“DOCTOR FAUSTUS”: A MODERN TRAGEDY

Introduction: Marlowe’s Tragic Hero

One of the greatest achievements of Marlowe was that he broke away from the medieval
conception of tragedy. In medieval dramas, tragedy was a thing of the princes only dealing with
the rise and fall of kings or royal personalities. But it was left to Marlowe to evolve and create
the real tragic hero.

Almost all the heroes of Marlowe’s great tragedies Tamburlaine, Doctor Faustus or the Jew of
Malta—are of humble parentage, but they are endowed with great heroic qualities. His tragedy
is in fact the tragedy of one man—the rise, fall and death of the tragic hero. His heroes are
titanic characters afire with some indomitable passion or inordinate ambition. Marlowe himself
was saturated with the spirit of the Renaissance and so he enlivened his heroes with all its
robust and fascinating characteristics, so much so that his towering heroes became the true
embodiments of the Renaissance dreams, desires and ideals. And this is powerfully revealed in
Tamburlaine’s pursuit of military and political power, in Jew of Malta’s aspiration toward wealth
as an ultimate end and in the most captivating way is Faustus’s supreme quest for the ultimate
power through knowledge infinite.

Working of a Passion: Discarding Ethical Values

We have just discussed that Marlowe’s heroes were dominated by some uncontrollable passion
or inordinate ambition. And they also seem to be inspired by Machiavelli’s ideals of human
conduct and human desires. Machiavelli’s well-known book—‘The Prince’ preached the doctrine
of complete freedom of the individual to gain one’s end by any means-fair or foul. Thus we find
his tragic heroes afire with an indomitable passion discarding all moral codes and ethical
principles and plunging headlong to achieve their end. Such intense passion and pitiless struggle
with super-human energy to achieve earthly gain and glory make Marlowe’s heroes great indeed
and adds shining glory and grandeur to their personality.

The Cause of Faustus’s Tragedy: Tragic Flaw

According to Aristotle, one of the most important characteristics of a tragic hero is that “he
should have some inherent weakness, some ‘tragic flaw’ in his character. And then he should
neither be totally good and virtuous nor an absolutely vicious or corrupted character. And Doctor
Faustus invariably satisfies these conditions. Faustus has also a serious flaw in his character. He is
puffed up with pride in his great learning and scholarship and is dominated by inordinate
ambition to acquire knowledge ‘infinite’ and through it to gain superhuman powers. And this we
know from the Chorus before the action of the drama starts—

“Till swoln with cunning, of a self-conceit,

His waxen wings did mount above his reach,

And, melting, heavens conspired his over throw;

For falling to a devilish exercise.

And glutted now with learning’s golden gifts,

He surfeits upon cursed necromancy;”

Then in the very first scene of the play we find, how due to his pride and ambition Faustus is
disappointed with all the branches of learning that he has mastered so far. Physic, Divinity, Law,
Philosophy—all are absolutely inadequate for his purpose, as even after mastering all these
great branches of knowledge:

“Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man.”

And hence—“A greater subject fitteth Faustus’s wit.” Faustus’s soul is afire with intemperate
ambition and with a craze for super human powers and supreme sensual pleasure of life. He
utters these memorable lines in his very first monologue:

……….Divinity adieu:

These metaphysics of magicians,

And necromantic books are heavenly:

……………………………………

O, what a world of profit and delight,

Of power, of honour, of omnipotence,

Is promis’d to the studious artizan!

All things that move between the quiet poles

Shall be at my command….

…………………………………………..

A sound magician is a mighty god:

Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity.”

So Faustus wants ‘to gain a deity’, to soar above his mortal bounds. And herein lies the great
tragic flaw in his character.

Surrendering Soul to the Devil

In spite of all his great learning and scholarship and other human qualities we sadly witness how
this flaw or great drawback in his character brings about his ultimate doom and damnation.
When he bids adieu to divinity, Faustus perfectly knows that to achieve his uncommon purpose
he will have to shun the path of virtue and abjure God and the Trinity. But he was at the same
time not absolutely void of conscience and that is why we find the Good Angel and the Bad
Angel, the symbols of virtue and vice in his soul, making their first appearance just after Faustus’s
decision in favour of cursed necromancy. The God Angel urges him to shun ‘that damned book’
and to read the scriptures. But the Evil Angel, the voice of his passion, scores a victory by luring
Faustus away from the path of virtue by assuring him that after mastering the black art of magic
Faustus will be:

“Lord and commander of the elements.”

Then at the end of third scene of Act I we find Faustus telling Mephistophilis that he has already
abjured the Trinity of his own accord and has firmly made up his mind to sell his soul to the Devil
to gain limitless powers with the help of Mephistophilis as his pliant slave and ‘to live in all
voluptuousness’ for a period of twenty-four years. And in the first scene of Act II, Faustus finally
surrenders his soul to the Devil and writes the bond with blood from his own veins.

Inner Conflict: A Modern Tragedy

This learned scholar from Wittenberg never realised that though he abjured God and the Trinity
and denounced Christian dogmas and doctrines yet his emotional attachment to them was too
deep to be rooted out. So we find that even before surrendering his soul to the Devil Faustus is
experiencing the prick of conscience. And henceforth, we find the entire action of the drama
fluctuating between the weak and wavering loyalties of Faustus to these two opposing forces.
Thus the heart of Faustus turns out to be the battle-field where the forces of good and the evil
are trying to overwhelm each other. A guilty conscience dogs him from the beginning to the end
and we can follow his troubled career and the inner conflict in his soul from the beginning to the
end of this tragic drama. Generally this inner conflict takes place when a man is faced with two
alternatives one of which he must have to choose but finds himself pulled in opposite directions.
And in a modern tragedy we find the expression of the free will of man. He makes his choice
good or bad and thus becomes the architect of his own fate. And Faustus makes his own choice
to take to the black art of magic deliberately and then sells his soul to the Devil of his free will.
Thus Faustus is like a modern man whose conscious self is opposed by the subconscious self as it
is still deeply attached to the conventional doctrines and dogmas of Christian theology. These
are some of the very significant characteristics for which we may regard Doctor Faustus as a
modern tragedy.

