Oedipus asks the suppliants what their problem is. They explain to Oedipus that the god of plague and pyre is attacking Thebes. They ask for his help because he is the king who saved Thebes from the Sphinx and restored the city. Oedipus says that he has sent Kreon, his wife's brother to find out what he can from Apollo. Kreon brings news that Thebes suffers because late king Laios's murder has not been avenged. Oedipus decides to seek this murderer, not only for the purpose of cleansing but also the fear that murder might also be a threat to his own life. This is the exposition of the dramatic conflict of finding out the mystery of king Laios murder.

The rising action is this search. It starts with Oedipus promising that the person responsible for Laios death will be driven out of Thebes. Oedipus sends for Teiresias, the blind seer who serves Apollo. Teiresias does not want to tell Oedipus about the murder, but tells Oedipu

s to leave things as they are. Oedipus accuses Teiresias of being the murderer and that is why he won't reveal the truth. Teiresias then tells that Oedipus is the one that killed Laios. Oedipus is shocked and angered by such an accusation. He accuses Teiresias that he is lying. Oedipus then figures that Kreon wants to be made king. He accuses Kreon of bribing Teiresias with favors once he is king. Teiresias rebuts this with that fact that he is Apollo's and accuses Oedipus of being blind to the truth. Teiresias tells Oedipus that he is both father and brother of his children and husband and son to his wife. He tells Oedipus to think on his words. This is the begging of the truth and insight being given to Oedipus.

Oedipus tells that someone questioned his heritage and his parents rebuked it. But he remained suspicious so he questioned the gods. The gods said that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. He fled his homeland to prevent this fate. While traveling, he had come upon a place where three roads meet, when he came encountered a group of men traveling in the same fashion as the king. They forced him off the road and Oedipus retaliated and killed them all. He believes that he is responsible for Laios's death. Iokaste questions this saying that the stories are conflicting, that more than one man attacked the king. To confirm or deny this, Oedipus sends for the only witness, a shepherd.

It is Kreon who decides that Oedipus shoul

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 983
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)