Oedipus The King Archetypal Analysis

In the play, “Oedipus the King” written by Sophocles and translated by David Grene, tells a dark story about Oedipus which is considered to be one of the best examples of a classical Greek tragedy. Throughout the story, Oedipus is taunted by the thoughts of having killed his biological father and have married his biological mother. Since the city of Thebes is plagued with a curse it is up to the king, whom is Oedipus to eliminate it and return peace to Thebes. The play had many examples of the literary critical approach archetypal criticism. The drastic turn of events come to unfold when Oedipus must come face to face with reality and set on an adventure of memories past and present to conclude the curse that haunts Thebes. The play has many archetypal symbols that give a deeper meaning to the story and all play an important part to fully understand the meaning behind it.

Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works, and that a text’s meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths. The main focus of the story is finding out how the curse started and how to get rid of it, which precisely leads to

the main character Oedipus. He later starts to learn the truth behind his past which later affect his present actions. The only way to banish the curse that affects everyone is by discovering who killed the former king Laius, followed by death or banishment. This is the first archetypal symbol which happens to be Teiresias, whom is a blind prophet and is a wise character in the story. He is the first who leads Oedipus on his journey to unravel the mysteries of the curse, and ends up finding more than he bargained for. As much as Teiresias warned him that it was better to keep quiet he insisted and discovered that he was the cause of the curse, which meant that he was the killer of the prior king, Laius. Furthermore, Teiresias is basically stating that Oedipus is committing “the worst of sins and with the people he loves most”. King Oedipus is the perfect example of a tragic hero that ultimately brings his downfall upon himself with his arrogance.
The last words Teiresias says are “He shall be proved father and brother both to his own children in his house; to her that gave him birth, a son and husband both; a fellow sower in his father’s bed with that same father that he murdered. Go within, reckon that out, and if you find me mistakes, say I have no skill in prophecy”. This shows how much of an important archetype character Teiresias is, he gives both readers and Oedipus major information that is a turning point to the play. This foreshadows what else Oedipus is to overcome as the story unfolds.
King Oedipus then speaks with his wife named Jocasta and explains everything that went down with Teiresias and Creon who is Oedipus brother-in-law. Jocasta tells him not to believe everything he hears from prophets because in the past with her husband Laius she had a similar experience. Long before the death of Laius, they were told by a prophet that they would have a son that would murder his father and marry his mother. Jocasta then tries comforting Oedipus by telling him that was the reason that Laius and her decided to have their baby killed to prevent Laius death. Laius still died, so Jocasta told Oedipus that the prophet was mistaking. However, Oedipus now shocked starts to question his past and wants to keep seeking further information to confirm his suspicions.
Oedipus then speaks with someone else who finally confirms what he indeed suspected when he spoke with his wife Jocasta.

He was that child that was left for dead by Laius and Jocasta in the past. Which meant that indeed he was the killer of his biological father Laius, and ended up marrying and having kids with his biological mother Jocasta. Oedipus was adopted and never knew otherwise. So the prophecy did come true and he killed his father Laius, who was king at the time, and later took over the throne and married his birth mother. The second archetypes are the characters Laius and Jocasta who are symbolized as bad parents. They were a perfect example of an archetype because they tried to seal their fate by trying their best to avoid it. Oedipus was destined to tragedy and brought more upon himself by his

arrogance.
The story doesn’t have a happy ending, and is filled with guilt and remorse by the truths that are discovered. It was ironic for both Oedipus and Jocasta to ultimately be destined to their fate that was trying to be avoided. Jocasta ends up committing suicide because she cannot believe what has happened and how she still fell for what was told to her by the prophet. Furthermore, Oedipus proceeds to gouge his eyes out in disappointment with what he has done in the past. He feels that he has nothing pleasant left to see and cannot look at people in the eyes after the life he has lived and the way things occurred. That was the fall of a hero who turned out not to be much of a hero after all.
Oedipus was a tragic hero and an example of archetype because he had an incestuous relationship with his biological mother. It was recurrent throughout the play, he was reminded that he was married to his mother and slept with her. He was also an example in the play because he was one of the first leaders to have death overlooked and as punishment was banished for his actions. All these archetypes are important in the play because somehow the storyline connects with other tales, and is greatly compared to other plays. Archetypal criticism is definitely portrayed in this story because it revolved around psychological and cultural myths.
Oedipus embarked on a journey that revolved around his past and present life and due to the way his life played out he found the answer for the curse that filled the city of Thebes. He was the key to conclude the curse and the answers that he unraveled were the beginning and end of the fall of this tragic hero. The archetypal criticisms in the play were all major parts to the story and it gave it a deeper meaning. The text in the story was shaped by myths that surrounded the characters and it helped give a meaning to how archetypal criticism was a part of this play.