Marta Case
Oedipus the King
Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King to tell the story of an abandoned child who grew
up to be a powerful ruler. When Oedipus was born into the royal family he had
all the potential in the world; but once his parents learned Oedipus' fate,
they decided it was best to get rid of the baby. Luckily for Oedipus, a shepherd
came along and saved the baby's life by giving him to the king and queen of
Corinth therefore giving the title "Prince of Corinth" to Oedipus. Unfortunately
for Oedipus, he could not remain a wise and powerful ruler because he could not
escape his fate. Authors always have a point they are trying to make as they
write their works. Sophocles is no exception to this. Sophocles proves that Oedipus’
brilliance and arrogance caused him to have great power but these traits also
led to his demise. Though these attributes turned him into a great and powerful
leader, they ended up earning him an exile from his home. Oedipus could not
escape his eventual fate no matter how hard he tried.
Lines 1675 - 1684 address the point
Sophocles tries to make
Creon:
Still the king, the master of all things?
No more: here your power ends.
None of your power follows you
through life.
Chorus:
People of Thebes, my countrymen, look on Oedipus.
He solved the famous riddle with his
brilliance,
he rose to power, a man beyond all
power.
Who could behold his greatness
without envy?
Now what a black sea of terror has
overwhelmed him.
Now as we keep our watch and wait
the final day,
count no man happy till he dies,
free of pain at last.
Sophocles' mastery of word choice
shines in this particular passage because by choosing certain words he lays out
his point clearly. With this being the last passage of the play, words are
everything. This is the last thing the audience either hears or reads, and the
words need to be chosen precisely so that they leave with a complete
understanding of the point of the play. When Sophocles uses the word brilliance
it shows the respect the chorus has for Oedipus. Oedipus proved the wonder of
his mind by solving a riddle no other man could solve. His brilliance deserved
admiration and praise. Instead of just calling Oedipus smart, Sophocles calls
him brilliant. This compliment is not to be taken lightly, and this recognition
shows the audience why Oedipus is somewhat arrogant. He realizes the depth of
his mind, and his ego grows as others realize it as well. The word greatness is
not one to be glanced over. The audience should entirely consume the fact that
Oedipus' greatness could not be easily matched. He used his brilliance to
become great. Not only was he declared the Prince of Corinth, but he also
became the King of Thebes. Not many can say that they have had that amount of power
in more than one kingdom. Sophocles did not refer to Oedipus as a good king or
an okay king; but instead he referred to Oedipus as a great king, a title that
Oedipus truly deserved. These two words help the audience tremendously in
understanding the point of the play.
By focusing on this passage alone
instead of the entire play altogether, one can see a couple things. The first
being a different side of Creon. Creon takes over the throne as he exiles
Oedipus; and instead of treating Oedipus with the respect he deserves for being
such a wise ruler, he tries to rush the process with a harsh attitude. Instead
of allowing Oedipus to take his time and leave with dignity, Creon kicks him
out of Thebes without giving it a second thought. Another thing the audience
realizes is that even though Oedipus became a little arrogant in thinking that
he could rely on himself alone to escape his fate, he was a good man. The
unfortunate events he found himself enduring were not necessarily his fault.
Oedipus tried to be a good man and a great king, which he was, but in the end
he just could not escape the fate dealt to him by the gods.
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