Conclusion

Thus the main cause of the tragedy of Doctor Faustus is ‘aspiring pride and insolence’ for which
the Lucifer of Milton also fell. Pride and presumption obscure the clear vision and lead a man to
take things for granted. So his inordinate ambition and proud presumption leads him to commit
the sin of practising more than heaven permits and to take it to be granted that by mastering the
black art of magic he will become a ‘mighty god’ and:

“All things that move between the quite poles,

Shall be at my command”:

And that is why Faustus abjures God and the Trinity, denounces Christian theology and
ultimately sells his soul to the Devil. The irony of this tragic drama is slowly revealed when we
find how all his sky-high expectations are belied during his career as a renowned magician. And
this grim irony reaches its climax in the last scene when we find this proud and presumptious
scholar of Wittenberg who once dreamed of becoming Jove on this earth, who deliberately
denounced God and the Trinity appealing like a pampered child to ‘fair nature’s eye to rise again
and make perpetual day’:

“That Faustus may repent and save his soul!”

We may conclude with the very relevant observations of Helen Gardner: “The great reversal
from the first scene of Doctor Faustus to the last scene can be defined in different ways: from
presumption to despair; from doubt of the existence of hell to the belief in the reality of nothing
else;…….from aspiration to deity and omnipotence to longing for extinction. At the beginning,
Faustus wishes to rise above his humanity, at the close he would sink below it, be transformed
into the beast or ‘into little water drops.’ At the beginning he attempts usurpation on God, at the
close he is an usurper upon the Devil.”

-----------------------------------

significance of last speech of dr.faustus

Christopher Marlowe (26 February 1564 – 30 May 1593) is a great expert in painting the extreme
agony and anguish in his scenes. For this reason, his death scenes in all the plays are memorable
for its deep pathos and poignancy. The last scene of Doctor Faustus shows us the extreme agony,
anguish, pathos and poignancy of Faustus. It also shows the overwhelming destruction of a
proud and inordinately ambitious soul that defied God and denounced Christianity, and
surrendered himself to the Devil to gain divinity and to become “lord and commander to these
elements”. Marlowe reaches the most magnificent flights of imagination in the last scene of
Doctor Faustus. So it is very important to show the tragic fall and eternal damnation of Faustus.

Doctor Faustus is a Renaissance man fired with extra-ordinary zeal for unlimited knowledge,
power and delight of the world. To know the unknown and to achieve the unachievable Faustus
takes the risk of his own life by selling his soul to Lucifer. His Renaissance spirit brings him to a
forbidden territory and does not hesitate to practice black magic. Faustus becomes the hero of
the world only for twenty four years. But this hero suffers a tragic fall within a short time in the
last scene.

In the play, we find the hero suffering from mental agony. He was divided within himself from
the very beginning. At the time of practicing black art, Faustus is visited by two spirits-Good
Angel and Evil Angel. A Good Angel is often overheard whispering in his ear; and if the Evil Angel
finally prevails, it is in spite of continual remorse and hesitation on the Doctor's part. This
excellent Faustus is damned by accident or by predestination; he is brow-beaten by the devil and
forbidden to repent when he has really repented. What makes Marlowe's conclusion the more
violent and the more unphilosophical is the fact that, to any one not dominated by convention,
the Good Angel, in the dialogue, seems to have so much the worse of the argument. All he has
to offer is sour admonition and external warnings:

O Faustus, lay that damned book aside,

And gaze not on it lest it tempt thy soul,

And heap God's heavy wrath upon thy head.

Read, read, the Scriptures; that is blasphemy....

Sweet Faustus, think of heaven, and heavenly things.

To which the Evil Angel replies:

No, Faustus, think of honour and of wealth.

And in another place:

Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art,

Wherein all nature's treasure is contained.

Be thou on earth as Jove is in the sky,

Lord and commander of these elements.

There can be no doubt that the devil here represents the natural ideal of Faustus, or of any child
of the Renaissance; he appeals to the vague but healthy ambition of a young soul, that would
make trial of the world. In other words, this devil represents the true good, and it is no wonder if
the honest Faustus cannot resist his suggestions.

Nicholas Brooke says: Faustus wants to satisfy the demands of his nature as God has made him.
He wants to be the Deity. For this, he must deny Christianity as did Lucifer, but Faustus’
attachment to religion is too deep to be rooted out. Throughout the play we find Faustus pricked
by his conscience, we find him in tussle between will and conscience in the form of Good and
Bad Angel.

Faustus reads from the Bible that the reward of sin is death and then reads that if people think
they are not sinners, they are deceived. For Faustus, this appears to doom humans from the
beginning. Disgusted with the hopelessness of theological study, he turns to the practice of
magic. But Faustus' reasoning is very ironic, for he has read both passages out of context.
Although he is a learned man in divinity, he overlooks the obvious meaning of the passage. For
instance, Faustus ignores the second part of the passage; he reads "the wages of sin is death"
but does not finish it with "but the gift of God is eternal life."

