Oedipus the King is a drama authored by Sophocles and is one the author's three Theban plays. The play revolves around the experiences of Oedipus, who becomes King of Thebes. Oedipus was destined to kill his father from birth and marry Jocasta , his mother . The play highlights how Oedipus’ faults resulted in his fall. This is as opposed to having fate as the only cause. T h rough various developments in play , Sophocles seeks to awaken the reader’s perception of the unity of action, place, and time (Taplin, 2015). The play’s central focus is Oedipus’s search for the killer s of King Laius , his father. Unity of action is seen in the spontaneous link between events while the unity of time is perceived through the confinement of the tragedy within a single day. On the other hand, the unity of place is conceptualized from the epic’s simultaneous narration of actions in different parts. The se concepts are revealed in the play through the simultaneous narration of events while linking all scene s . This essay will identify the strategies employed by Sophocles to convey the three unities of dramatic action and the literary conventions and devices of drama included in the work. Further, it will discuss how imagination influenced the writer and my individual experiences as I read the work. Finally, the paper will confer how meaning is created by both the playwright and me the reader.
The Three Unities of Drama
In many ancient Greek plays, the three unities of drama as described by Aristotle were observed . These include the unity of action, unity of place and unity of time. All the three unities are represented in this play (Kurt, n.d.; Wilson, n.d.). The play’s action takes place at the palace in Thebes within a day. This is the permissible duration according to the rules. The focus of the play is on a particular theme, which is Oedipus ’ inquiry into the killing of King Laius and the unmasking of truth. The entire play lacks side plots or underplots. While adherence to the unities does not warrant the greatness of the play, the strategy makes the drama closely interweaved, commanding considerable attention from the audience. However, the three unities restrict the freedom of the playwright (Mastin , 2009; Wilson, n.d. ) .
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Literary Conventions and Devices of Drama
The play has a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning of the play is a condition that produces particular consequences even though they may lack obvious causes. The middle is a condition with consequences and causes while an end results from the middle and produces no other conditions. The drama begins with people complaining to their King and the Creon’s oracle that the killer of King Laius must be exiled from Thebes. The play presents a prologue which creates an avenue for the development of the main theme, creating suspense. Subsequently, several episodes are presented including the quarrel between Oedipus and Teiresias, and also with Creon ( Green, n.d. ).
The episodes include a lot of drama and are followed by the entrance of the messenger from Corinth. When Jocasta understands the reality, she leaves in a condition of great discomposure. Oedipus persists in his investigation. The shepherd arrives after a royal summon and Oedipus understands the truth ( Green, n.d. ) . As the episode develops, the attendant enters and reveals Jocasta’s self-murder and Oedipus’s self-blinding. These episodes include the middle of the play and increase the excitement of the audience. For instance, tension is created until Jocasta discovers the truth, followed by Oedipus. The play ends in Oedipus lamenting about his fate and that of his daughters since he is banished from the city. A key strength of the narration is that every episode contributes to the furtherance of the plot.
Imagination and Creation of Meaning
The author ’s imagination appears to have been influenced by the tragic irony. This is because h is works are similar to those of Aeschylus ( Taplin, 2015; Mastin, 2009). However, Sophocles maintained his style and introduced fresh avenues of arousing emotions in his audience (Kurt, n.d.) . Therefore I experienced a lot of suspense and tragic irony as I read the play . However, the play also progresses naturally and is convincing. Moreover, I encountered f eelings of shame, wonder, fear, annoyance, resentment, and respect as I read through. On the other hand, the playwright created meaning through the consistent and convincing structure of the play. However, besides these, I created meaning through connection with the reality of Oedipus’ quest in the play .
References
Grene, D. (n.d). Oedipus the King by Sophocles . Retrieved from http://abs.kafkas.edu.tr/upload/225/Oedipus_the_King_Full_Text.pdf
Kurt, S. (n.d.). Analysis of Sophocles’Oedipus the King as an Aristotelian tragedy. Retrieved from www.academia.edu/download/41573650/Analysis_of_Oedipus_King_As_an_Aristotelian_Tragedy.docx
Mastin, L. (2009). Ancient Greece – Sophocles - Oedipus the King . Retrieved from http://www.ancient-literature.com/greece_sophocles_oedipus_king.html
Taplin, O. (2015). Sophocles: Four Tragedies: Oedipus the King, Aias, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus . Oxford University Press, USA.
Wilson, J. (n.d.). Aeschylus “ The Libation Bearers” and Sophocles “ Oedipus the King” as Paradigms of Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy in Poetics. Retrieved from www.tjells.com/article/36_Aeschylus%20%20JANET.pdf
