The King of Thebes, Oedipus, was cursed and abandoned as a baby. The city is under a plague, causing Oedipus to seek guidance from the priests of Thebes. To find out how to end the plague, Oedipus sends Creon to the oracle Delphi for instructions from the gods. Creon returns with news that to end the plague, the murder of the former king of Thebes Laius must be avenged. Oedipus warns that anyone who withholds information about the murder will be banished from Thebes. He prays that the murderer will waste away and speaks a curse upon himself if he is found to have any involvement. Oedipus calls upon a blind seer named Teiresias to reveal who the murderer is but when he refuses, Oedipus threatens him with death. Teiresias finally reveals that
...Oedipus himself is the killer.
During the course of events, Oedipus shifts the blame to Creon and Teiresias for conspiring against him, and even accuses Creon of treason. However, Jocasta and the chorus caution him to keep an open mind, leading Oedipus to eventually release Creon. Jocasta then questions Oedipus about the oracle and seer's statements that had upset him so much. She dismisses the credibility of oracles and prophets, citing an example of how her own prophecy about her abandoned child turned out to be false. To back up her claim, Jocasta reveals details of Oedipus' father's death and the prophecy she had received about him. This revelation greatly disturbs Oedipus and raises questions about Teiresias' earlier accusation.
- Achilles essays
- Apollo essays
- Gilgamesh essays
- Hercules essays
- Iliad essays
- Myths essays
- Odysseus essays
- Oedipus essays
- Trojan War essays
- Zeus essays
- A Doll's House essays
- A Midsummer Night's Dream essays
- A raisin in the sun essays
- A Streetcar Named Desire essays
- An Inspector Calls essays
- Death of a salesman essays
- Everyman essays
- Fences essays
- Hamlet essays
- Hedda Gabler essays
- Iago essays
- King Lear essays
- Macbeth essays
- Much ado about nothing essays
- Oedipus Rex essays
- Oedipus The King essays
- Othello essays
- Pygmalion essays
- Romeo And Juliet essays
- Tartuffe essays
- The glass menagerie essays
- The Importance of Being Earnest essays
- The Merchant Of Venice essays
- The Taming of The Shrew essays
- Twelfth Night essays
- Waiting For Godot essays
