Oedipus Rex

Analytical Essay # 116188

Drama and Theater > Greek and Roman
Literature > Greek and Roman

Oedipus Rex

An analysis of the main themes in Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex".

1,977 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper briefly summarizes the play "Oedipus Rex" and focuses on how it is seen as a play about human beings' inability to escape a prophecy, or destiny. The paper also shows how Oedipus himself is the enigma which he solves when he pursues the truth, even when he is pretty certain that it will be horrific. The paper asserts that while "Oedipus Rex" has been described as a play about the 'terror of coincidence', if it was simply a play about coincidence, it would not have gained the fame it enjoys. The paper believes that it is the complex motives which drive Oedipus to seek out the truth and the fact that he is a genuine Greek hero that has made Sophocles's play last for thousands of years.

Outline:
Introduction
Destiny in Oedipus Rex
Enigma in Oedipus Rex
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"To sum up the play briefly; a king who has reigned in Thebes for many years seeks his predecessor's murderers as the answer to a Delphic pronouncement; the anger of the Gods has left his people dying in handfuls. Gradually, he comes to realize that he has slain this former King (whose widow he has married), and also reveals that he left his home country in order to escape a terrible prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. It is then, very slowly and painfully, revealed to King Oedipus that the man whom he killed at the crossroads (King Laius), was his true father, and Jocasta, now Oedipus's wife, is also his mother."

Sample of Sources Used:

Aeschylus Oresteia Translated by Raphael, F and McLeish, K. Methuen, America 1993.
Barstow, Marjorie "Oedipus Rex as the Idea Tragic Hero of Aristotle" Classical Association of the Atlantic States October 5, 1912.
Dodds, E. R "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex" in Greece and Rome, 1966, reprinted in Bloom (ed) Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (New York, 1988) 35-47.
Haigh, A.E "Oedipus Rex: An Analysis of the Play by Sophocles" in The Tragic Drama of the Greeks (Clarendon Press, 1896)
Kerenyi, Karl "Oedipus: Two Essays" in Oedipus Variations: Studies in Literature and Psychoanalysis Spring Publications, Connecticut. 1995.