... literature a tragedy. Set in the city of Thebes, Oedipus Rex begins with the cries and pains of citizens victimized by a plague. Baffled by the reluctance of the people to heal, Oedipus, who became the king after he solved the riddle of the Sphinx, sends his brother-in-law, Creon, at first ... a good natured, and rational being, to find the cure for the city's current disaster. Creon informs Oedipus that in order to save Thebes, ... he must solve the murder of the previous king, Lauis, who was killed at crossroads years ago. Teiresias, the blind prophet, enters, and informs restless Oed...

• Word Count: 1098
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... consist of the tragic plot ("muthos"): the reversal of the situation, the recognition ("agnorisis"), and the scene of suffering ("pathos"). The story of Oedipus begins with Laius, King of Thebes, who learns from the oracle that his son will kill him and marry his wife Jocasta. When a son ... kills due to a quarrel, ignorant of the fact that Laius is his father. Continuing on his way he then passes a riddling sphinx and guesses the answer, lifting a curse on Thebes, allowing Oedipus to become King, win the hand of Jocasta, Queen of Thebes and have 4 children: Eteocles, Polynice, Antigone...

• Word Count: 696
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... contrary. The story is one of a man who is struggling with destiny and every choice he makes effects the outcome of the story dramatically. Oedipus is undeniably strong willed and self-assured and it is these steadfast qualities that cause him to make the very decisions which will eventually leave him distraught ... from death and destruction. He, and his citizens have complete confidence in this one man who has saved them once before from the plague of the evil sphinx by solving her riddle of "what crawls on 4 legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 at night?" The answer, man cau...

• Word Count: 859
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... with its ability to change as more information and knowledge is acquired. His primary focus as the story begins and progresses is the growth of Oedipus from an unintelligible and unenlightened mentality to its antithesis. Because the story was one familiar to most of its viewers in its time, there ... up to murder his father and marry his mother. And, fearing the dreadful prophecy, that the parents nailed their first son's feet together (thus the name Oedipus, which means "swollen-foot-) and left him to die on a lonely moun-tainside outside the city. Moreover, that he was found by a wande...

• Word Count: 545
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate