Brief Summary
The narrative of the Oedipus the King revolves on the tragic destiny that Oedipus. the supporter. has. Oedipus is the boy of King Laius of Thebes and Queen Jocasta. The narrative started when a priest of Apollo prophesized that the male monarch of Thebes. who was King Laius. would be killed by his ain boy. Upon larning the prophet. the royal twosome had decided to acquire rid of the infant Oedipus. However. Oedipus had survived decease and grew up with Merope and Polybus whom he assumed to be his parents. Towards the terminal. the narrative illustrated how the firm edict of Fate made a really tragic coating.
Criticisms against the Plot of the Story
Throughout the history of literature. the narrative of Oedipus the King has been having contentions from different persons who wish to ask on the secret plan and eyeglassess of the really narrative. Throughout the narrative. non merely one literary bookman had tried to repair the secret plan of the narrative given the thought that Oedipus. though seen as a hero by others. was charged of patricide and incest. How could such a supporter be accused of such things? In consequence many had attempted to put down statements that would support Oedipus for the alleged discourtesies that he did.
Defending Oedipus:
Lacks Empirical Evidence
As an initial statement. how certain Oedipus and the people who heard the declarations of the informants that it was truly Oedipus who killed his male parent? There was no strong cogent evidence that it was truly Oedipus who used his custodies to kill Laius. Another thing was that there were different versions of the narrative of the slaying of the male monarch Laius. While Jocasta was informed that there was this subsister who came and said that it was Oedipus who killed Laius. Oedipus declared that he killed all that was in the incident and that no 1 survived it. It could be the instance that person had merely bribed the informant to state that it was Oedipus who killed the former male monarch. Therefore. there is still an imprecise history of the calamity.
Fate and Its Verdict
In the same mode. Fate or Destiny is that which is responsible for all what happened on Oedipus and his male parent and mother’s unfortunate deceases. Since the beginning of the narrative. the Fate had already decreed what will go on to each of character. Oedipus would do the decease of his male parent and would copulate with his female parent. Likewise. his male parent Laius would be killed by his ain boy who is Oedipus himself. Jocasta’s fate was non truly revealed to her but was merely revealed to Oedipus.
Upon all these things. it could be argued that whatever each of the character does. no 1 from them could be able to get away what Destiny had already pronounce. It is notable to include in this defence statement that such destiny had been judged even before Oedipus was born therefore doing him guiltless for something which whatever he does or whatever others do could non be altered at all.
Self-defense
Sing the decease of his biological male parent. the former King of Thebes. Laius. their battle was battled in a agency which was common to all other battles during that age ( as the narrative suggested ) . In the first topographic point. if King Laius was non killed by Oedipus. it could be the contrary that King Laius might hold killed Oedipus. By this reading. Oedipus might hold appealed before the test that he merely defended himself against an enemy. Therefore he was non truly guilty of such alleged slaying of his ain male parent.
Proof of Mens Rea or Guilty Mind
Another point is that Oedipus was non truly guilty of patricide and incest. Using the rule ofwork forces reaor the cogent evidence of a guilty head. Oedipus was non guilty at all for the ground that he did non cognize that it was his male parent whom he killed.
The same thing with his titillating relationship with his female parent Jocasta in which he did non hold the cognition that she was no less than her ain female parent. All that could be blame was Fate who betrayed all of them.
Oedipus could be charged of killing a individual. for he genuinely killed Laius ( every bit far as the traditional reading of the narrative suggested ) . On the other manus. such act could non truly be considered a patricide because he did non cognize that the 1 he killed was his ain male parent. He could merely be charged of slaying ( every bit far as the rule ofwork forces reais concerned ) .
Analysis and Decision
In a deep analysis. the lone mistake of Oedipus was that he lacked cognition about his true household. If it happened that he knew it. he would non hold killed his male parent Laius ; or have mated with his female parent Jocasta. This character of Oedipus was seen when he chose to go forth his adoptive parents when he learned about the prognostication. It merely showed how he would decline to kill his ain male parent and mate with his ain female parent if of all time he had given the cognition about his biological parents. Therefore King Oedipus was non guilty of patricide and incest at all.
To stop this paper. the narrative of the Oedipus the King had truly presented an incarnation of a great calamity which involved a household. In defence of the King Oedipus on the charges raised against him. which were patricide and incest. Oedipus was non even turn out to be the true slayer of his male parent.
Last. the test. if of all time such would be conducted to convict Oedipus. would non reprobate Oedipus as holding committed both patricide and incest for the ground that he had no cognition about who King Laius and Queen Jocasta were before he killed the former and before he married the latter. Therefore. Oedipus was guiltless of patricide and incest.
Mention:
Sophocles. ( 2006 ) .Oedipus the King. Filiquarian Publishing. LLC.