Since Faustus thinks that he has achieved the end of all the various studies of the university, he is
dissatisfied with the powers that he has gained from them. Although Faustus is a most learned
man, he finds himself confined by mere human knowledge. In other words, he feels the
limitations of human knowledge and decides to turn to magic to discover greater powers.

According to traditional Christian cosmology, the universe is viewed as a hierarchy which

descends from God, through the angels, then humans, the animals, and finally to inanimate
nature. Everything has been put in its proper place by God and each should be content to remain
there. According to this view, it is dangerous for a person to attempt to rise above the station
assigned to human beings and it is also forbidden to descend to the animal level. Ambition to go
beyond one's natural place in the hierarchy is considered a sin of pride. Consequently, Faustus'
desire to rise above his position as a man by resorting to supernatural powers places his soul in
dire jeopardy.

Marlowe indicates this risk in the line "Here, Faustus, try thy brains to gain a deity."
Consequently, the first scene sets up the conflict between the limitation of human knowledge
and the desire to go beyond their position in the universe.

The biblical quotations Faustus mentions refer to the concept of sin and death. The entire drama
deals with the problems of sin and death and immortality. One of the things Faustus is trying to
escape is the limitation of death. On the one hand, he alleges that he does not believe in death,
but at the same time he spends all his time finding ways to escape it, especially by resorting to
necromancy. At the end of the scene, he makes the statement that "this night I'll conjure though
I die therefore." What he does not realize is that by resorting to necromancy, he will die a
spiritual death also.

The appearance of the Good Angel and the Evil Angel is a holdover from the earlier morality
plays. The medieval plays often use abstractions as main characters. The appearance of these
allegorical abstractions functions to externalize the internal conflict that Faustus is undergoing;
they symbolize the two forces struggling for the soul of Faustus. Throughout the play, these
angels appear at the moments when Faustus critically examines the decision that he has made.

After the departure of the Good Angel and the Evil Angel, Faustus has a vision of what he will
accomplish with his new magical powers. Some of his dreams demonstrate his desire for greater
insight into the workings of the universe, and others suggest the noble ends for which he will use
his power. Those desires should later be contrasted with what Faustus actually does accomplish.
After receiving his powers from Mephistophilis, Faustus never does anything but trivial and
insignificant acts; he resorts to petty tricks and never accomplishes any of the more powerful or
noble deeds.

As the twenty-four years of his deal with Lucifer come to a close, Faustus begins to dread his
impending death. In the last scene, we see him as a pathetic character who tries to escape his
coming death and damnation. He has Mephastophilis call up Helen of Troy, the famous beauty
from the ancient world, and uses her presence to impress a group of scholars. An old man urges
Faustus to repent, but Faustus drives him away. Faustus summons Helen again and exclaims
rapturously about her beauty. But time is growing short. Faustus tells the scholars about his pact,
and they are horror-stricken and resolve to pray for him. On the final night before the expiration
of the twenty-four years, Faustus is overcome by fear and remorse. He begs for mercy, but it is
too late. He understands that whatever he enjoyed will be lost now. He also understands that he
will go to hell forever, and there is no pardon for his sin. In repentance Faustus says...

"But Faustus, offence can ne'er be pardoned."

In this scene, he tries to pray to God whom he one day discarded and defamed. But he cannot
pray to God. He has done so big sin that it has become impossible to pray to god or get the
forgiveness from god. He also tries to pray to Jesus Christ but he understands that his heart
cannot do it very well. He thinks of Pythagorian philosophy in which it is stated that after the
death of a person the soul enters into the life of a beast. He hopes that this philosophy was true
and this way he would not suffer but his soul would go to the body of a beast. He thought that
the beasts have no pain and no suffering. They have no sorrow. This way he wanted to save
himself at any cost. In his early life Faustus wanted to be immortal, but in this time he wants to
be transformed into a beast or into a little water drop:

"O soul, be changed into little water drops,

And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found.”

Faustus also asks Helen (also known as Helen of Troy) in the last scene of the play to make him
'immortal' by kissing him. Faustus address to Helen is....

"Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss:

Her lips sucks forth my soul, see where it flies!

Come Helen, come, give me my soul again.

Here will I dwell, for heaven be in these lips,

And all is dross that is not Helena!"

The second half of the last scene is very painful for Faustus because he is now alone. None
comes forward to save him. In soliloquy he describes his state of mind which is remarkable for
psychological self-revelation. He curses his parents for giving birth to him, and also curses
himself. The last hour soliloquy of Faustus is lyrically and dramatically intense passage that
remains unsurpassed in the English dramatic literature. It is quite obvious that Marlowe draws
the clash between Faustus’ Renaissance dreams and desires of limitless knowledge and power,
and the medieval belief of the retribution which awaits the person who adopts means to get
such ends. So we find that Faustus is caught between the medieval and the modern world and
ultimately doomed and destroyed in clash between the different sets of values in the final scene.
We notice that such human clashes are the heart of tragedy. The Christian sets of values
ultimately prevail over the Renaissance dreams and desires, and the play ends with the solemn
appeal from the Chorus urging us to learn lesson from the rise and tragic fall of Doctor Faustus.
The final speech of chorus in the last scene is....

Faustus is gone; regard his hellish fall,

Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise,

Only to wonder at unlawful things

Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits

To practice more than heavenly power permits.

The chorus makes the final and closing comment on the fall of Faustus. They comment that he
had tried to go beyond the limitations of humanity and had thus fallen into eternal damnation.
The chorus admonishes the audience to take note of Faustus' example and not go beyond the
boundary of lawful things. The chorus expresses the medieval view that Faustus' fall resulted
from his pride and ambition. After Doctor Faustus dies, the chorus gives us the moral lesson of
the play. Moral lesson is that we should not be too much obsessed with illegal things and we
should try to follow religion. Here, by religion, the chorus has meant Christianity not any other
religion. Anyway, Christopher Marlowe has perhaps accepted Christianity but at the same time
he showed the renaissance spirit when Doctor Faustus talked about the philosophy of
Pythagoras. We know that one of the renaissance elements was Greek classical philosophy and
literature. Doctor Faustus knows he will die and when he is dying he praises to god and Jesus
Christ but at the same time he remembers Greek philosophy.

Ultimately, the ending of Doctor Faustus represents a clash between Christianity, which holds
that repentance and salvation are always possible, and the dictates of tragedy, in which some
character flaw cannot be corrected, even by appealing to God. The idea of Christian tragedy,
then, is paradoxical, as Christianity is ultimately uplifting. People may suffer—as Christ himself
did—but for those who repent, salvation eventually awaits. To make Doctor Faustus a true
tragedy, then, Marlowe had to set down a moment beyond which Faustus could no longer
repent, so that in the final scene, while still alive, he can be damned and conscious of his
damnation.

The unhappy Faustus’s last line returns us to the clash between Renaissance values and medieval
values that dominate the early scenes and then recedes as Faustus pursues his mediocre
amusements in later scenes. His cry, as he pleads for salvation, that he will burn his books
suggests, for the first time since early scenes, that his pact with Lucifer is primarily about a thirst
for limitless knowledge—a thirst that is presented as incompatible with Christianity. Scholarship
can be Christian, the play suggests, but only within limits.

According to Richard B. Sewali, the end of Marlowe’s play shows, of course, that Faustus could
not live out his idea. But, between the disillusioned scholar of the first scene and the agonizing,
ecstatic figure of the final scene there is a difference. He enters not alone this time, but with the
scholars’ and for the first time in the play he has normal, compassionate discourse with his
fellows. His role of demigod over, he is human once more, a friend and befriended. ‘Ah
gentlemen, hear me with patience’, says he who has but recently lorded it over all creation. His
friends now seem sweeter than any princely delegate. Although the thrill of his exploits still
lingers----‘And what wonders I have done all Germany can witness, yea the entire world’---he is
humble and repentant. He longs to be able to weep and pray but imagines in his despair that
devils draw in his tears and hold his hands as he would lift them up. He confesses to the scholars
the miserable source of his cunning. Knowing his doom is near, he refuses their intercession and
bids them, ‘talk not of me but save yourselves and depart.
If to the orthodox it is more a sinner’s fate than a hero’s; there is something of the classic
apotheosis in Faustus’ final moments. He transcends the man he was. He goes out no craven
sinner but violently, speaking the rage and despair of all mankind who would undo the past and
stop the clock against the inevitable reckoning.

Certain aspects of the drama can be used to support an interpretation of Faustus as a

Renaissance hero and other aspects suggest he is a medieval hero. According to the medieval
view of the universe, Man was placed in his position by God and should remain content with his
station in life. Any attempt or ambition to go beyond his assigned place was considered a great
sin of pride. For the medieval person, pride was one of the greatest sins that one could commit.
This concept was based upon the fact that Lucifer's fall was the result of his pride when he tried
to revolt against God. Thus, for the medieval person, aspiring pride became one of the cardinal
sins.

According to the medieval view, Faustus has a desire for forbidden knowledge. In order to gain
more knowledge than he is entitled to, Faustus makes a contract with Lucifer, which brings about
his damnation. Faustus then learns at the end of the play that supernatural powers are reserved
for the gods and that the person who attempts to handle or deal in magical powers must face
eternal damnation. When we examine the drama from this standpoint, Faustus deserves his
punishment; then the play is not so much a tragedy as it is a morality play. The ending is an act
of justice, when the man who has transgressed against the natural laws of the universe is
justifiably punished. The chorus at the end of the drama re-emphasizes this position when it
admonishes the audience to learn from Faustus' damnation and not attempt to go beyond the
restrictions placed on humanity.

The character of Faustus can also be interpreted from the Renaissance point of view. At the time
of this play, there was a conflict in many people's minds, including Marlowe's, as to whether or
not to accept the medieval or the Renaissance view. The Renaissance had been disappointed in
the effectiveness of medieval knowledge because many scholastic disputations were merely
verbal nonsense. For example, arguments such as how many angels could stand on the head of a
pin dominated many medieval theses. The Renaissance scholars, however, revived an interest in
the classical knowledge of Greece and the humanism of the past. They became absorbed in the
great potential and possibility of humanity.

According to the Renaissance view, Faustus rebels against the limitations of medieval knowledge
and the restriction put upon humankind decreeing that he must accept his place in the universe
without challenging it. Because of his universal desire for enlightenment, Faustus makes a
contract for knowledge and power. His desire, according to the Renaissance, is to transcend the
limitations of humanity and rise to greater achievements and heights. In the purest sense,
Faustus wants to prove that he can become greater than he presently is. Because of his desire to
go beyond human limitations, Faustus is willing to chance damnation in order to achieve his
goals. The tragedy results when a person is condemned to damnation for noble attempts to go
beyond the petty limitations of humanity.

Tragedy is impossible in a morality play because it ends in redemption irrespective of the sin
indulged in by the protagonist. But Doctor Faustus is possible only when the story of man's
redemption is interpolated with tragic elements. So, Marlowe is playing with the age-old
structure of morality play and subverting it in the process. It also leads to the greatest deviance
Marlowe has undertaken – the ending when Faustus is dismembered by the devils. This may also
lead us to wonder – why is Faustus damned? Is it because his "heart so harden'd (he) cannot
repent" ( II.ii.18)? But he does repent when he says "One drop (of Christ's blood) would save my
soul . . ." (V.ii.149). Faustus is damned because of his irresolution. He says, "I do repent, and yet I
do despair" (V.i.70). It is because of the cardinal sin of despair that Faustus is damned eternally.

