I have read “Oedipus the King” many times and it is still hard for me to wrap my mind around, as it were.
After my theatre appreciation students and I gave a reading of it in class last week, I asked, “Why did the plague on the city of Thebes happen? Who was responsible for it?” Certainly, the blame could not be placed on Oedipus for he was an innocent pawn, or could it be placed on him?
I think I might have an idea that helps explain the havoc on the Thebans. After Oedipus kills his natural father (unbeknownst to him, of course) and all but one of his fellow travelers, he continues a journey to find who he really is. The Royal Theban shepherd has told him that Polybos and Merope, the king and queen of Corinth who reared him, were not his real parents.
As fate would have it, Oedipus makes his way into Thebes, where the townspeople are disturbed because of Sphinx’s curse on them, which is different from the forthcoming plague. They are more concerned with the curse on them than with the recent murder of their king, Laius.
The Thebans call on the stranger in town, Oedipus, to solve the Sphinx’s riddle. If it is solved, the Sphinx will die. He indeed solves the riddle and the Sphinx, that rasping Singer, dies.
Could the gods have been vengeful because he solved the riddle? Sure, they and fate had a part of it, but ultimately the blame goes to Oedipus because he killed his natural father and most of his travelers out of rage and a loss of self-control. He did not have to fulfill the prophecy that he would kill his real father, but he did.
1. Who was Oedipus’ natural father?
A. The Sphinx
B. Laius
C. Polybus
D. Antigone
2. “Oedipus the King” is
A. Roman folklore.
B. a Greek tragedy.
C. a true story.
D. a sequel to “Antigone.”
3. vengeful (VINGE-ful)
A. recalcitrant
B. indefatigable
C. vindictive
D. antagonistic
4. Who was the playwright of “OTK”?
A. Euripides
B. Sophocles
C. Shakespeare
D. Either Aristotle or his mentor Plato
E. Aeschylus
5. fate (FATE)
A. unfolding of inevitable events
B. destine
C. final outcome
D. All of the above
ANSWERS:
No. 1- B. No. 2- B. No. 3- C. No. 4- B. No. 5- D
Editor’s Note: Don Rodney Vaughan, Ph.D., teaches journalism, interpersonal communication and public speaking at East Mississippi Community College and is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Webster County. Contact him at dvaughan@eastms.edu.
