Oedipus Rex Complete Summary
Oedipus Rex was written by Sophocles around 429 B.C. The play is a tragedy by genre. This play deals with the tragic downfall of the king, Oedipus, who unknowingly murdered his father and married his mother. In today’s article, you will learn about the summary of this play in detail so that you can understand the play’s plot development scene-wise properly.
Summary of Oedipus Rex:
The play begins with the prologue in which Thebes suffers from a plague that causes the death of its vegetables, fruits, newborns, and shepherds. The chorus, also known as a group of Theban people, requests Oedipus, their king, to find a solution to this calamity. Oedipus responds that he has already sent Creon, his brother-in-law, to the shrine of Apollo to ask the oracle about the solution of this calamity. Then, Creon returns and informs Oedipus that if the murderer of Laius (the king of Thebes before Oedipus and husband of Jocasta before she married Oedipus) is found and punished with death or exile, then the plague can be ended. In the scene 1, Oedipus swears that he will find the killer and banish him from Thebes. The chorus suggests to Oedipus that he should consult the blind prophet, Teiresias, to have guidance in this matter. In response, Oedipus tells them that he has already sent someone to summon Teiresias to his palace so that he can solve the mystery of Laius’ murder.
When Teiresias arrives outside the palace in front of the chorus, he doesn’t answer Oedipus’s question regarding the murderer of Laius. He says that it’s better not to disclose the truth as it is futile. When Teiresias insists on not disclosing the truth, Oedipus becomes furious and accuses him of being a part of the murder scheme. He also taunts him about his blindness during their argument. Then, the prophet says that the killer of Laius is Oedipus himself. He also states that Oedipus’ marriage is a sinful marriage. At this, Oedipus states that Creon paid Teiresias to say these words to him. In extreme anger, Oedipus tells Teiresias to leave, and the prophet leaves the place repeating the statement more clearly and foretelling about the king’s blindness. He says that the killer of Laius is Oedipus who is the murderer of his father and the husband of his mother and the same person who came on the earth as a seer but will leave it in blindness. Afterwards, the scene 1 ends.
In the scene 2, Creon reaches outside the palace and asks the people (chorus members) around him whether it is correct that Oedipus accused him of treason or not. The chorus members try to control the situation positively, but Oedipus arrives there and accuses Creon of treason done for royal power. Then, Jocasta and the chorus members request Oedipus to be logical in this matter. At this, Oedipus unwillingly steps back and allows Creon to leave. Jocasta asks the king why he is so upset. And he tells his queen what the prophet said about the murderer of Laius and other details. After hearing the prophecy of Teiresias, Jocasta comforts Oedipus by saying that there is no truth in prophets or oracles. She has a proof of her statement as well. A long time ago, an oracle told King Laius that his son would murder him. That’s why he and Jocasta gave their infant to a shepherd to leave him on the mountainside to die after pinning the baby’s ankles. And Laius was killed by robbers on the way, not by his son. That’s why it is proven that the oracle’s prophecy was wrong. But a part of her story makes Oedipus feel tense. Because according to the story, Laius and his staff were killed at a place where three roads meet, and Oedipus also killed a stranger and his attendants at a location where three roads meet. Then, Oedipus asks his wife to describe Laius. And her description matches the memory of Oedipus. Besides, his wife states that the only attendant who survived the attack told Thebes that there were several robbers who attacked King Laius and his staff. After hearing her response, Oedipus asks Jocasta to summon this eyewitness for an inquiry.
When Oedipus and Jocasta are waiting for the eyewitness, she asks him why he seems so tense. So Oedipus tells her the story of his past life. At a feast, a drunken man cried out that Oedipus was not the son of his father, Polybus. Therefore, he asked his parents whether the man was telling the truth or not. But they told him that he was a liar. Still, he wasn’t convinced; therefore, he went to the shrine of Apollo to ask the oracle about his real parentage. The oracle told him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. This prophecy frightened him so much that he left Corinth and never returned since he came to Thebes. But on his way to the city, he met a proud man at a crossroads, and he killed the man and his attendants after the man insulted Oedipus. So he is now afraid that the stranger might have been Laius whom he killed. If what he fears is true, he will have to be banished from Thebes, and he cannot even go back to Corinth because of the dread of the prophecy. Therefore, Oedipus says that if the eyewitness repeats that the robbers killed Laius, then he would no longer need to remain worried. So the king prays that the witness may tell something that can prove him guilt-free. In the end, the king and the queen enter their palace, and the scene 2 ends.
