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Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a Greek tragic drama that plays out the tragic fall of the Theban king, Oedipus, from pride to humility. Hubris, or pride, is a prominent theme in Oedipus the King. It is the element that allows Oedipus the King to become a tragedy and not just tragic. But a question or point of confusion arises from this play: where does the tragedy lie – in the actual committing of the crimes by Oedipus, or his realization of the crimes he committed? Sophocles emphasizes the point that it is not the acting out of these crimes that makes Oedipus the truly tragic figure he is; but rather, it is Oedipus’ realization of his crimes that causes his downfall from the elevated state of hubris to the state of humility.
Sophocles opens the play twenty years after Oedipus had killed his father and had married his mother so he can show that the element of tragedy is not in Oedipus’ committing of his crimes. Oedipus has already fulfilled the Oracle’s prophecy and even seems to be benefited by doing so. In the prologue, the priest credits Oedipus for “disenthralling [the city of Thebes] from the Sphinx.” Sophocles uses this line to emphasize that Oedipus has already enacted his crimes because Oedipus not only has answered the Sphinx’s riddle through word, but also through his life.
Approximate Word count = 1077
Approximate Pages = 4.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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