The question, "How does Faustus spend his 24 years?" will help us understand how is Faustus'
story the story of the unmaking of a Renaissance man. In these 24 years does he learn
something or does he waste time in trivialities. Surely, he does get some rare experiences of
traveling to impossible realms. He steps out of his library, engages with the world at large and
celebrates the spirit of Renaissance Humanism. Through this Marlowe suggests that the
experience of the world at large is very important. But definitely we get to see the other side of
the picture also.

Robert N. Watson remarks, " Doctor Faustus is a parable about spiritual loss in the modern
world, a warning, not only about damnation in the conventional sense, but about the fatal
corruption awaiting all Renaissance aspirations." We see this clearly in the course of the play.
The early vision of Faustus is to glorify the human race with a benevolent empire, but it quickly
fades away and he tries to please Emperors with out-of-season grapes and dumb charades. He
uses his magic, not to turn men into gods but instead to turn his hecklers into beasts. This
becomes a larger comment on how magic doesn't become a tool to ascend the chain of beings
but to descend.

Humanism was a scholarly activity and knowledge can become power – not only scholarly but
political as well. Faustus is curious about the nature of universe, about the rules of the cosmos,
experiences of Hell and Heaven. These were the shared curiosities of the Renaissance scholars
and Marlowe being a 'University Wit' himself shared Faustus' curiosity and excitement. Here it is
possible that Marlowe is speaking in Faustus' voice. But what goes wrong with Faustus' ambition
is that his desire for knowledge becomes a desire for power and he, drunk with power, indulges
in voluptuousness for 24 years.

Even Mephostophilis uses Humanistic ideas to tempt Faustus. He says that Earth is made for man
so man is better than Earth. Pico della Mirandola is also of the same opinion. Pico believes that
man is a combination of the beast and the divine, so he is free and flexible. Man can mould
himself in whatever fashion, but then why does a character like Faustus feel so bounded? This
question is at the heart of the play and the philosophy of Humanism. Despite all the bragging,
there was a sense of limit even in the arrogant times of Humanism. Even for Pico the freedom of
will is not limitless. He feels even though man is indeterminate, he should follow the divine side
of himself.

According to Calvin, man's nature is essentially sinful because of Adam's original sin. Since man
thinks he is sinful, he sits back and does not pursue a path of righteousness. Is this the sin of
Faustus also? Probably yes, because from the beginning he feels that God doesn't love him.
Calvin thinks that alienation from God is inbuilt in man's condition. But Faustus feels it as a
personal crisis, as an individual predicament. The final question still remains to be answered –
Does Faustus choose Necromancy because he is damned? Or is he damned because he chose
Necromancy? This question makes us realize that at a larger level Doctor Faustus as a text is also
a battleground between two philosophies – Pico's theory of indeterminate man where the man
can ascend up the chain of beings and Calvin's Fatalism where man has no agency at all. I feel
that the only logical conclusion that we can draw is that Faustus is Pico's "Indeterminate Man"
caught in Calvin's Fatalistic world. This also makes the fall of Faustus inevitable.

Last of all we can say that, Doctor Faustus as a great man who does many great things, but
because of his own conscious willfulness tragedy and torment crushing down upon his head. He
finally becomes the pitiful and fearful victim of his own ambitions and desires.

---------------------------

would you call "Doctor Faustus" a morality play? Give evidence in favour or otherwise discuss in
detail?

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Student Answers
PRIYAAA | STUDENT

Doctor Faustus has many features of a morality play: the conflict between good and evil, the
creation of Good and Bad Angels, the Old Man as Good Counsel, the pageant of the Seven
Deadly Sins and the appearance of Faustus’ enemies to ambush and kill him.

The conflict between Good and Evil was a recurring theme in the medieval morality plays. From
this point of view, Marlowe’s play is a dramatization of the medieval morality play, Everyman.
Doctor Faustus becomes a morality play in which heaven struggles for the soul of a Renaissance
Everyman, namely Doctor Faustus.

The Good Angel and the Bad Angel are characters derived from the medieval morality plays.
They are sometimes regarded as an externalization of the thoughts of Faustus. This is a
twentieth-century view. The Angels are independent absolutes, one wholly good and one wholly
evil. They appear in Doctor Faustus like allegorical figures of a morality play. They reflect the
possibility of both damnation and redemption being open to Faustus. A close examination shows
that the Evil Angel declines in importance as the play advances. The angles work by suggestion,
as allegorical characters in morality plays do.

The audience also observes the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins in Doctor Faustus. This is
another feature borrowed by Marlowe from the tradition of the morality play. In Marlowe’s play,
to divert Faustus’ attention from Christ, his savior, Lucifer, comes with his attendant devils to
rebuke him for invoking Christ and then presents the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins as a
diversion.

Benvolio’s attempts to ambush and take revenge on Faustus is also a device taken from the
medieval morality play. Faustus loses his head, only for it to be revealed as a false one. This
theatrical device was originally used in the medieval morality play, Mankind. Similarly, Faustus’
attempt to strike Dick, Robin and the others dumb in the Vanholt show scene is also derived
from the medieval morality play. Doctor Faustus has many features of the morality play of the
Middle Ages.

