A Criticism of a Criticism of Oedipus Rex
Gabriel Tauro
Mr. Harry Stoner
English 10H (E)
13 November 2012
Taking the Fate In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes become aware of one of their childen’s supposed fate – that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In awareness of this fate, they release one of their children, Oedipus, and abandon him in hopes that this fate will never come to pass. After Oedipus is taken in as a bastard child to another king, Polybus, he grows up to become the king of Thebes, after Laius, marrying Jocasta. However, during his rule, Thebes is inflicted with a curse that, according to Apollo, could only be lifted if the murderer of King Laius was found and persecuted. Oedipus then dedicates himself to the discovery and persecution of this alleged murderer. He questions a series of citizens, one of which was a blind prophet. This blind prophet, Teiresias, tells Oedipus that he, the current king of Thebes, was responsible for Laius’ murder at a crossroads. Oedipus, upon hearing this news, becomes bothered and begins questioning not only others, such as Creon, a messenger, and a shepherd that witnessed the murder, but also himself. Jocasta decides to accept this fate as truth and kills herself; while, shortly thereafter, Oedipus accepts the fate, as well, and gouges his eyes out, exiling himself from Thebes. Although generally accepted as a play of fate, many people have made criticisms against this claim. One critic in particular, Kurt Fasso, in his criticism “Oedipus Crux,” believes this fate was not truly Oedipus’ – he just accepts it as his own. His criticism is valid, for it touches on points that do in fact prove his theory, in a single persuading and convincing piece, particularly concerning the discrepancies surrounding Laius’ death and the actual identity of the man that Oedipus killed. Fasso makes a point to prove that Oedipus did not kill King Laius at the crossroads; he may have only killed an ordinary old man. After a
Mr. Harry Stoner
English 10H (E)
13 November 2012
Taking the Fate In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes become aware of one of their childen’s supposed fate – that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In awareness of this fate, they release one of their children, Oedipus, and abandon him in hopes that this fate will never come to pass. After Oedipus is taken in as a bastard child to another king, Polybus, he grows up to become the king of Thebes, after Laius, marrying Jocasta. However, during his rule, Thebes is inflicted with a curse that, according to Apollo, could only be lifted if the murderer of King Laius was found and persecuted. Oedipus then dedicates himself to the discovery and persecution of this alleged murderer. He questions a series of citizens, one of which was a blind prophet. This blind prophet, Teiresias, tells Oedipus that he, the current king of Thebes, was responsible for Laius’ murder at a crossroads. Oedipus, upon hearing this news, becomes bothered and begins questioning not only others, such as Creon, a messenger, and a shepherd that witnessed the murder, but also himself. Jocasta decides to accept this fate as truth and kills herself; while, shortly thereafter, Oedipus accepts the fate, as well, and gouges his eyes out, exiling himself from Thebes. Although generally accepted as a play of fate, many people have made criticisms against this claim. One critic in particular, Kurt Fasso, in his criticism “Oedipus Crux,” believes this fate was not truly Oedipus’ – he just accepts it as his own. His criticism is valid, for it touches on points that do in fact prove his theory, in a single persuading and convincing piece, particularly concerning the discrepancies surrounding Laius’ death and the actual identity of the man that Oedipus killed. Fasso makes a point to prove that Oedipus did not kill King Laius at the crossroads; he may have only killed an ordinary old man. After a
Cited: Fosso, Kurt. “Oedipus Crux: Reasonable Doubt in Oedipus the King.” College Literature. Literature Resource Center. 26. Print. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Trans. David Grene. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1991. Print.