Summary:
King Oedipus is divided into three parts. In the first part we have the problem and the accusation of Creon. In part two we have the discovery of the truth. At the end of the play we find the truth and the consequences of it. Oedipus admits his blindness, feels ashamed and is pious.
oStructure:
The play is divided into three parts. This is very logical. In The first part we have the problem and the accusation of Creon. In part two we have the discovery of the truth. At the end of the play we find the truth and the consequences of it. Oedipus admits his blindness, feels ashamed and is pious.
The strengh of the dialogue is not felt as it is translated from Latin into English.
oIn what way classical and Greek drama are different from modern drama?
- -greek drama is not concerned with the description of life. It presents man's fight with powers greater than man himself.
- -Relationship between past, present and future is a repeated theme in modern drama. Life is one circle. The past life of the dead has an impact on the life of people. The philosophy of Sophocles is that the dead control and affect our life.
- -In Greek tragedy the natural forces are destructive. These forces might be nature, gods or fate. Man is helpless in facing these powers.
oA rational play(Sophocles' Philosophy):
- -Sophocles has his own philosophy reflected in his plays. One of these philosophies is that nothing is constant in this life. A friend yesterday may be an enemy today. This philosophy is so clear in this play: Oedipus and Creon were close friends in the past but they become enemies. Creon is the opposite of Oedipus and he is not rash or hot-tempered. But he will change. Why do we change? We change according to circumstances.
- -chance does not control our life Can we say that our life is ruled by chance? Oedipus tells his past to Jocasta and how he killed an old man. This shows how things go logically. We cannot say that our life is ruled by chance. Classical drama is based on fate but Sophocles says that man's life is controlled by both fate and free will.
- -Past, present and future make one circle. The past life of the dead has an impact on the life of people. The philosophy of Sophocles is that the dead control and affect our life.
- -man's life is not separate from the universal order. We live in our universe and are affected by what happens around us. Oedipus was left in the desert and somebody pitied him. Solving the riddle was the direct reason for being proud and marrying his mother.
- -Man should live in piety.
- -Sophocles wanted to say that there is fate but we are responsible for what we do in our life he believes in the power of the mind.
- - Sophocles was a rational writer in an age that was not rational. This is the rational theatre. They did not find who killed the king. If you are silent to the truth to will bring disease to your society. This is very intellectual thinking. Classical theatre was based on solving the problem by super natural element. But Sophocles did not use it. We have to think to solve it.
oFate and free will:
The play concentrates on fate and free will. Man is free as he has the ability to choose. Is Oedipus fated? No, to some extent he is responsible. He killed an old man and married a woman as old as his mother. He did not think whether she is suitable or not.
Oedipus is fated but he is responsible for killing his father because he is hot-tempered and proud.
Another important question is: "is life controlled by chance"" according to Sophocles chance can happen once in our life. But it cannot control all our life.
Fate means that our present life is controlled by past. Past will affect the future. Jocasta is the character that embodies chance in the play. When Oedipus tells her that he has killed an old man, she tells him to offer gifts to satisfy gods; she thought this accident to be a kind of chance. But he wanted to know Laius' killer for he thought that past controls the present.
What is fate in modern drama? Any force that could affect your mind is a kind of fate. If you are easily affected you are weak.
oThe idea of pain and suffering
When they know the truth Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself. This reflects the idea of pain and suffering. But self-punishment is an exaggeration. The purpose of it is to feel regret. They want to show that they can endure suffering. To suffer is to be a human being. They also want to purify their past sins.
oOedipus:
" And here I Oedipus", he is proud of his physical and intellectual power. He was a good king and people loved him. But Pride begets a tyrant. He is self-conceited. At the same time, everything is going to die. What does it mean? Oedipus is proud, OK. But there is a power stronger than him--it is the power of the gods and fate. He should not be proud because there is another power stronger than him. It the power that made him live when he was a helpless baby left in the desert.
Greek tragedy puts man in his correct position. Oedipus has no reason for being arrogant, though he killed the savage beast.
Oedipus has a mistake in his life that he is easily nervous. This makes him kill an old man. So he is a sinner. A sinner is responsible for what he has done and should be punished. When Oedipus knows that he is the killer, he punishes himself. Although he is a sinner, he is so good.
Something unclear is contaminating the society. Oedipus will search for the killer to fulfill his duty towards the dead and gods. The dead are respected according to the Greek philosophy. This shows the philosophy of Sophocles that our life is controlled by the dead. In everything past is felt.
oIrony:
The greatest element in this play is irony. It is very ironic to be the killer and search for the killer at the same time. We should not have excessive pride of ourselves. It is not possible for a human being to defy ÊÍÏøgod.
Another example of irony is Tiresias who is blind but he sees the truth better than us. Though we have eyes we cannot see what is right and wrong.
When he makes fun of the old man he is very arrogant. We must be humble, no matter our position in life.
oThe major theme:
The major themes are blindness and irony and the minor themes are illusion and disillusion.
The major theme in the play is the irony of fate and blindness. Oedipus was mocking the blind prophet. But at the end he finds what the prophet said was correct. He discovered that he was mocking his intelligence and pride. Sophocles believes that we are rational but we cannot prevent fate. Am I a puppet in the hands of fate? We are not fated but we go through our fate through our mistakes.
He blinded himself to be blinded psychologically and physically. He blinded himself not to see the image of himself embodied in his children from his mother. This is a kind of humiliation. Any attempt to repent is very difficult. Oedipus wants to say that he was wrong. He is not going to leave till gods tell him.
Oedipus learned the lesson which is: no one can live without obeying gods. Man should live in piety. If you accept God's will, you might be saved. Oedipus is now paying for his parents' insisting to evade God's will. The lesson is: whenever we have a situation, we have to accept God's will and face it. Oedipus is going to lead his life in piety.
oChorus:
Chorus is made up of elder people. This symbolizes wisdom and maturity. But in this play they are passive. It does not participate in actions. They comment on them. This is not true; we have to take action as long as we have the idea. People do not know how to take action. They only feel fear.
oDifference between comedy and tragedy:
Tragedy touches upon the central forces that control man's life: god, fate and nature. But comedy touches our society
oThe climax of the play:
The play is not divided into acts. The climax of the play is when Oedipus knows that he is the killer of his father.
oThe third character:
The old drama was based on two characters. But Sophocles used the minor characters to make the play life-like and show society. The third character affects the main character.
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