No journal entry for Oedipus the King (27-Feb), but check out the journal entry prompt for Oedipus at Colonus, 29-Feb.
Text Access
Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. (Available via bookstore.)
Background
See also the study guide to Antigone.
Mythological
When Oedipus the King starts, Oedipus, who, people think, is the son of king Polybus of Corinth (that will change), has already been made king of Thebes, and been given in marriage to Jocasta, the widow of Laius, Thebes' late king. That's for slaying the Sphinx, whose riddle Oedipus has solved. But Thebes languishes under plague; Creon, Oedipus' brother in law, has been sent to Delphi to find out what can be done.
The drama of the play unfolds mostly in connection with Oedipus' understanding of the full import of the situation.
Historical
We don't know the exact date of Oedipus the King, but we think it was written after the year 429 BCE, a period of ongoing crisis (war, plague) for Athens. It therefore comes after the Antigone in terms of production chronology, though its story takes place prior to Antigone.
So, do you think any of this might be reflected in the text? If so, how so? Athens, where the play was produced, was at the time a democracy, while Thebes, sworn enemy of Athens, was an oligarchy.
General Questions
- "Pride breeds the tyrant," hubris phuteuei turannon.
What is a tyrant? Is Oedipus one?
- What "moral code," if any, lies behind the play?
People talk about the role of fate, of chance, of justice, of the gods, of personal responsibility and freedom, and so on. Is Oedipus guilty, and if so guilty of what, and how so? How does he behave as father? As son? As husband? As king? HOW HAVE WE MOVED BEYOND THE MORAL UNIVERSE OF ANTIGONE (if we have done so)? - Is it a good thing what happens to Oedipus? Does he grow, does he benefit from the ordeals this play puts him through? Or are these growing pains you wouldn't wish on your worse enemy? To learn, is it necessary to suffer?