Tragedy of Oedipus the King

Tragedy of Oedipus the King

In Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus the King, the title character Oedipus, cannot seem to catch a break in life. As the play opens, the kingdom he has married into and rules, Thebes, is ravaged by a terrible plague, and Oedipus despairs of being able to help his people. Later Oedipus receives the unwelcome knowledge from the blind prophet Tiresias that as a baby he was abandoned by his parents and left to die, since his father, Laius, had heard the prophecy that his son would otherwise kill him. When the baby Oedipus is handed over to a kindly shepherd, to do with him as he pleases, the infant's ankles have been bound so tightly that he develops swollen feet and walks, forever after, with a limp. As Oedipus reaches adulthood he is warned by a prophet that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus leaves Corinth believing that he will avoid this terrible fate by never returning to his home. On the way to Thebes he meets an old man on the road and they get into a fight. Oedipus kills the man unaware that this man is his biological father. When Oedipus arrives at Thebes he finds the city in chaos because the Sphinx is murdering citizens. The Sphinx demands that the citizens of Thebes solve a riddle. When the citizens fail to solve the riddle, she strangles them. Oedipus comes to their rescue by solving the riddle and freeing them from the Sphinx. In return, Oedipus is awarded the throne and unknowingly weds his biological mother

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