Knowledge In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a tale much more profound than a king’s predestined misfortune unraveling. This “tragedy of fate” (Puchner 484), in which the time written is uncertain, begins with Oedipus facing a plague that is dwelling in Thebes and killing the residents, but this story contains a history that begins earlier than these events. Sophocles’ plays are “often considered the most perfect achievement of ancient Athens” (Puchner 481). His works are known for revealing characters who are not typical or cliché, but characters who stand out socially. Oedipus and his story are the perfect example of Sophocles’ standard. The tale of Oedipus the King demonstrates how fate and knowledge interact, and illustrates that prior knowledge can’t alter destiny. Oedipus’ story began before the events in the play, Oedipus the King,
begins. Oedipus faces his predestined fate as an infant when his father, Laius, and his mother, Jokasta, hear the fortune from the Delphic Oracle that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. Attempting to prevent this fate, Laius orders a shepherd to take Oedipus and abandon him after binding the child’s feet leaving him to die. Due to sympathy, Oedipus was spared by the shepherd. Oedipus ended up in the hands of Polybos and Merope, the king and queen of Corinth. He grew up believing he was their real son, and when he heard his prophecy from an oracle, he fled Corinth with the idea that he was avoiding his fate. This led Oedipus to a place where 3 paths crossed, and at this location Oedipus ran into Laius. The two men quarreled, and Oedipus killed Laius. After this encounter, Oedipus defeated the Sphinx and became a hero to Thebes, which led to him becoming King, marrying Jokasta, and unknowingly fulfilling his fate. Once the plague was upon Thebes, the downfall of Oedipus begins. Oedipus prays for his own destruction and is too quick to judge. Once he learns the facts about what has caused this plague, Oedipus begins to unveil the truth about his past. As his reality unraveled, it drove Jokasta and himself into distress and misery, leading Jokasta to commit suicide and Oedipus to stabbing his own eyes out with Jokasta’s pins. But in Oedipus’ blindness, he saw the truth more clearly than he ever did with his sight. Oedipus was exiled from Thebes after Kreon promises to care for his two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. Oedipus the King applies to our generation today in many ways.
The idea of knowledge, gaining information, and pride is consistent throughout this play as Oedipus searches for the truth about the cause of the plague on Thebes. Society has the idea that knowledge is power, but this play reveals that too much knowledge can lead to a downfall. While I do agree that we need to be knowledgeable about subjects and situations in our history and life as a whole, I also believe it is not our role to be prideful and play God. Oedipus’ birth parents attempted this when they received their son’s prophecy by thinking they could defeat their fate by killing their son. Oedipus experimented with this idea as well when he fled Corinth, and caused his own downfall as he tried to seek out information about Laius’ killer. The individuals in this play try to defeat fate consistently when this seems impossible. In every situation that these characters tried to conquer their destiny due to pride results in a downfall, and these lessons are what makes this play so important to society today, and what will make this play remain prevalent for all the years to
come.

Works Cited

Puchner, Martin. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Third ed., vol. 1, W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. pp. 481-525