Introduction
Poets of ancient Greece laid the foundation for the development of drama. In this regard, the tragedy Oedipus the King is a prominent exemplar of ancient Greece’s literature, which is considered by many scholars and critics as the summit of Sophocles’ attainments. The play poses one of the most critical and controversial issues of Sophocles’ time – the will of the gods and the free will of a man. Thus, this essay aims at discussing the causes of Oedipus’ unfortunate doom, namely, fate or a coincidence of events, character’s defect or mistake in judgment, or a combination of all.
Plot
In the tragedy, the author reveals the story of the fate of Oedipus, the son of Theban King Laius, who is doomed to homicide his father and marry Jocasta, his mother. The play is full of peripeteia, surprising and tragic events, internal conflicts and clashes between people, and subtlest psychologism. In essence, the plot of Sophocles’s play revolves around Oedipus’s search for Laius’s killer to stop a plague devastating Thebes, without realizing that the murderer he tries to find is nobody other than himself. At the end of the tragedy, after the truth ultimately manifests, Jocasta suicide, while Oedipus, grieved by the realization of the prophecy, in despair puts out his eyes, thereby condemning himself to blindness.
The Probable Cause
The issue of fate or rock and free will was actual at all times of human history, in all religions and nations. Ancient Greeks attached profound significance to this problem, mostly inclining to the idea that everything happens according to the will of the gods, and man cannot resist it. In this context, gods, who are capable of controlling the fate of man, and oracles, spokesmen of gods’ will, are the representatives of destiny.
In the prologue, King Oedipus prompted by the plaintive supplication of his people decided to turn to the oracle for help to learn how to save the city from the plague. However, the answer delivered by Kreon from god Apollo puzzled him. Apollo claimed that the guilt that fell upon the land could only be redeemed “By exile or death, blood for blood. It was / Murder that brought the plague-wind on the city” (Sophocles, line 104-105). Similar motives and actions are traced throughout the play, for example, when Oedipus asks Tiresias, the blind prophet, for help, and when he goes to Delphi’s oracle to discover his parentage. In addition, at the end of the play, a reader learns that all the prophecies came true. Therefore, in the tragedy, Sophocles clearly illustrates that gods’ will and predestination play an essential part in human life.
Coincidence is also a critical factor that contributes to the development of the plotline. For instance, it so happened that Oedipus encountered and, in a fit of anger, killed the old charioteer who, according to the description, was similar to King Laius. Hence, despite his will, Oedipus fulfills the prophecy given by the oracle to King Laius that Laius will be murdered by his son. Another example is when a man who arrived from Corinth brought the message about the death of Oedipus’s father. At this moment, Oedipus begins to believe that half of the prophecy is false. However, the messenger, eager to calm Oedipus’s mind, tells him that Merope is not his birth mother, thereby forcing Oedipus to proceed with his search for the truth.
Recognizing divine predestination, Sophocles also indicates that an individual’s decisions and aspirations are no less significant than the gods’ will for the course of his or her life and even the history of the whole country. In this regard, the author successfully illustrates Oedipus’s faults and his errors in judgments in terms of his attitude toward people and his subsequent actions. For example, even though Teiresias refused to tell the cause of the plague in the city, Oedipus was adamant in his desire to discover the truth, thus demonstrating his will. Oedipus even expressed contempt for Teiresias, suspecting and blaming the venerable prophet that he was a possible cause of the adversity that fell on their homeland. Oedipus revealed the same unjust attitude to Kreon when he said: “If for this power / Kreon desires in secret to destroy me,” thus unreasonably accusing him of ambition (Sophocles, line 168-169). Hence, Oedipus’s faults and mistakes significantly contributed to the development of his tragic end.
Another proof of the presence of the will of a person, which requires separate consideration, is the good intentions of Oedipus. Oedipus’s persistent search for the truth is the central motive that, substantially, initiates the following events in the play and is the final point that leads Oedipus to his downfall. Therefore, Sophocles shows that free will also play an indispensable role in human life because, without the firm determination of Oedipus, there was no tragic end.
Conclusion
In summary, Oedipus the King is the masterpiece of ancient literature, which concerns the fundamental question of philosophy, namely, the connection between free will and the presence of destiny in people’s life. Sophocles does not advocate a specific point of view, but, in the example of Oedipus, shows that these two powers have an equal impact on human life. In the play, the fate of the protagonist is incredibly tragic, but, despite this, his image does not seem miserable, but rather majestic and monumental.
Work Cited
Sophocles. “Oedipus the King” A Portable Anthology, editing by Janet E. Gardner, et. al. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009, pp. 733–776.