Oedipus The King Conflict Analysis
Oedipus the King
Part 1: Conflict Analysis
Priest/Oedipus/Creon
The first unit of action in the first scene of the play begins with Oedipus addressing the people of Thebes. I assume that a crowd has gathered and he is talking to them, but the Priest is the only one that is talking back to him so for this unit I will the characters in conflict are Oedipus and the Priest. Oedipus knows that something is wrong in Thebes so he has to ask his people about it. He wants to know what their troubles are. The Priest tells Oedipus of the horrible plague that is terrorizing Thebes and reminds him of his past glories and how he now has to come through for Thebes once more. He charges him with a quest. Oedipus vows to do so and save the townspeople. …show more content…
The townspeople call on their king Oedipus to save the city. He vows to do so, and at that point, his brother-in-law Creon shows up with the information of what Oedipus must do. He must remove the never captured killer of Thebes' previous king, Laius, from the city. Oedipus summons the blind prophet Teiresias for his help. When he arrives, Teiresias refuses to tell Oedipus what he knows and tells Oedipus to stop what he's doing. This angers Oedipus incredibly, and he accuses Teiresias of being an accomplice to the murder with the actual killer being Creon. Fed up with it, Teiresias comes cleans and tells Oedipus that he himself is the murderer. They argue, and eventually Teiresias leaves, saying that Oedipus will learn that he is both father and brother to his children and son and husband to his own mother. Creon arrives to confront Oedipus about his accusations, and Oedipus demands that he be killed. The chorus convince him to let Creon live, and Jocasta, Oedipus' wife, enters and tells them to knock off all this commotion. She tells him not to pay attention to any prophets and tells him about an oracle which never came true. It said that Laius would be murdered by his son. Jocasta mentions that Laius was killed by bandits at a crossroads on the way to Delphi. Oedipus asks about it and becomes worried that Teiresias might actually be right. He sends for the last remaining witness to Laius' murder. Oedipus then tells the story of how a man once accused him of not being his father's son. Bothered by this, he questioned an oracle about his parentage. He was given a prophecy that he would some day murder his father and sleep with his mother. When he heard this, he left his hometown and vowed to never return. While he was traveling, he came to the very same crossroads where Laius was killed. A carriage tried to run to him off the road there, an argument
Part 1: Conflict Analysis
Priest/Oedipus/Creon
The first unit of action in the first scene of the play begins with Oedipus addressing the people of Thebes. I assume that a crowd has gathered and he is talking to them, but the Priest is the only one that is talking back to him so for this unit I will the characters in conflict are Oedipus and the Priest. Oedipus knows that something is wrong in Thebes so he has to ask his people about it. He wants to know what their troubles are. The Priest tells Oedipus of the horrible plague that is terrorizing Thebes and reminds him of his past glories and how he now has to come through for Thebes once more. He charges him with a quest. Oedipus vows to do so and save the townspeople. …show more content…
The townspeople call on their king Oedipus to save the city. He vows to do so, and at that point, his brother-in-law Creon shows up with the information of what Oedipus must do. He must remove the never captured killer of Thebes' previous king, Laius, from the city. Oedipus summons the blind prophet Teiresias for his help. When he arrives, Teiresias refuses to tell Oedipus what he knows and tells Oedipus to stop what he's doing. This angers Oedipus incredibly, and he accuses Teiresias of being an accomplice to the murder with the actual killer being Creon. Fed up with it, Teiresias comes cleans and tells Oedipus that he himself is the murderer. They argue, and eventually Teiresias leaves, saying that Oedipus will learn that he is both father and brother to his children and son and husband to his own mother. Creon arrives to confront Oedipus about his accusations, and Oedipus demands that he be killed. The chorus convince him to let Creon live, and Jocasta, Oedipus' wife, enters and tells them to knock off all this commotion. She tells him not to pay attention to any prophets and tells him about an oracle which never came true. It said that Laius would be murdered by his son. Jocasta mentions that Laius was killed by bandits at a crossroads on the way to Delphi. Oedipus asks about it and becomes worried that Teiresias might actually be right. He sends for the last remaining witness to Laius' murder. Oedipus then tells the story of how a man once accused him of not being his father's son. Bothered by this, he questioned an oracle about his parentage. He was given a prophecy that he would some day murder his father and sleep with his mother. When he heard this, he left his hometown and vowed to never return. While he was traveling, he came to the very same crossroads where Laius was killed. A carriage tried to run to him off the road there, an argument