American Literature

Oedipus the King is one of the most controversial and the most interesting Sophocles creations. The story of betrayal and love, fate and will, the story of prophecy and denial - Oedipus the King has turned into a source of numerous literary interpretations. Throughout centuries, this piece of Sophocles writing has been an interesting object of literary analysis, and whether Sophocles wanted to emphasize the relevance of supernatural elements in our lives or to stress the complexity of human relationships is still a matter of a hot literary debate. On the one hand, Sophocles shows the unpredictability of life changes. On the other hand, the author also implies that it is absolutely in our hands to find the truth and to use it for achieving different life objectives. Although Sophocles implies that people should be more attentive to what is happening in their lives, the theme of fate and prophecy in Oedipus the King is the dominant literary thread. As a result, and through the prism of prophecy, Sophocles confirms the overwhelming power of fate and the limits of the human free will, which show humans as inferior creatures compared to the omnipotence of life circumstances.
    The plague tragedy in Thebes becomes the beginning of Oedipuss end. A blight in on our harvest in the ear,  A blight upon the grazing flocks and herds,  A blight on wives in travail and withal  Armed with his blazing torch the God of Plague  Hath swooped upon our city emptying  The house of Cadmus (Sophocles 38). The plague is the starting point in the analysis of how the fate and the circumstances of life impact human wellbeing. It is the analysis of how prophecy and life changes limit the scope of the human free will and power in the desire to change these circumstances to the better. The plague itself is one of the preconditions and one of the life changes which predict Oedipuss failure  the precondition which he, as a human (although a King) is neither able to stop nor is able to control. Surrounded by the high walls of his palace, Oedipus naturally feels secured from his peoples problems. That is why it is not surprising that upon leaving his palace Oedipus is astonished at seeing a crowd of people waiting for him My children, latest born to Cadmus old,  Why sit ye here as suppliants, in your hands  Branches of olive filleted with wool (Sophocles 38). Although Oedipus respects his people and feels obliged to explore the true reasons of the plague, he is not prepared to accept the truth in its fullest. By sending his brother to investigate the matter and avoids being involved directly shows Oedipuss oppression to the truth about his nation. However, even here, in this desire to hide from the rest of the world, the power of prophecy and the rule of fate become the driving forces in Oedipuss slow movement to the end.
    That Oedipus does not want to know the truth and that he inherently opposes to the forces of nature is obvious in his reluctance to believe the prophet and to look deeper into the truth about the plague. However, this very oppression reveals the weakening power of the human will and the growing power of the fate. The fact that the prophet comes to Oedipuss palace to speak about the plague is nothing else but the expression of the fate, which sends this man to open the Kings eyes on his life and his behaviors. Yea, I am wroth, and will not stint my words,  But speak my whole mind. Thou methinks thou art he,  Who planned the crime, aye, and performed it too,  All save the assassination and if thou  Hadst not been blind, I had been sworn to boot  That thou alone didst do the bloody deed (Sophocles 54). Even trying to escape the tragic truth and trying not to listen to what the prophet is saying, the King, nevertheless, cannot withstand the growing sense of curiosity and is willing to know more. However, this quest for knowledge is rather misleading Oedipus wants to know the part of the truth which satisfies him and wants to leave the part, which turns him into a murderer I say thou art the murderer of the man  Whose murderer thou pursuest.- Thou shal true it  Twice to repeat so gross a calumny.  Must I say more to aggravate thy rage  Say all thou wilt it will be but a waste of breath (Sophocles 49). Once again, the fate redirects Oedipus in a way which makes him accept the truth about his life his conversation with Jocasta opens his eyes on the reality of his position and confirms his inability to withstand the overwhelming power of prophecy.
    In his conversation with Jocasta, trying to rethink everything that was said by Teiresias, Oedipus gradually comes to realize that a human being cannot escape the power of the fate  prophecy. An oracle once came to Laius  declaring he was doomed  To perish by the hand of his own son,  A child that should be born to him by me (Sophocles 62). The memories of Oedipus and the story told by Jocasta turn fate into the determining element of human existence. That Oedipus was fated to murder his own father and to marry his own mother confirms the unpredictability of life changes. The fact of being the object of prophecy and the realization of being the murderer imply that human will is limited to the extent, which makes it impossible to flee the fate or to at least minimize its impact on human lives. It is not enough to say that Oedipus is blind to what the prophet is saying nor is it correct that Oedipus consciously chooses to reject the truth about his life. Rather, Oedipus finds himself in the situation when he has no other choice but to believe the oracles words and to accept the reality as it is. He was sent from Thebes as a child he was saved from inevitable death and he came back to Thebes to murder his father, to become a king, and to marry his mother  all these are the signs of the fate, which human will cannot govern and cannot change. Why should a mortal man, the sport of chance,  With no assured foreknowledge, be afraid  Best live a careless life from hand to mouth (Sophocles 71). However, even such a careless life without a word of prophecy cannot help people escape their fate. Even such a careless life leads people to the point, where prophecy turns into reality and makes people insane.
    The overwhelming power of fate confirms the limited nature of human will and does not leave people a chance to change their lives. Oedipus lives his life without trying to understand what is waiting for him ahead. However, the story of his life was created before him and he cannot do anything to escape it. This limitedness of human will and this impossibility to escape the punishment become the sources and the drivers of Oedipuss insanity, which is probably the best compensation for everything he had done. The giver of good gifts, shall not be shamed.  She is my mother and the changing moons  My brethren, and with them I wax and wane.  Thus sprung why should I fear to trace my birth  Nothing can make me other than I am (Sophocles 75). Human will is so limited that it cannot make people better or worse than they are in reality. More often than not, humans fail to withstand the pressure of life circumstances and the best they can do is to reconcile with them. Look ye, countrymen and Thebans, this is Oedipus the great, He who knew the Sphinxs riddle and was mightiest in our state. Who of all our townsmen gazed not on his fame with envious eyes Now, in what a sea of troubles sunk and overwhelmed he lies (Sophocles 90). Neither the title, nor the position of power can save a person from the troubled waters of life. Limited human will does not make it possible to overcome and escape what was fated to happen. In this situation, those who used to believe in their overwhelming power fall down to the point of insanity, instead of trying to accept the new life changes with humility and understanding.