Morality plays wasn't concerned with presenting a Biblical character or story, but the plot gave
us some moral lesson. The Morality play dealt with the problem of good and evil.
Morality play developed out of Miracle and Mystery plays and it flourished during the middle
ages, the morality was one of the early form of drama, and attained much popularity in the First
half of the fifteenth century.

As a Morality play "Doctor Faustus" vindicates humility, faith and obedience to the law of God.
The presence of good angel and bad angel in the play are the personification of God and Evil,
which is another trait of Morality play, further "Doctor Faustus" teach us a great moral lesson
through the miserable plight of the lead character in the play, the whimsical condition in which
he puts himself, after choosing the path of evil, he was unable to step back.

While the Renaissance period play Doctor Faustus has some characteristics of a Medieval period
Morality Play, it has some striking and significant differences that remove it from the genre of
morality play. Marlowe constructed Faustus as an Aristotelian tragedy intended to inspire fear
and pity. Audiences feel fear of the situation and pity for Faustus, whom Marlowe characterizes
as a complex sympathetic character who develops and does not remain static. This points out
two important differences between this and a morality play. A morality play (1) is intended to
teach the difference between virtue and sin; between good and evil. A morality play (2) has
allegorical characters who are named for what they allegorically represent (e.g., Everyman,
Pride, Angel, Fear) and who are therefore static having no character development.

One similar characteristic between Faustus and a morality play is the themes of sin and
redemption, though Faustus does not personify Sin and Redemption as a morality play would do.
Another similarity is the presence of a Good Angel and an Evil Angel and various Devils, yet these
are specific characters with specific relationships or functions in Faustus' struggles; they are not
allegorical personifications. Another similar characteristic is the presence of the Seven Deadly
Sins, who appear as devils dancing for Faustus (Marlowe changed to this from the devil's
pageant in the original 1592 English translation Faust Chapbook), and the presence of the Devil
as Mephistophilis against whom Faustus struggles even while collaborating with him. Yet both of
these are related to the plot and plot development instead of to the morality message as in a
morality play.

[Exeunt the SEVEN DEADLY SINS.]

LUCIFER. Now, Faustus, how dost thou like this?

FAUSTUS. O, this feeds my soul!

LUCIFER. Tut, Faustus, in hell is all manner of delight.

FAUSTUS. O, might I see hell, and return again,

How happy were I then!

LUCIFER. Thou shalt; I will send for thee at midnight.

Doctor Faustus, written by Christopher Marlowe and performed between 1588 and 1593, is a
strong example of the morality play genre. Morality plays grew out of the religious mystery plays
of the Middle Ages. The main purpose of the morality play was didactic—to dramatize the
theological struggle between good and evil and teach ethics and doctrines of Christianity.

Morality plays typically featured characters personifying vice versus virtue. In Doctor Faustus, the
Good Angel and the Evil Angel serve this role. Similarly, the Old Man represents human
righteousness and morality. Faustus makes a pact with Lucifer and, by selling his soul to the
devil, lives a blasphemous life of vain pleasures. He even insults and assaults the Pope. The Good
Angel tries to convince Faustus to repent, but these warnings go unheeded, and Faustus
surrenders to the temptations of the Evil Angel. Faustus’s final soliloquy reveals his agony over
the hellish damnation that awaits him, but he cannot escape his fate.

This morality play’s powerful effect on audiences is evident in legends that grew around it. For
example, it was rumored that real devils actually appeared on stage during a performance of the
play. The drama also sparked controversy regarding the Calvinist doctrine of predestination.
Calvinists would conclude that Faustus’s damnation was inevitable, preordained by God. Anti-
Calvinists would interpret the play as an illustration of a man’s exercise of free will in choosing
his own salvation or damnation.

You need to think about whether Dr Faustus is designed to educate its theatre-going audiences
about spiritual issues, for example whether those are the moral dangers of too much knowledge,
information or learning or whether they could be the wordly drive towards ambitious goals or
material success or wealth. This sixteenth century play by Christopher Marlowe was first
'advertised' as a tragedy in 1604 - of couse it is also a 'history' as in 'hi-story.' In those days a
history could mean 'someone's story.' It's also a tragic tale. A tragedy should evoke the feelings
of fear and of pity. Consider whether Dr Faustus combines both genres. Certainly the play has
the strong and sober story line of the tragedy. it also has one noteworthy chief character,
ordinary in terms of his humanity to begin with, but who progresses through a series of human
errors and mis-judgements to a Fall involving sorrow and often humiliation, poverty and loss of
reputation. Of course, as audiences, we can immediately identify with a guy like this - he is each
one of us. That is what makes us feel pity and danger for him - and for ourselves. Consider
whether these feelings are more likely to make us take on the 'moral tale' or message of the
story also.

--------------------------------------------------

Dr. Faustus: Hero, Villain, or Hybrid?

Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus is a complex character. Whether or not to feel pity for the
misguided scholar is a debatable issue, but he does seem to possess some “evil” qualities. Some
consider him a tragic hero, while others would argue he better fulfills the role of a villain. But
really, who is Dr. Faustus? Taking into consideration the defining characteristics of both the tragic
hero and the villain while comparing them to the doctor leads one to the conclusion that Faustus
does not completely fit into either category, but rather belongs to the more specific genre of the
Elizabethan villain-hero, which encompasses both his hero and villain sides.