In the scene 3, Jocasta prays for the betterment of Oedipus near the altar outside her palace, and a Corinthian messenger comes there to tell her a piece of news. He states that the father of Oedipus is dead, and the people of Corinth want to appoint Oedipus their new king. This news makes her very happy. She sends for Oedipus, and he also rejoices on hearing this news, but he later feels tense about the second part of the prophecy related to marrying his mother. When the messenger hears this news, he informs Oedipus that he does not need to feel upset because Merope is not his real mother, and even Polybus was not his actual father. The messenger, also a shepherd, tells the king that many years ago a man had given a baby to him on the curved passage of Cithairon (mountain), and he gave that child to the king and queen of Corinth who had no children. They had adopted the child who grew up to become Oedipus, the King. Also, the messenger tells Oedipus that the injury marks he has on his ankles are the proof of his story. The reason is that the baby’s ankles were pierced too. Then, Oedipus asks the shepherd about the name of the person who had given the child to him, and he replies that the man was a shepherd and used to work for Laius. Afterwards, the chorus, on being questioned by Oedipus about the shepherd, suggests that his wife can help him identify the servant, so the true story of his birth can be disclosed easily. Jocasta suddenly understands the horrible truth, and she begs the king not to proceed with this investigation anymore. But Oedipus does not step back this time. And she goes into the palace in anxiety.
Then, the chorus also feels anxious on seeing the plight of Jocasta and tells Oedipus that something horrible might come out of his investigation. But Oedipus is stubborn about knowing the truth and feels that the queen might be ashamed of his low birth, and he cannot feel the same. After this, the scene 3 ends.
In the scene 4, the men of Oedipus bring in the old shepherd who feels afraid to answer the questions of the king. But in the end, he tells Oedipus the truth about his lineage. He states that he had given the baby boy to the Corinthian shepherd. The same child whom he’d given to the shepherd is the son of Laius and Jocasta, and the Theban shepherd was ordered to throw the child on the side of Cithairon to die because of the oracle’s terrible prophecy. But the shepherd had pitied the child and so gave him to the Corinthian shepherd for his safety. So Oedipus feels devastated after knowing the truth and rushes into his palace. Then, the scene 4 ends.
In the exodus, a messenger tells the chorus that enraged Oedipus was searching for Jocasta inside the palace. But when he entered her room, he found out that she had committed suicide by hanging herself. On seeing her dead, he brought out the gold brooches from her robe and struck his eyes with those brooches multiple times to become blind. Then, Oedipus appears onstage again. He cries out that he had committed grave evil acts, so he can never see anything again with his eyes that remained blind to the truth he had been searching for. Then, he begs the chorus to kill him in desperation. After this, Creon arrives there and orders the attendants to bring Oedipus inside the palace so that he cannot be seen by the outside world. Oedipus pleads with Creon to send him away from Thebes, but Creon says that he will have to consult Apollo first regarding this matter. Oedipus tells him that exile is the punishment God had declared for the killer of Laius, and Creon prays to God to let him do what He declared. Before Oedipus comes into the palace, he meets his daughters, Antigone and Ismene, for the last time and requests Creon deeply to take care of them. At the end, all go inside the palace except the chorus that laments the downfall of King Oedipus and comments that no one should feel fortunate until one’s peaceful last breath.
Conclusion:
So that is all what I have to share with you regarding the summary of Oedipus Rex. I hope you understood the whole story of the Greek tragic play. And if you believe that the piece is useful, then please share it with your connections. In this way, they can also properly understand the plot development of Oedipus the King scene-wise.
