Oedipus Rex, Prologue - Scene Two

King Oedipus will come to face some very hard truths on his journey. Imagine for a moment that you lived a majority of your life and then found out your parents were not your real parents. As Oedipus discovers more about his past, he realizes his true parents abandoned him when they learned of his fate. How would you live the days of your life if it was your fate to commit a horrendous crime? As you progress through this journey, you will find that Oedipus will discover some disturbing facts about his true self.

Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King/Oedipus Rex using irony throughout the tragedy.  As Oedipus’ origins and fate begin to unravel, you are able to observe instances of irony throughout. Irony is the most important literary element in the tragedy. After you read the prologue, you will already know what Oedipus does not; this is dramatic irony. As you read, you will see other types of irony. Verbal irony takes place when a character says one thing but means another. Situational irony takes place when the opposite of what you expect to happen actually occurs. Make sure you pay close attention to the different types of irony present in this tragedy.

Background Information: Oedipus Rex

Before you begin to read Oedipus the King/Oedipus Rex, you must understand that Oedipus’ journey to self-discovery begins with the Prologue. In Sophoclean tragedies, Sophocles prepares the audience for the action of the play by providing background information that is essential to understanding the work. In this interactivity, you will learn about the essential background information in Oedipus the King/Oedipus Rex. Click the player button to get started.

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Prologue

Now that you have some background information about Oedipus, it is time to learn about the setting and events outside the palace at Thebes. The citizens of Thebes are battling the plague, an external conflict. The people of Thebes have gathered to ask Oedipus to save them from the suffering.  Everyone is desperate because food is not growing, and women are not able to have children. Their city is a barren wasteland. The people of Thebes are confident that their king will be able to help them because, after all, he saved them by solving the riddle of the Sphinx! What will King Oedipus do to help his people?

Analysis

After reading the Prologue and Parados, you should have a good feeling for the setting of the play. The Prologue begins with Oedipus reassuring the priest that he has sent his brother-in-law Creon to Delphi to find the cause of the plague.  Creon soon returns to tell Oedipus that the gods are angry. They are angry because the murder of Laius goes unpunished. Since everyone in Thebes was preoccupied with the Sphinx, no one had led a thorough investigation into the murder of Laius. Oedipus swears to discover the murderer.

The Parados is a prayer to all of the Olympian gods to save Thebes and find the murderer. The Parados expresses a fear that Oedipus’ investigation may shed light on the true murderer, but that this information may also be very destructive.

 

Scene One and Ode One

The next section begins when the blind prophet Tiresias is led in by a servant. The exchange of dialogue between Oedipus and Tiresias is heated, as it should be. Oedipus does not believe the prophet and this angers him. What is the prophet describing? Read on to find out more.

Analysis

The scene begins with Oedipus declaring again that he will find the murderer of Laius. Servants then lead in the blind prophet Tiresias. Oedipus asks Tiresias, “do not hide what the god tells you.” He is asking for the name of the murderer. Tiresias does not answer Oedipus, and this angers Oedipus. The rest of the dialogue between Oedipus and Tiresias contains insults and accusations from Oedipus, until the prophet speaks these important lines:

So I say this to you,
since you have chosen to insult my blindness—
you have your eyesight, and you do not see
how miserable you are, or where you live,
or who it is who shares your household.

Did you catch the irony in these lines? A blind prophet can actually “see” what Oedipus cannot. Oedipus sending for Tiresias and then finding that he (Oedipus) may be the killer of Laius represents the essential element of peripeteia in the tragedy. In addition, Oedipus' hubris makes him believe that Tiresias and Creon have conspired against him.

In Ode One (Stasimon One), the chorus asks the gods to help them discover the murderer. The chorus expresses their belief that Oedipus is innocent.

 

Scene Two Ode Two

How would you feel if any member of your family called you a traitor? The next part of the story begins when Oedipus is confronted by Creon. Creon is offended that he was accused by Oedipus. Iocaste will soon enter the scene and try to stop the argument between the two brothers. Will she be successful? It is during this part of the story where Oedipus begins to realize that he murdered Laius.

Anaylsis

Wow, what an important part to this tragedy. The confrontation between Oedipus and Creon reveals some of Oedipus' character flaws - being arrogant, irrational and short tempered. Iocaste is able to calm Oedipus down and together these two recall the death of Laius. Coincidentally, Laius was murdered very close to the location where Oedipus confronted and killed an old man. Iocaste again calms Oedipus telling him that oracles can be wrong and that Laius was killed by a band of robbers. At the end of the scene, Oedipus is struggling with an internal conflict. He is left not knowing if he is the murderer of Lauis or not. Iocaste feels that the prophecy may be true and the citizens of Thebes have many doubts about their leader.

Ode Two (Stasimon Two) directly correlates with Oedipus’ tragic flaw, hubris. The ode concludes that man should show respect to the gods and not get carried away or fooled by his power.

 

Oedipus Rex, Prologue - Scene Two Review

Oedipus is influenced by a few characters on his journey. Can you match the correct character to the description? Were you able to identify numerous types of internal and external conflict within the first part of Oedipus the King/Oedipus Rex? In this non-graded interactivity, follow the directions on each question slide. Click SUBMIT to check your responses. Click the player button to get started.