes Oedipus leave Polybus and Merope; it is the fortune that ensures that Oedipus meets the Sphinx and solves the riddle. It is by the furtune that Oedipus gets his name. And after having argued with Jolanta about his desire to know his parentage, Oedipus in his famous monologue gives an answer to the question who exactly he considers his parent: It may be she with all a womans pride Thinks scorn of my base parentage. But I Who rank myself as Fortunes favorite child, The giver of good gifts, shall not be shamed. She is my mother and the changing moons My brethren, and with them I wax and wane. Oedipus is sure that the fortune made him exactly who he is, thus personifying, “animating” the fortune; he considers the fortune his parent and protector. Although Oedipus himself also makes the moves and takes the actions that bring him closer to desctuction (he is the one who murders a man who later turns out to be his father; he is the one who shares bed with a woman who is eventually recognised as his mother; he is the one who makes a decision to leave his adoptive parents who love him so much), still in Sophocles’ tragedy we can clearly see the “portrait”, the shade of the fortune that follows Oedipus anywhere he goes. Oedipus, giving correct aswer to the Sphinxs riddle, makes a step towards his own descruction. This makes him the King of Thebes – and simultaneously brings him closer to performing more of the horrible actions (like marrying his mother, for example). Therefore, Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” is a tragedy of fortune and misfortune, as the protagonist in it is trying to oppose the inevitable. This is also a tradegy of fate and freedom: the freedom of a human being is shown not as the freedom to choose actions but to bear responsibility even for those deeds he did not mean to perform. Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, and though does everything possible to avoid the Oracle’s prophesy, still commits both crimes, and after that blinds himself. Sophocles seems to blame Oedipus even though he seems innocent: still, he was not able to overcome his criminal intentions. Therefore, every move that Oedipus makes is marked by the presence of fortune in it, and by its active participation in the character’s life. Fortune is the power that gives him everything he has in life: his wife, his kids, kingdom, power, etc. Fortune makes him great by means of his own horrible deeds – killing his father and marrying his mother. It makes him the King of the city and takes him high to the top – so that to later precipitate him into the abyss of sufferings. Fortune is beside Oedipus always and everywhere; it gives him “birth” (as a King, as an influential person, as a husband and father) – and it eventually brings him into the “grave”. Works Cited Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Retrieved on March 30, 2009 from The Project Gutenberg database: Read More