Oedipus Rex Commentary

Oedipus Rex, a man who killed his father and married his mother. How peculiar. The story in-depth bore such an ironic twist-- it confused me for a bit. How did he not know how far into his trouble he went? From the very beginning, there Oedipus stands, oblivious to people's problems. A suffering Thebes brings Oedipus to suddenly want to save his kingdom. I noticed that Oedipus does not notice much of things-- Thebes' devastation, apparently, just sparks to his attention when a priest tells him, and later on, he finds out about the prophecy that everyone knows about but him. Why would a king be so oblivious to his kingdom’s agony? Why would he be blinded to the prophecy that he would marry his mother after he killed his father?

   Nothing gets more annoying than a king who is prideful. Oedipus appears very pompous compared to his subjects. He treats Creon and Tieresias so inferior. I felt bad for Tieresias when Oedipus threatened to kill him; he should not have done that to the poor man. Oedipus’ pride blinded him from Creon’s advice, and he butchered it to where Creon attacked him for power. Oedipus really let the prophecy and message get the best of him. It obviously did not take much for the crazy state to rob him of his peace of mind. But even still, though— why?

   I find it so pulsating and suspenseful that Oedipus, throughout the story, inches his way towards finding out what the prophecy really means. One thing after another, someone lets out a clue to finding out that he killed Laius and when he finds that out, he goes into disbelief. The way the story was arranged made it too unbearable, and the fact that he had children with his mother was horrific! I wonder how Jocasta felt about the whole issue when it was all played out. What did she feel when she realized she married her own son?

   I wonder, though—what did the Sphinx do, exactly, to terrorize them? If Oedipus saved Thebes, then how come it ran into calamity again? Pollution, disease and all sorts of trouble fell into the land of Thebes, but what caused it? And even as king, what else, other than the intent of stopping the treason over Thebes, made Oedipus so keen on putting a stop to all of this? He carried such dignity and haste to everything.