Oedipus The King

The play begins with a request to Oedipus by the townspeople to rid Thebes of the plague, since he had so heroically solved the riddle of the Sphinx in the past. He sends Creon, his brother-in-law and uncle, to the oracles at Delphi. Creon returns with the cause for the plague; the murderer of the former King Laius was never punished for his crime. So Oedipus pledges himself to seek the killer and punish him as the gods wish.

Oedipus summons the people of Thebes and demands that the killer, or whoever had knowledge of the killer, reveal himself. He threatens them with the punishment of banishment. Some members of the group suggest consulting Tiresias, the blind prophet. When he comes, he proves to be useless with his intransigent silence. So Oedipus accuses Tiresias of being an accomplice to the murderer, forcing him to speak. Tiresias then charges Oedipus of the murder, which infuriates him, and also preludes to his “shameful intimacy.';

Oedipus then draws upon his solving of the riddle of the Sphinx to undermine the blind prophet, convinced that he, in alliance with Creon, was plotting against him. Creon’s modest rebuttal consisted only of a threat to himself- that if Oedipus’ claim against him were true, then let him not live out the rest of his days. Later, in a conversation with Oedipus, he justifies his denial of the charge that Oedipus had placed against him by illustrating the irrelevance of attempting to dethrone the king. When Jocasta enters, she sides with Creon and respects his oath to the gods. But later, when Oedipus says the claim against him is based on prophecy, she reasons with him since she does not believe in prophetic power. She explains how the prophecy of Laius’ son killing him never came true. Then Oedipus realizes that it was he that had slain Laius and that there was a chance Tiresias was right after all.

Oedipus pursues his search for his origin through several occasions. A Corinthian messenger is the first. He is the one that was given Oedipus with ankles pinned and in turn gave him to Polybus. The messenger plays an important role in revealing this as well as the fact that Polybus and Merope were not Oedipus’ real parents.