Oedipus Rex

A detailed Summary of Oedipus Rex

Oedipus the King is a great play whose qualities of inscrutability and of pervasive ironically quickly come to complicate any critical discussion(). Sophocles' play Oedipus the King fits into a tragedy because it recounts the events in the life of Oedipus Rex, arouses pity and fear in the audience, and ends in an unhappy catastrophe (Harmon).

Oedipus' life began in Thebes as the son of Laius and Jocasta. Apollo had placed a curse on Oedipus. The cursed said that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. Since Laius and Jocasta were afraid of the curse, they sent Oedipus away into the woods with a shepherd to be left to die. The shepherd should not bare to leave an infant in the woods to die, so he gave the infant to another man who took him to Polybus and Merope, king and queen of Athens, since they were not able to have kids.

Oedipus grew up and learned that he was cursed. He left Athens believing that Polybus and Merope were his parents. He thought that if he moved away the curse would not come true. Oedipus left Athens and during his travels he ended up killing Laius and became th

After Oedipus became King his kingdom was hit by a plague and the only way to stop the plague was to avenge Laius' death by executing or exiling his killer. Oedipus' brother-in-law Creon tells him to ask the prophet, Tiresias, who the killer is. Tiresias tells Oedipus that he does not want to know who the killer is, but Oedipus keeps on Tiresias until he tells Oedipus that,

Oedipus the King end s up being a great tragedy. Its plot, the arousing of pity and fear in the audience, and the ending as a catastrophe.

Oedipus leads Athens blinded and being lead away by his daughters.

e king of Thebes and married after answering the riddle.

"I charge you, then, submit to that decree you just laid down: from this day onward speak to no one, not these citizens, nor myself. You are the curse, the corruption of the land."(Sophocles 833)

Oedipus' the King arouses pity and fear in the audience. Pity starts rising when Oedipus born and is sent away into the woods to die. The audience feels pity for Oedipus when he realizes that despite all his efforts the curse still came true. Pity also arises when Jocasta kills herse

Some common words found in the essay are:
Oedipus King, Oedipus' King, Polybus Merope, Laius Laius, Oedipus Polybus', Laius Jocasta, Oedipus Tiresias, Creon Tiresias, Jocasta Apollo, Oedipus Rex, curse true, oedipus king, pity fear, pity fear audience, fears oedipus, tells oedipus, fear audience, arouses pity fear, unhappy catastrophe, woods die, polybus merope, cause plague, audience fears oedipus, tiresias tells oedipus, play oedipus king,

Approximate Word count = 760
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.

Oedipus Rex

Related Essays

Professional Essays

Saved Paper

Newest Essays

Testimonials