Oedipus Journal #1

Setting: This includes cultural as well as geographical and historical setting. What effect does the setting have on story, character, theme?

Oedipus the King is set in Thebes, an ancient Greek city-state. Many other Greek myths were set in Thebes so this place would have been familar to those in the audience. In Sophocles' version, Thebes is rather troubled as it is guarded by a sphinx and competes with Athens. This troubled setting allows Oedipus to come in and defeat the sphinx, elevating him to a hero in the people's minds. Thebes is a city-state located north of a mountain range, which isolates itself from the other city-states, as it has its own king, governement and customs. This isolation prevents the spreading of news and information, and the lack of information and news plays a major role in the plot of Oedipus the King.

The cultural setting of Oedipus the King also has an influence. Audience memebers watching this play being performed would alredy know the myth of Oedipus, and this knowledge creates dramatic irony. The dialogue of Oedipus contains many phrases that foreshadow what will happen later in the play. This dramatic irony provides a form of humor, though it is rather dark. Also, as this play would have been performed at the Festival of Dionysus it can be viewed as a form of worship. It is interesting that Sophocles has the setting as Thebes in the play and Dionysus was believed to be born in Thebes. This religious setting infuences Sophocles to develop a theme of the gods' power and how one cannot escape fate. The background of democratic city-states and the people's experience with that allows Sopholcles to explore how the city and governement plays a role in the people's lives. This is shown in Oedipus when the entire city of Thebes is plagued with death and famine for Oedipus' misdeeds.