Misfortune In Oedipus The King

“It was Apollo friends, Apollo that brought this bitterness, my sorrows to completion. But the hand that struck was none but my own. Why should I see, whose vision shoed nothing sweet to see?” (Oedipus the King, lines 1329-1335). Reading these statements for the first time gave me the impression that the Sun god Apollo was the source of Oedipus’ misfortune. However, paying delicate attention to the second phrase brought me to understand that to a certain degree, Oedipus feels guilty of his situation. As a result, I started pondering on who holds the blame for Oedipus’ misfortune, the gods or him himself? As a means to provide this question with plausible answers, I resolved to keenly go through the play once more wherein I noticed some degrees

The binding force behind his major endeavors is his yearning to save Theban citizens from the prevailing plague by expulsing the land’s religious population. This is evidenced when he says; “Indeed I’m willing to give all that you may need; I would be very hard should I not pity suppliants like these” (Oedipus the king, lines 10-12). Indeed, this comforting statement can be regarded as the fuel of Oedipus’ subsequent actions within the play. Oedipus goes forward by differentiating himself in the way he wants his people feel satisfied; he prefers Creon’s message from the Delphic oracle to be publicly delivered in the suppliants’ presence. This democratic leadership style ignites Oedipus’ yearning to save his people. By all means, Oedipus attempts to get ample information concerning Laius’ murderer. He wants the plague to be expiated to the extent of even cursing himself. He proclaims that if by his knowledge the land’s pollution lives by his heart, let his curse fall on him (Oedipus the King lines 270-271). This provides a rigorous proof of Oedipus’ cleverness which can also be likened to the worth he gives to his countrymen’s wellbeing. He is ruled by love, one which makes him ready to face inadequacies and therefore excavate every truth relating to Laius’s death. Consequently, by blending these character traits, it would be hard to qualify Oedipus as the architect of

Why him in particular? Why should nature punish him so severely? Within the play, many instances bring the thought that Oedipus’s life has been predestined. A typical example is Tiresias’s statement: “It is not fate that I should be your ruin, Apollo is enough; it is his care to work this out” (Oedipus the King, lines 376-378). This statement brings into question the influence of supernatural forces within Oedipus’ life. Enquiring more on this, it is found that, Oedipus’s fate stems from an earlier curse lay upon his father Laius. Indeed, in his youthful ages, Laius tutored Chryssipus, the king’s youngest son in chariot racing. One day, he raped Chryssipus, who later put an end to his life because of such an embarrassment. This casted a doom over Laius’s progeny in which he was accursed to be killed by his own son, who will later on get married to his wife (Sigmapublications.com). So after Oedipus’s birth, an oracle revealed this truth to Laius about the child. Laius thus impasse the child’s feet with pins and ordered Jocasta to kill it. However, nothing can go against the gods’ will, so overwhelmed with pity, Jocasta gave the child to a shepherd, who later on gave it to another shepherd. The former gave the child to the childless Pelops, King of