Oedipus Rex : Summary

Summary

The plague plagues the kingdom of Oedipus: The play begins by showing that the plague has become an epidemic in Oedipus’s kingdom, Thebes, and the people are severely affected by it. As the disease escalates, everyone gathers before the royal palace and demands that Oedipus find a cure. Oedipus then reassures everyone that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the Delphic oracle to discover the cause. 

Crayon arrives with a message:  Creon returns and tells him that a man who killed Laius, the previous king of this kingdom, was living in this kingdom, and because of this sin, the whole kingdom was afflicted with plague. This problem of the kingdom will not go away until that murderer is expelled and elected from this kingdom. Oedipus then sets out to find the murderer of the previous king of the kingdom and is subsequently summoned by the blind prophet of the kingdom, Teiresias.

The arrival of Teiresias: Tiresias arrives and tells Oedipus that Tiresias knows who the king’s murderer is but cannot reveal his name. Hearing this, the side gets angry and starts abusing Teiresias in various ways. Finally, when Oedipus’ words anger Teiresias, he says that the person Oedipus is looking for is none other than Oedipus himself.

Oedipus’ discomfort and Jocaster’s consolation: Hearing this, Oedipus became even angrier and abused him in various unspeakable languages. At one point, Teiresias exclaims that when the murderer of Laius is revealed, everyone will see that the murderer is a native of Thebes who is at once his child’s brother and his mother’s son and husband. Saying this, Teiresias left.

But Oedipus could not console himself at all and looked anxious. Seeing this, Jocasta approached him and told him not to believe these prophecies. Because when her child was born, they predicted that her child would kill his father and marry her, but it didn’t happen. Instead, some bandits killed her husband.

Thus, when Jocasta describes her dead husband, Oedipus is left with little doubt. At one point in the narrative, Jocasta blurts out that her husband has been killed at Crossroads. Oedipus was shocked to hear this. Oedipus then asked Jocasta what her husband looked like. Jocasta then described her husband, saying that he was a very handsome young man with short hair. Hearing this, Oedipus began to think that Tiresias’ prophecy might come true. When Oedipus was on his way to the kingdom of Thebes, such a man was killed by him in a skirmish with a group of men crossing the road on the way. For a clear idea about this, he called a shepherd who was present during the crossroad incident.

Oedipus became more upset thinking about all this. At one point, Jocasta asks him why he is so upset. Oedipus then tells Jocasta that when he was young, a drunkard told him that his parents were not his real parents. Hearing this, he went to a Delphic oracle to verify the truth of this word. He wants to know his real parents, but Oracle avoids his question by telling him that he is the child who will kill his father and be his mother’s bedmate.

Hearing this, Oedipus was worried and thought there was no way this prophecy could be allowed to come true. With everything in mind, he left the household of Polybus, King of Corinth, and headed for Thebes. On his arrival, he quarreled with a group of men while crossing the road at a crossroad, and a man died in his hands, as described by Jocasta. So, he is apprehensive about this matter. Now, the only accurate information that can be obtained from the Shepherd who was present at the time of the incident is whether the man who died there was Layas.

News of the death of King Polypus and the murderous debut of Laius: Suddenly, a messenger arrives from Corinth, the kingdom of Polybus, and tells Oedipus that his father, Polybus, died. Hearing this, he says that the prophecy that he had heard that he would kill his father was false in the end. But still, a problem remains in his marriage to his mother. Hearing this, the messenger tells Oedipus there is no reason to worry. Because Oedipus was adopted by Polybus and his wife from a shepherd at that time, Jocasta can no longer understand what happened and is happening after hearing all this. So, he orders Oedipus to call off his mission to find Laius’ killer.

The arrival of the Shepherd: Meanwhile, the shepherd from whom Oedipus was adopted is summoned, and Oedipus learns the truth. Also, the shepherd who was present at Laius’s murder comes and begs Oedipus not to ask him any questions. But Oedipus intimidates him and demands the truth from him. Finally, the Shepherd tells him that Oedipus was adopted when he was a child by the king and queen of Corinth. They are not actually Oedipus’ real parents.

The Joker’s Suicide and Oedipus’ End: After hearing this, Oedipus is devastated and suddenly hears inside the palace that Jocasta has committed suicide. He then proceeded inside the palace and shouted for the sword he intended to cut his mother’s womb. In the end, Oedipus blinds himself with alpine and begs everyone to banish him from the palace. Finally, the chorus comes in and talks and tells everyone that no man is happy on earth until he can die happily.