Oedipus the King

1) Stasis:

Oedipus is the adored ruler of Thebes at the start of the play “O powerful King of Thebes!”

(Sophocles 16), whose inhabitants had been afflicted by a plague. When Oedipus consults the

Delphic oracle, he learns that the plague would end only when the murderer of Queen Jocasta's

first spouse, King Laius, is apprehended and executed.

I. Inciting Incident:

The plague is the instigating episode. The inciting incident, in this case, refers to the occurrence

that sets the stage for the rest of the play. When the play begins, Oedipus, the priest of Zeus, and

the suppliants are all worried about the pestilence, which makes them “poor children” (7-58).

The protagonists spend the rest of the play determining the reason of poor harvests, falling

populations, and dying animals, as well as implementing the remedy. There will be no tale if the

plague does not function as the catalyst.

II. Turning Point:

The veracity of the Corinthian messenger's and Theban shepherd's testimony is the turning

moment. The Corinthian messenger's eyewitness evidence shows that Theban King Oedipus is

not the biological son of Corinthian King Polybus. Oedipus is the biological son of Theban kings

Laius and Jocasta, according to the firsthand account of the Theban shepherd. It also

demonstrates that Oedipus is the murderer of his father and the spouse of his mother “Damned in

the blood he shed with his own hand” (Sophocles 73). It is a watershed moment from which no

existence can ever be the same again.

III. Climax:
The revelation to Oedipus that he is the offspring of Jocasta and Laius is the story's climax. He

understands that his entire existence has been a deception and that instead of escaping his destiny

“Ah, so it all came true. It's so clear now” (Sophocles 1419- 22), he has chosen to embrace it,

which is a significant turning point. He walked right into his doom, killing his father, and

marrying his mother, just as the oracle said.

IV. New Stasis:

The last stasis depicts the creation of a new universe at the conclusion of the play. The last stasis

in Oedipus Rex shows that Oedipus has been exiled, Jocasta has died, and Creon has become the

new King. The chorus of Theban elders makes a last summation statement, which brings the

story to a close. Oedipus is taken away from the Theban populace and into the palace by his

royal successor, King Creon, just before their brief remarks.

2)
3) 600 BCE - Oedipus, the son of Laius and Jocasta, was born a royal.

599 BCE - Hearing the prediction that her child will murder her spouse, Jocasta had a shepherd

kill Oedipus.

598 BCE - The shepherd gives the infant to a second shepherd in Corinth with his feet tied

together. Polybus and his wife Merope adopt Oedipus, making him the ruler of Corinth.

580 BCE - Oedipus flees his family after hearing rumors that he was abandoned.
579 BCE - Oedipus goes to Delphi to consult the Oracle, who predicts that he would assassinate

his own father and mate with his mother. He makes the decision not to return to Corinth.

578 BCE - When Oedipus is on the road, he joins up with a group of other tourists. After a

struggle, Oedipus murders Laius without realizing who he is.

577 BCE - Oedipus comes at Thebes, answers the Sphinx's riddle, and is crowned king. He

marries Laius' widow, Jocasta.

560 BCE - In Thebes, there comes a new epidemic. The king, Oedipus, who is wedded to Jocasta

and has four kids, sends Creon (Jocasta's brother) to the prophet for help.

559 BCE - The Oracle has warned Creon that the epidemic in Thebes will not cease until the

assassin of Laius is found, damned, and expelled out of the city-state, according to the new

prophesy.

558 BCE - Oedipus summons Tiresias, an oracle who accuses Oedipus of homicide. He also

claims that Laius' killer is the father and brother of his own children, as well as the child of his

own wife.

557 BCE - Jocasta, Oedipus's bride, relates the account of her first husband (Laius) and how he

was murdered by a gang of robbers at a three-way crossroads. Oedipus describes how he was

assaulted at the same intersection at the same time and murdered a guy in self-defense. They

send for the lone survivor of Laius' onslaught.

556 BCE - Jocasta receives word from Corinth that Oedipus' "father," Polybus, has perished and

that the city-state of Corinth wishes for their prince to ascend to the throne. Jocasta and Oedipus

are overjoyed that he did not murder his father and that the prophesies were incorrect.

555 BCE - The messenger informs Oedipus that the second half of the prophesy, which states

that he would sleep with his mother, does not apply to him because Merope is not his biological
mother and he was taken as a baby. In essence, the emissary is a shepherd who received the

infant from Laius' employee.

554 BCE - Oedipus summons the original shepherd, who informs him that Jocasta is the baby's

mother and that he must be murdered because of the prediction that he will murder his parents.

The shepherd saw the infant and decided to give it to the Corinthian shepherd.

553 BCE - When Oedipus realizes he has killed his father and married his mother, he rushes

back inside the Palace, where he discovers Jocasta hung when she understood what she had

committed. When Oedipus notices this, he rips the pins from her gown and uses them to gouge

out his own eyes. He implores Creon (Jocasta's brother) to take care of his girls and send him

away. Creon ascends to the throne.