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a series of episodes interspersed
with commentary from the chorus,
leading to a choral exodus, or
conclusion. Within this framework,
Sophocles uses his own innovation
of a third actor to widen the variety
of character interaction and enable
a more complex plot, creating the
psychological tensions synonymous
with the word “drama” today.
Typically, a tragedy of this sort
was the story of a hero suffering
a misfortune that leads to his
undoing, traditionally at the hands
of the gods or fate. As classical
tragedy developed, however,
the hero’s reversal of fortune was
increasingly portrayed as the result
of a frailty or fault in the character
of the protagonist—the “fatal flaw.”
In Oedipus the King both fate and
character play their part in the
tragic events. The character of
Oedipus is also far from black and
white. At the beginning of the play
he appears as the respected ruler of
Thebes, to whom the people turn to
rid them of a curse, but as the plot
unfolds his unwitting involvement
in the curse is revealed.This revelation contributes to the
atmosphere of foreboding that was
a characteristic of the best classical
tragedies. The sense of doom arose
from the fact that many of these
stories were already well known,
as that of Oedipus must have been.
Such a situation creates tragic
irony, when the audience is aware
of a character’s fate and witnesses
his unsuspecting progress toward
inevitable doom. In Oedipus the
King, Sophocles ratchets up this
atmosphere of inevitability by
introducing various references to
prophecies that were made manyOEDIPUS THE KING
An ancient house mosaic depicts
masks used in tragedies. Actors often
wore masks, some with exaggerated
expressions, to help convey the
character they were representing.years before, which both Oedipus
and his wife Jocasta have ignored.
The story is not so much about
the events that lead to Oedipus’s
downfall, as about the events
that prompt revelations of the
significance of his past actions.Tragedy foretold
The chain of events begins with
Thebes stricken by plague. When
consulted, the oracle at Delphi says
that the plague will abate when the
murderer of Laius, the former king
of Thebes and previous husband of
Jocasta, is found. Oedipus seeks
the advice of the blind prophet
Tiresias to find the killer. This
puts Tiresias in a difficult position
because, although blind, he can see
what Oedipus cannot: that Oedipus
himself is the unwitting murderer,
and advises him to let the matter
rest. But Oedipus demands the
truth, and then furiously refuses
to believe the prophet’s accusation,
while Tiresias further reveals that
the killer will turn out to be the son
of his own wife. A rattled Oedipus
recalls a visit to Delphi as a youth,
where he had gone to determine his
true parentage, having overheard
that he had been adopted. Instead,
the oracle told him that he would
murder his father and marry his
mother—so he had fled, journeying
toward Thebes. On his way to the
city, he had met and killed an older
man who barred his way.
The significance of this is not
lost on the audience, especially
when Sophocles introduces Jocasta,
Oedipus’s wife and the widow of
Laius, who comforts Oedipus by
arguing that prophecies are untrue;The greatest griefs are those
we cause ourselves.
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