Swollen Foot The King Chelsea Conroy & Nicole Grabowski

What Happened?! In about 400 BC, the Grecian writer Sophocles wrote the play Oedipus Rex. Using a 3rd person limited point of view, the man vs. self conflict unfolded. Antagonist and protagonist Oedipus didn’t believe the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, until he found out the truth in an epic climax. He then stabbed out his own eyes, so he didn’t have to see his dead father in the underworld.

How Did He Say It? Sophocles packed Oedipus Rex with symbolism. One symbolic figure is the crossroads (symbolizing choices made). He also used foreshadowing with Oedipus’ name (Oedipus means swollen foot, Rex means king) and other characters (blind Tiresias sees more than Oedipus). Tiresias being blind is also an example or irony. Dramatic irony was in the whole play. The audience knew Laius’s murderer was Oedipus, but Oedipus didn’t. Sophocles also used soliloquies and monologues.

Why Would He Say That? Sophocles’ theme was simply ignorance is bliss. In some cases, the less we know, the better. “How terrible it is to know, Where no good comes of knowing” (Sophocles 12) is just another way to say that sometimes, we’re better off not knowing. Sophocles also slipped in a few more, less obvious examples of ignorance being bliss.

Why Should I Care? Oedipus made a decision at the crossroads, and continued on his life path. Modern day people do the exact same thing, only figuratively not literality. Some people also strive to know more than they should know. Society shouldn’t seek answers that are not needed.