Oedipus The King

Oedipus the King is a timeless Greek tragedy by Sophocles in which

the Chorus plays a major part. They provide a type of narrative, and a

citizen's point of view throughout the play. There is something to be said

about the different roles the Chorus takes on throughout the play.

The first speech is a Choral Ode to the Gods. It takes place just after

the Chorus finds out about Oedipus' search for the murderer of Laius. They

are begging for help and deliverance from the plague which has fallen since

his death. The speech is rich with descriptive language and vibrant images.

Most of the images are frightening and telling of Thebes' dismay and horrors,

such as "...life on life goes down you can watch them go like seabirds

winging west, outracing the day's fire down the horizon, irresistibly streaking

on to the shores of Evening Death..." and "Thebes is dying, look, her children

stripped of pity...generations strewn on the ground unburied, unwept, the

dead spreading death..." The citizens are scared to death of what is

happening, and this speech is definitely telling of that. The role they take on

is fairly compliant and fearful of the gods.

The second speech follows the huge argument between Oedipus and

Tiresias. The Chorus is in outrage. They are determined also to find this

"ruthless...man who left no trace" that murdered their king, Laius. This

speech is again full of riveting images. The role of the chorus is different in

this speech, they are loud and defiant. The chorus vows to stay loyal to their

king, and I believe that's why they are so angry, because deep down they fear

the worst, that Tiresias' prophecy is true. "No, not till I see these charges

proved will I side with his accusers." My favorite quote from this particular

Choral speech is "...the dark wings beating around him shrieking doom, the

doom that never dies, the terror-" It is graphically descriptive and really puts

a mental picture in your head. Of course irony and ironic images surround

the speech as well. When the Chorus asks "what could breed a blood feud

between Laius' house and the son of Polybus?", when, in fact, they are one in

the same. A recurring motif in this speech, as well as the play as a whole, is

the ironic imagery of Tiresias' physical blindness, but his ability to see the

truth, and Oedipus' denial of his destiny, and then his eventual blindness in

the end.The last statement is very unsteady, fearful. "Never will I convict my

king, never in my heart." The Chorus is so loyal to Oedipus that even with

this shred of doubt that they now hold having heard Tiresias' prophecy, they

still vow complete faith in the king; even in his guilt, they respect him.

The third Great Choral Address (p 209) shows the Chorus as defiant

and kindof proud in itself even though they talk about how "Pride breeds the

tyrant." It starts out talking about destiny, how destiny is all planned and no

man has any power over his own. The chorus loves the gods and dare not

defy them, but with the recent knowledge of a prophecy of Apollo once

before not being fulfilled, (which is dramatically ironic), they question them.

The Chorus puts the gods to a sort of test by saying "unless these prophecies

all come true..." [we aren't going to believe in you any more]. The Chorus

feels empowered with this false knowledge. The Chorus finds it comforting.

The Chorus is essential to the play. They help bring you back down

into the commoners view point and understand the play more. I think the

Choral Odes utilize some of the more beautiful language in the play. Also,

when you're reading along, getting more and more frusterated, tearing your

hair out because you cant understand why Jocasta and Oedipus can't put 2

and 2 together (math imagery? ) and see that he's her son, you remember

the Chorus, and you can see how they are trying so hard not to believe, that it

almost isn't true.