ANALYSIS

ELEMENTS OF A FICTION
I. TITLE: Oedipus Rex (Oedipus The King)
II. SETTING: In the royal palace, Thebes
III. CHARACTERS:

King Oedipus Messenger

Priest Shepherd
Creon Chorus
Tiresias (Theban elders)
King Laius
Queen Jocasta
IV. PLOT

a. A priest and the chorus arrive at the

palace and call King Oedipus to aid the
plague in Thebes.
b. Oedipus had sent Creon to ask help of
the oracle of Delphi. Creon tells that the
plague is caused by the murderer of
former King Laius; so Oedipus vows to
find the murderer.
c. He ask the blind prophet Tiresias for help
but refuses to tell the truth.
d. Tiresias was forced to tell the truth that
Oedipus himself is the murderer.
e. Oedipus is confused, leading to a
conclusion that Creon had paid off
Tiresias to undermine him.
f. Jocasta recounts an incident about the
prophecy and states that Laius was killed
by bandits at the crossroad.
g. Oedipus seeks for more details until
everything was revealed by the witnesses.
Oedipus killed his father at the crossroad
and his wife, Jocasta, is his mother.
h. He curses himself and fate. Jocasta enters
the house and hangs herself there.
Oedipus plunges his eyes with golden
pins. He then now exits the palace and
asks Creon to exile him.
V. SYMBOLS

1. Physical and Metaphorical blindness

"In Greek culture, those who were
physically blind were said to have
metaphorical vision."
Ex.
 Tiresias is blind, but is also a prophet.
 Oedipus is blind, not physically, but
metaphorically for he doesn't know the
truth.
2. Oedipus' swollen feet
 His name "Oedipus" in Greek translates to
"Swollen foot"
 Mark of his sufferings from the moment
of birth.
 Scars on his feet could be one of the keys
to discovery of his identity
3. The three-way crossroad
 Represent all the moment of choice in our
life
 Three-way could represent: past, present,
future.
VI.THEME

 Fate and freewill as portrayed by

Oedipus
STANDPOINT OF FREEWILL

"The Greeks believed in the idea that

personality of the individual greatly
affected one's life. Their personality
decides their own freewill."
1. Oedipus' freewill is based on his drive for
knowledge.
2. Oedipus' stubbornness at the crossroad.
3. Oedipus' freewill to accept the rewards
after he defeated the Sphinx:
 Former King Laius' throne
 Marry the former King's wife, Jocasta
4. Jocasta and Laius' reaction upon hearing
the prophecy.
5. Oedipus was aware that he was
responsible for his actions, and blinds
himself in despair.
STANDPOINT OF FATE

"In ancient Greece, fate was considered to

be a basic part of daily life. Every aspect
of life depended and was based upon
fate."
1. The Gods themselves made Oedipus as
well as his personality and it can not be
changed.
 Oedipus' desire for knowledge
 Oedipus' stubbornness
2. The Gods dictated what was going to
happen.
 Gods messaged the prophets about the
prophecy
3. Oedipus is not responsible for his
actions.
 The Gods use their power to control his
personality and so his freewill.
"In Oedipus the King, Sophocles made it clear
to his fellow Greeks that mankind has the
ability to make choices free from divine
forces, even with prophecies and oracle. He
also shows that fate does play a part in
human's lives too."