Oedipus the King, by Sophocles: summary, analysis and characters of the work

King Oedipus Sophocles is one of the classical works of Greek theater, the importance of which is of paramount importance to Western civilization. In addition to constituting a masterpiece from the theatrical point of view, King Oedipus represents a series of human conflicts and social values ​​that are considered archetypal from the psychological and sociological point of view. Let's see what this is about.

Summary of Oedipus Rex

The plague has broken out on Thebes and the people are dying. In their desperation, they all go to the agora to ask for the intervention of Oedipus the King. In order to understand the cause and remedy of such a terrible scourge, Oedipus requests the help of Creon, brother of his wife Jocasta.

After consulting the oracle of Delphi, Creon informs him that the plague is the punishment of the gods for the murder of Laius, the ancient king of Thebes whom Oedipus never met. Therefore, until the person responsible does not expiate his guilt, the plague will continue to plague the city.

Oedipus orders an investigation and exhorts the people to hand over the culprit. Meanwhile, the king consults the blind Tiresias on Creon's advice. Tiresias lets him know that he is Layo's murderer, and that he also lives in incest with his mother, Yocasta. Oedipus, who is considered the son of Polibo, king of Corinth, and Mériba of Doria, concludes that Creon has conspired with Tiresias to dethrone him.

Creon and Oedipus argue heatedly, until Jocasta shows up. In order to allay Oedipus' concerns, Jocasta lets him know that Laius was killed by bandits at the crossroads of three roads. He also encourages her not to fear the prophecies of the oracle, since in times past the oracle predicted that she and Laius would have a son who would kill her father and marry his mother. To avoid this, they got rid of the creature.

A similar prophecy had received Oedipus in his youth, which is why he went into exile from Corinth to avoid his fate. Oedipus recalls that in exile he killed someone at the crossroads, but he did it by himself and not in a group. Even so, he begins to fear that he is Laius's murderer.

A messenger appears to announce that Polibo has died and that Polibo must go to take charge of him as his successor. In the conversation, Oedipus discovers that he is not the son of Polibo's blood, since the same messenger explains to him that he received him from a shepherd when he was a child and gave him to the king of Corinth.

Immediately, they make the pastor appear who, finally, confesses that this child was the son of Laius, and that he had entrusted it to him to kill him. However, he took pity on the creature and handed it over to the messenger, confident that he would take it away from there.

Faced with the terrible truth, Jocasta commits suicide. Oedipus, dismayed, decides to break his eyes with the clasps of Jocasta's dress, so that when he dies he cannot look his parents in the eye in Hades. Blind, he asks Creon to exile him, so that Oedipus condemns himself to live forever as a foreigner, devoid of all power, affection and consideration.

Characters

• Oedipus, king of Thebes
• A priest of Zeus
• Creon, brother-in-law of Oedipus
• Theban Elders' Choir
• Coripheus
• Tiresias, I guess
• Jocasta, Queen of Thebes
• A messenger
• A shepherd, servant of Laius
• Another messenger

Analysis

As a dramatic genre King Oedipus it is, above all, a tragedy. In principle, the plot revolves around a fundamental element: the human being cannot escape his destiny. Whatever type it may be, destiny is represented in Greek culture as an inescapable, unavoidable fate. Let us now know how Sophocles builds this idea to have become a reference work not only of Ancient Greece, but of civilization.

Structure

The work of King Oedipus it is structured in a single act, respecting the principle of unity of time and unity of action, of which Aristotle spoke in his poetics. Although the work contains eight episodes, all of these follow one another and concatenate one with the other in a single timeline.

To achieve this, Sophocles applies a resource already used by other authors: what Sophocles represents is not a sequence of actions or events themselves, but the exhibition verbal information of a series of news, that is, events that have already occurred, before which it only remains to unveil and discover its implications and, finally, wait for the outcome that results from the revelation. This makes us know the researcher Javier de la Hoz in an essay entitled "The composition of King Oedipus and its traditional aspects ".

Indeed, the story begins with the agglomeration of the town of Thebes that demands a solution to the problem of the plague. After consulting the oracle, it is understood that the suffering of the people is the consequence of something that happened in the past and that everyone ignores, some deliberately, others out of absolute ignorance.

Rhetorically, it is what is known as an ellipse or ellipsis: the information has been deliberately elided to generate a dramatic effect on the viewer. He does not see such actions represented in the scene at any time. The information revealed is always partial, which creates expectations throughout the work. Thus, between the exposition of the argument in the first sequence and the outcome, the viewer only has before him a story of words from which he builds the thread of the plot.