The concept of the “tragic hero” was defined by Aristotle, and applies to many protagonists in a
variety of plays. According to Aristotle’s definition, in order to be classified as a tragic hero, the
character must fulfill the following criteria: be born into a noble standing, possess a tragic flaw
which causes his downfall, experience an unfortunate event as a result of this flaw, eventually
acquire an increased sense of self-awareness, and be pitied by the audience. It is important to
note that Aristotle also argued that a man cannot be considered a tragic hero without realizing
the cause of his downfall (Perrine). Dr. Faustus only fulfills some of these requirements, and falls
short of the most important and necessary characteristics needed in order to be classified as a
tragic hero. Most importantly, Faustus seems to have too many amoral tendencies in order to be
considered a hero of any sort. It seems that Marlowe kept the distinction between Faustus as a
hero and Faustus as a villain so ambiguous as a reflection on the ambiguity of morality itself.
Marlowe would argue that many organized religions make morality into a very black and white
concept; those that pray and attend church services are good, while those who renounce God
and do not repent are bad. In actuality, even someone like Faustus, who sold his own soul to the
devil, does not seem one hundred percent evil, nor fully good.
 Faustus, on one hand, does possess what can be considered a tragic flaw: ambition. In Act I of
Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, Faustus is contemplating his life and suggests to himself, “Be a physician,
Faustus. Heap up gold,/ And be eternized for some wondrous cure” (I.i.44-45). Here, the
audience begins to see that Dr. Faustus has many goals and dreams in his life, and he has already
achieved much success as a doctor and a scholar. It seems that Marlowe would not view
ambition as a negative trait under usual circumstances. The reason why it became a problem for
Faustus was because it was coupled with pride, and a frustration with worldly pursuits. Faustus
became bored with mortal matters and felt he could master the realm of dark magic, which
ultimately led to his deal with the devil and his own downfall. Ambition alone is not what
doomed Faustus. Without his pride and overwhelming desire to go beyond the limits of what
man should know, he could have been safe from an eternity in hell.

It could be argued that Faustus both experiences a reversal in fortune and that he is, as a
character, pitiable. The ultimate instance in the play in which Faustus’ luck takes a turn for the
worst is when he first summons Mephistopheles, and subsequently signs the contract with the
devil, selling his soul to Lucifer. However, the actual reversal of fortune occurs when Faustus dies
and is taken to hell by Lucifer’s demons, because when he first sells his soul, Faustus has no
problem with what he is done and is not yet affected negatively by his choice, but when he is
taken to hell he is extremely upset and panicked. As far as Faustus’ pitiable nature is concerned,
Marlowe left this rather ambiguous. Again, this is most likely a commentary on how morality, like
Faustus, can be extremely ambiguous, and the lines between good and evil are often blurred or
unclear . Additionally, the “noble birth” of Faustus is debatable. His social and economic standing
is comfortable, probably above average and definitely not impoverished, but he is not of
standard nobility. He has no title, and his highest degree of ranking is that he is a scholarly
doctor. Most importantly, Faustus never takes full responsibility for his damnation, which
Aristotle would argue is the most important quality of the tragic hero.

Dr. Faustus as a villain is a difficult argument to make. For starters, there are no set guidelines
for what qualifies a character as a true “villain,” like there are qualifications for the tragic hero.
Villain is such a broad and vague term that it makes more sense to discuss Dr. Faustus as a
subtype of a villain: the Elizabethan villain-hero. Clara F. McIntyre discusses the qualities of this
villain-hero in her article for the PMLA journal. Quoting Clarence Boyer, McIntyre notes that a
villain is most commonly identified as “a man who, for a selfish end, willfully and deliberately
violates standards of morality sanctioned by the audience or ordinary reader” (McIntyre 874).
This description fits Dr. Faustus well, but Boyer goes on to comment that if the villain is cast as
the main character of the play, than he fulfills the role of the villain as a hero. Since Faustus is
quite obviously the main character of Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, it is clear that he would fit into this
villain-hero category. Furthermore, he clearly “violates standards of morality” by selling his soul
to the devil, an act which modern audiences still find immoral and reprehensible, feelings which
were even stronger for the more religiously-influenced audiences of the Elizabethan time period.
After deciding he wants to dabble in black magic, Faustus even proclaims “Divinity, adieu!”
clearly turning away from God, the epitome of morality (I.i.78).

McIntyre also explains that the villain-hero is different from the standard villain in that he does
not act out of “personal malignity,” but rather from “an unwavering determination to further
[his] own interests” (McIntyre 878). This describes Faustus extremely accurately, especially when
one examines his motives for working with black magic in the first place. Faustus did not want to
call upon devils in order to seek revenge, rule the world, or for assistance in any other selfish or
evil plan. Ultimately, he was bored with all he had accomplished so far and wanted to learn
something new, something which he originally intended to use to help other people.

When he was first contemplating what he would do with the kind of power dark magic would
bestow upon him, Faustus fantasizes about what he would have his demons do:

“I’ll have them fly to India for gold,

Ransack the ocean for orient pearl,

 And search all corners of the new-found world

For pleasant fruits and princely delicates.”

(I.i.114-117)

Nothing about “princely delicates” seems malignant or malicious in the slightest, proving the
Faustus was seeking self-satisfaction in an albeit material, but harmless way. Faustus continues
his musings, saying:

“I’ll have them fill the public schools with silk,

Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad

I’ll levy soldiers with the coin they bring,

And chase the Prince of Parma from out land”

(I.i122-125)

Again Faustus is proving that not only were his original intentions harmless and self-indulgent
(an example of “furthering his own interests”), but he also had thoughts of using this power to
help other people, such as students.

