Sophocles's Oedipus the King is a classic Greek tragic play. There are many themes in this play. They cover almost everything from fate and destiny to betrayal and incest. The main theme of the play is, as it is in most Greek literary works, that one cannot escape one's fate. It is usually the method by which you try to escape that leads you directly to it.

The being of the play depicts a scene of somber and restless citizens waiting for the king to find a way to rid their fine city of plague, famine, and death. Oedipus listens to his "children" speak and does feel for them. He has already sent Creon to Apollo to plead for help from the gods. Creon arrives almost simultaneously as Oedipus states this. Creon arrives with news that "the gods command them to expel from the land of Thebes an old defilement they are sheltering. It is a deathly thing, beyond cure. They must not let it feed upon them longer"(1258). This defilement is referring to when Thebes's former king was murdered, they must find the murderer and kill him at once. Oedipus declares this person or these people to be found and executed at once. However, first they must find the killer. The crime happened so long a

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Oedipus was raised in Corinth. His mother is Dorian: Merope and is father Polybos the king. When Oedipus was older he heard a drunken man at a feast say that he was not his father's son. He questioned his parents. After some time, they told him that it was not true. For some reason Oedipus did not believe this, so he went to the shrine at Delphi. The god dismissed his question but replied with something else, "Some were clear, Full of wretchedness, dreadful, unbearable: As, that I should lie with my own mother, breed Children from whom all men would turn their eyes; And that I should be my father's murderer"(1275). This is the theme of incest throughout the play. In hearing this Oedipus fled. From that day until the moment he speaks of his visit to Delphi he has not returned to Corinth. This is yet another way he heading straight towards his fate. As he traveled farther and farther he came to the place where three highways meet, where they say that King Laios was !

s not your father"(1281). He goes on to tell Oedipus that he found Oedipus at the crooked pass of Kithairon. He was bonded together at his ankles; he was Oedipus's savoir that day. Since Polybos could not have children of his own, the messenger gave Oedipus to him as a gift. Oedipus asks him who wished for him to die, his mother or father. The messenger tells him that the herdsman that gave Oedipus to him would know better. He was known to be one of King Laios's men. Th

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1034
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)