Each character that joins the scene reveals more information about the course of events. Thus, in this work it is seen that Sophocles already resorts to three actors on the scene, among whom the information is triangulated and generates greater tension and conflict.

Fate and knowledge

We have said that the Greek tragedy is based on the representation of destiny as an inescapable fate. This is what both Oedipus, Laius and Jocasta experience. Each of them, knowing the oracle, put all their effort to twist their fortune and avoid the terrible outcome. By doing so, they hardly make sure that everything happens as prophesied. There will be those who, in the world of psychology, call this "self-fulfilling prophecy."

De la Hoz comments on the following in his essay:

Sophocles (...) has transformed the narrative of an omniscient, epic messenger into an investigation of the truth in which the will to know, the ignorance that prevents understanding the real meaning of the news, the interested concealment of data, and in which progress is partly made by unexpected illuminations that two half-truths that mutually complete each other arise when they come into contact, partly due to the mere will and even violence exercised by Oedipus on the possible informants.

In any case, there is also a paradox: the more these characters have information about their future, the more they ensure the fulfillment of the prophecy. Not even that can exempt them. Having access to the seers and oracles does not give them any margin of salvation. As can be seen, for the thought of classical antiquity it was not possible for the human being to evade the will of the gods or to fate, no matter how much effort he made. Thus, knowing about the future would not be an advantage in any case.

He may interest you: Greek tragedy: its characteristics and most important works.

Myth, society, justice and punishment

In the original sense of the term, in its anthropological sense, myth is a foundational story that explains, through symbols and allegories, the order of the world and the meaning of existence. In every myth, there is an explanation to justify why the world works the way it does.

This means that myths are a reservoir of a value system and, at the same time, each artistic expression. is a reservoir of the myths of each culture, for which they are responsible for keeping them updated and current. Sophocles recreates through theater the myth of Oedipus, which embodies the social values ​​of his civilization, and exposes a sense of justice, punishment and order so that the social group can take good course from him.

The fundamental principle is the belief in human destiny, as we have already said. No one can avoid his fate, no matter how much he believes he has the "power" to do so. Not even the powerful escape him. There, in the dramatic text and in the virtual representation, the work represents reality as it is: no one controls his destiny and power is only an illusion. The human condition is this and everyone is equally subject to its law. But not only that.

The oracle is pronounced before an absolutely abominable possibility from the cultural and moral point of view to Greece: incest and its consequences that weigh not only on those who have fallen into it, but on society whole. Along with this, the weight of pride, inordinate trust in temporal power, and attachments also play a part of it. The moral weight of the actions of individuals falls on society as a whole. There is, therefore, no prefiguration of individualism, but there is a reflection on the human condition.

The mythical sense of King Oedipus he transcends in such a way that he even constructs the image of an archetype: the relationship of Jocasta-Layo-Oedipus reveals an archetype of personality and human relationships that universal prefigure. This was picked up and systematized in psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud, who clearly saw how this work actually symbolizes the mode of operation of the psyche, at least to some extent.

In this way, King Oedipus demonstrates to the detractors of the myth, that is, to those who see myths as "lies", that myths embody universal truths, which explains why this work has become a fundamental reference for the culture western.

Sophocles

Sophocles is a Greek playwright who was born in Colon in 496 and died in Athens in 406 BC. C. He excelled in writing the theatrical genre known as “tragedy,” thanks to which he won more than a dozen dramaturgical competitions held during the Dionysian festivals.

His works were based on the myths of Greek antiquity, which is typical of his time historical, since the theater was born in Ancient Greece linked to mythical stories foundational.

In the almost 90 years of his life, Sophocles wrote more than a hundred tragedies, of which only seven have lasted to date. These are:

• King Oedipus
• Oedipus in Colonus
• Antigone
• Electra
• Ajax
• The trachnyas
• Philoctetes

In addition to having had a prolific work, this playwright is remembered for having promoted important transformations in the theater. Among his many contributions, there is the inclusion of scenery, as well as the increase in the number of actors on stage from 2 to 3, which meant the composition of more complex works and plots more enervated. He also increased the number of choristers per work. Also, he broke with the tradition of writing trilogies. This led to the individual assessment of each piece of theater.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

• Sophocles
• Sophocles' Antigone