Oedipus the King An annalysis of plot and structure
Plot and Structure There are two main kinds of plots: the plot of tragic discovery and the plot of tragic decision. Oedipus Rex is a plot of tragic discovery. Oedipus Rex is a brilliantly structured play. There is a simultaneous movement backward and forward in time as the revelation of the past moves Oedipus ever closer to his doom in the present. ... There is nothing in the play that is not immediately relevant to the story; there are no subplots and the main plot is treated as simply as possible. ... In Oedipus Rex the following exposition is given: a plague is destroying the city of Thebes, Oedipus promises to help and explains the action already taken; Creon returns from Delphi with a command from the oracle to find and punish the murderer of Laius; Oedipus promises to obey the command. ... Episodes (scenes) - these will be in spoken iambic verse; the first episode concerns itself with the beginning of the action and the complication of the plot. ... First Episode: Oedipus curses the murderer. Tiresias, the seer, enters, he refuses to answer Oedipus’ questions and provokes his anger. Oedipus begins to suspect Tiresias and Creon of trickery (a complication). ... The chorus states their faith in Oedipus who has saved the city before. ... Oedipus won’t listen. Jocasta and the chorus persuade Oedipus to abate his anger.