Analysis Of ' Oedipus ' Rex '

Creon has more of a reserved personality. He likes to discuss things in private and talk things over before discussing information with the general public. When Creon brings word from Apollo that the murderer of King Laius must be punished, there is a short discussion between Oedipus and Creon about whether or not to publicly announce Apollo’s declaration.

of Creon’s cruelty, he lost his loved ones and all of his respect, because it was only

Creon’s was used to being the hero of Thebes after repairing the damage Oedipus’ horrifying end had caused, now he was faced with an uncomfortable choice. Being the new reigning monarch of Thebes, his morals were centered around keeping himself monarch. As a result, Creon’s selfishness tipped his internal scales3 of what was just and what was not. His pride was so great that he not only refused to bury the revolutionary, Polyneices, but declared, “he’ll have no burial mound, no

3. What does Oedipus think about the clue Creon reveals about who murdered King Laios? What might this perception foreshadow?

When Creon finds them both dead he realizes that it was his power as king that has caused this to happen. He begins to realize mistakes he has made. He has followed quite closely in the footsteps of Oedipus. Through his suffering we begin to see him as a human rather than a powerful tyrant.

Sophocles gives the readers many different views of the play Oedipus the King in which we can take and analysis accordingly to things we are most interested in. Throughout the play Oedipus personally changes. He starts off as a being a smart leader, calm, and determined, but at the end of the play it reveals how he is angry, irrational and is blind to certain aspects, which becomes his downfall.

men, which Creon has failed to see. Creon ends up suffering due to his pride, which teaches an

Because of his commitment to his people and their suffering, he sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to Delphi to see the gods to find out why his city is under such a great plague and what he can do to stop it. Creon returns and says, “… It was murder that brought the plague-wind on the city” and that it was King Laios that was murdered years ago (Prologue, 104-105). Vowing to bring the murderer to justice and being a just King, Oedipus decrees that if the murderer reveals himself he will not be killed, he will be exiled. This determination and tenaciousness was the beginning of the end of King Oedipus.

1. What is Creon’s motivation for forbidding the burial of his own nephew Polyneicês? Why would he issue an edict that runs so contrary to his family obligations?

In line 1059, Oedipus begins to interrogate the Shepherd. Which characters has he already cross-examined in his effort to solve the mystery of Laius’s murder and of his own identity?

A plague has stricken Thebes. The citizens gather outside the palace of their king, Oedipus, asking him to take action. Oedipus replies that he already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle at Delphi to learn how to help the city. Creon returns with a message from the oracle: the plague will end when the murderer of Laius, former king of Thebes, is caught and expelled; the murderer is within the city. Oedipus questions Creon about the murder of Laius, who was killed by thieves on his way to consult an oracle. Only one of his fellow travelers escaped alive. Oedipus promises to solve the mystery of Laius’s death, vowing to curse and drive out the murderer.

However, the driving force of Oedipus' fact-finding mission is an attempt to end the plague which racks his city. He does not realize the personal consequences his hunt will have for him, and his "loyalty to the truth" (23) is based on his ignorance of it. In fact, if we examine the events leading up to Oedipus' revelation, the incidental nature of his "quest for identity" becomes apparent. First, he summons Tiresias to name the killer, whom Oedipus does not at the time believe to be himself. Then a messenger arrives from Corinth, unbidden by the king, revealing that Oedipus is not truly Polybus' son. Finally, the shepherd reveals all of Oedipus' past, after having been called for the purpose of providing more information about Laius' death. The coincidental nature of these events is somewhat at odds with Dodds' vision of Oedipus as a sort of Greek private detective who relentlessly ferrets out clues in a self-destructive search for his parents. Oedipus is eager to find the truth, but the most pivotal witnesses for the true story of his birth either come to him of their own volition, or are convened by Oedipus in the hopes that they will tell him something entirely different. In the end, he resigns himself to the truth which would have been clear much earlier (as it was to Jocasta), had he

During his flight, he Oedipus kills a caravan of presumed low-class travelers. Oedipus comes into Thebes a stranger and hero who solved the riddle of the sphinx. Believing that he is blessed with great luck, Oedipus marries the recently widowed Iokaste and becomes King of Thebes. After many years, a plague vexes the city and Kreon, brother of Iokaste, comes to Oedipus with news from the oracle. He states that the plague will be lifted when the murder of Laios is avenged. Oedipus claims that he sees and understands the terrible fate of Thebes and vows to find the murderer. Since the criminal is said to still be in Thebes, Oedipus believes that a man of his intelligence should have no difficulty in finding the perpetrator. When Oedipus is confronted by Teiresias with truth, perhaps it is Oedipus’ own hubris, which blinds him to the unthinkable truth.

In Oedipus the king, he was a very intelligent man, who choose his fate and that led him to a tragedy later on throughout his years a king. A few factors that find their way into the

Thebans sought Oedipus, their King, to find the cause of the plague and to resolve it. It is revealed to Creon by an oracle at Delphi that the plague was due to the unpunished murder of King Laius. Creon, Oedipus?s brother-in-law, relayed this information. Oedipus, being the dutiful king that he was, sought the prophet Teiresias on the premise that the prophet could explain the cause of the plague. Sadly, Oedipus did not realize that by calling for this prophet would, in turn, reveal a dark secret that would eventually lead to the ruin of Oedipus. Teirsias proclaims,? I say you are the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek.? (1009). The proclamation, along with a suggestion of incest on Oedipus?s part, Oedipus failed to understand. This was the prophets attempt to explain to Oedipus that he, Oedipus, had killed King Laius. Oedipus still does not realize that the man and servants he encountered that day at the crossroads was King Laius. This set of events is another example of how a decision made by Oedipus contributed to his downfall.