Sophocles' Oedipus the King

This study will explore how myth illuminates the theme of Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The play's theme is still debated to this day. Is Oedipus doomed because of his anger, pride, and obsessive need to find the truth? Or is he doomed because the gods decided before he was even born that he would live the tragic life he lived, including killing his father and marrying his mother? The position of this study will be that Oedipus was predestined to experience the tragedies of his life. The theme, therefore, carries the message that individuals are not free from their fates, but must come to accept whatever destiny has dealt them. The myths the play brings to life are ones which were well known in Oedipus' time. The myths can be seen as parts which form the life of Oedipus. As editors Roberts and Jacobs write, "The mythic material that Sophocles worked with . . . is the story of Oedipus---from the oracle delivered before the tragic hero's birth, to his ultimate expulsion from Thebes, and to his old age" (1054). The myths, then, were established before Sophocles wrote the play.

The myth which is expressed at the beginning of the play has to do with Oedipus being the only one who can save the city of Thebes from the plague. The plague is the result of a curse that has been put upon the city by the gods because the murderer of Laius has gone unpunished. The play from that point on is the story of Oedipus' detective work to find the murderer, not knowing that he himself is the ki

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ed step-by-step to its horrible end. If Sophocles had had Oedipus avoid his fate, his audience would not have known what to make of it. The paradox of the myth is that Oedipus declares he will find the murderer, and that the murder can even declare himself to be the killer: "Whoever has clear knowledge of the man/ who murdered Laius, . . . / I command him to reveal all to me---/ nor fear if, to remove the charge, he must/ accuse himself" (1061). Oedipus says the killer will merely be sent into exile to save the city from the curse. Ironically, his words will come to haunt him, because he indirectly ends up accusing himself and sending himself into exile. Again, the myth of Oedipus makes his fate inescapable. He is determined to find the killer and is true to his word, which means he must punish himself. It does not matter that Oedipus did not know he had killed his father. It did not matter that Oedipus did not know he had married his mother. This lack of knowledge on Oedipus' part is what makes the myth different from all others and makes it difficult for an audience or a reader to decide if he brought his fate upon himself (through rage, pride, etc.) or whether he was doomed by the gods in the first place. After all, the g

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