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Appreciating Drama Quotation Analyses
“People of Thebes, my countrymen, look on Oedipus. He solved the famous riddle with his brilliance, he rose to power, a man beyond all power. Who could behold his greatness without envy? Now what a black sea of terror has overwhelmed him. Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last.” (Oedipus the King, 1678–1684)
These lines are taken from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King which was written around 441 B.C. These words, spoken by the Chorus, form the conclusion of Oedipus the King. • The quotation suggests that when Oedipus “solved the famous riddle [of the Sphinx] he “rose to power,” to an enviable greatness. For this reason, the Chorus seems to suggest a causal link between Oedipus’s rise and his fall. • According to the Chorus, Oedipus fell because he rose too high, because in his pride he inspired others to “envy.” In other words, they suggest, “Oedipus fell for this reason; now you know how not to fall”
“The shady forest, and the narrow pass Where three ways meet, who drank a father's blood Shed by these hands, do you not still remember The horrid deed, and what, when here I came, Followed more dreadful? Fatal nuptials, you Produced me, you returned me to the womb That bare me; thence relations horrible Of fathers, sons, and brothers came; of wives, Sisters, and mothers, sad alliance! all That man holds impious and detestable. But what in act is vile the modest tongue Should never name. Bury me, hide me, friends, From every eye; destroy me, cast me forth To the wide ocean--let me perish there: Do anything to shake off hated life. Seize me; approach, my friends--you need not fear, Polluted though I am, to touch me; none Shall suffer for my crimes but I alone. “
These lines are taken from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King which was written around 441 B.C. In this monologue, Oedipus has blinded himself after witnessing his wife’s suicide. • When he discovers the truth of his actions, he is wrought with horror and self-loathing. He now devotes himself to his own punishment. He plans to walk the earth as an outcast until the end of his days. • Oedipus the King serves to explain the causes of human suffering. Though Oedipus' fate is determined, the reader still feels sympathy for the tragic hero, believing that somehow he doesn't deserve what ultimately comes to him. Here, Sophocles attributes, at least partially, human suffering to the mere will of the gods.
