Oedipus Tyrannus (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Sophocles
- First Published: 429
- Type of Work: Classical Drama
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Blindness or blind persons, Mistaken or secret identity, Guilt, Incest, Punishment, Death or dying, Kings, queens, or royalty, Fratricide, parricide, or filicide, Fate or fatalism, Prophecy or prophets, Greek or Roman times, Horror, Greece or Greek people, Plague, Oracles
- Locales: Greece, ancient, Thebes, ancient
A plague has swept Thebes. Apollo’s oracle reveals that plague will continue until the murderer of King Laius is apprehended. Oedipus, the present king, orders a relentless search for the murderer of his predecessor.
Teiresias, a blind seer, hesitates to tell Oedipus what he knows, that Oedipus’ true parents are not Polybus and Merope. Oedipus soon realizes that a man whom he killed in his youth was Laius.
Going to Thebes after killing Laius, Oedipus had answered the riddle of the Sphinx, and upon doing so was declared king. He married Jocasta, the former king’s...
[The entire page is 522 words long]
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