One of the most interesting points McIntyre makes is that some villain-heros are capable of
genuine remorse, which often is not typical of a regular villain. McIntyre does point out that this
remorse is most often on the villain-hero’s deathbed, and “seems to proceed less from genuine
repentance than from a sense that the game is up” (McIntyre 877). Of all the characteristics of
the villain-hero previously discussed, Faustus shows the strongest evidence of this one. In the
final hour of his life, Faustus realizes his fate and desperately calls out to the forces of nature and
the heavens, begging for more time on earth. Faustus calls out to God, Lucifer, and everyone in
between, trying to grapple with the consequences of his actions and see if there is anyone he
can appeal to for salvation. He cries out:

You stars that reigned at my nativity,

Whose influence hath allotted death and hell,

Now draw up Faustus like a foggy mist

Into the entrails of yon laboring cloud,

That when you vomit forth into the air,

My limbs may issue from your smoky mouths,

So that my soul may but ascend to heaven.

(V.ii 1474-1480)

Faustus expresses his desire for more time to live, for repentance, and yet he never actually
repents. Perhaps he does this because he is not physically capable of repenting because of the
contract he made with the devil, but more likely it is because his repentance and remorse would
not be genuine. He is not actually sorry for what he has done because he still has not taken
responsibility for his actions. Ultimately, he just wants to avoid suffering in hell, and only tries to
call out to God during the last minutes of his life.

Although many would argue that Faustus fits the mold of the typical tragic hero, close
examination of the qualities necessary for this role makes it obvious that Faustus cannot be
considered a hero in any sense of the word. He never takes responsibility for his actions, he
barely evokes any sense of pity out of the audience, and he gains limited self-awareness and
knowledge from his experience. However, he is not a clear-cut villain either. There are no real set
guidelines for what makes a character a villain, but in a general sense, Faustus is not fully evil. A
more accurate term for Faustus would be a villain-hero, a character typical during the
Elizabethan time period. By name alone, a villain-hero sums up Faustus’ conflicting personality
traits that make the audience see him as both a good man, and also an immoral fool. Neither
fully bad nor fully good, Faustus straddles the fence between hero and villain, ultimately
combining characteristics of the two to become the Elizabethan villain-hero.

-------------------------------

FAUSTUS: INTELLIGENT HERO OR OVERLY AMBITIOUS FOOL?

OCTOBER 11, 2013 PETER 5 COMMENTS

Scholarly Origins

Faustus is a scholar who debates between following good and evil but ultimately is won over by
greed. Both a good angel and a bad angel influence him. They give him the same amount of
advice. However, in heaven Faustus finds nothing of interests. In hell he finds riches and most of
all knowledge. I believe that it is Faustus’s thirst for knowledge that truly drives him to seek out
the dark arts.

Faustus’s Thirst for Knowledge

Faustus has been brought up as a scholar. He has excelled in his studies and has earned the
name of Doctor. Faustus is skilled in many languages and is competent in many subjects such as
physics and mathematics. However, he is dissatisfied with the amount of knowledge available to
him. I think that Faustus definitely equates knowledge with power. He wants to become a more
powerful man and therefore thirsts for the next thing to boost his worth. The good angel implies
that Faustus was once involved in theology. However, even then he scorns divinity and turns to
magic to solve his problems. He wants riches, but even more he wants to be able to control
spirits.

Link to Genesis

When Faustus is turned towards the dark arts, he appears to be mirroring the events inGenesis
that led Adam to taste of the

tree of knowledge of good and evil. Mephistopheles and the serpent appear to be the same
force of temptation. They are both sneaky and cleaver and have the ability to influence others.
While both Adam and Faustus learn great knowledge after turning their backs to god, they regret
it in the end. Also, they are both punished severely. All of these links between Genesis and Dr.
Faustus appear to have been made intentionally by Marlowe.

Faustus’s Tragic Flaw

Faustus shares many qualities with the heroes of Greek tragic. First off, he is grand. He sells his
soul to Lucifer which an act that rivals Oedipus gouging his eyes or Heracles killing his family.
Also, he has a tragic flaw, which is his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Like Prometheus, he
doesn’t think ahead to way the consequences of his actions with the immediate benefit of the
act. For example, he sells his soul to Lucifer in order to gain immediate power for twenty-four
years and yet he once the term is over he will regret making this grim deal.

Evil’s Appeal

Faustus believes that he has nothing to gain from attempting to gain entry into heaven. Although
he listens to both the angel of good and the angel of evil he is more persuaded by the evil angel.
This is because the evil angel tells him what he wants to hear. He lures him in with stories of
knowledge and power. Faustus is not made of strong moral fiber. Others easily persuade him.
Also, Lucifer acts almost comical when he comes to visit Faustus. He puts on a show and
definitely appears as an entertainer. His theatrical personality also serves to lure in Faustus.

Faustus: Intelligent Hero or Overambitious Fool

Especially in an academic setting, it is difficult to blame Faustus when his only crime is to want to
have more knowledge. He has basically read all the books and is eager to

transcend the boundary of current human knowledge. Understandably, some may view him as a
hero for pursuing his passion despite the cost. However, I believe that in the end Faustus is an
extremely flawed character. He is unable to feel content with what he has. He has a high position
in society, and because of his doctorate he should also be well of financially. Perhaps Faustus
serves as a metaphor for something that is overambitious to the point of being greedy and
gluttonous. Depending, on your personal perspective, you may choose to see him as a hero or a
fool or something else entirely.

How would you describe Faustus?

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5 THOUGHTS ON “FAUSTUS: INTELLIGENT HERO OR OVERLY AMBITIOUS FOOL?”

Paul Torres-Cohen

OCTOBER 14, 2013 AT 8:29 PM

Throughout the play I was at odds about whether or not Faustus was an intelligent hero or an
overly ambitious fool, as you phrase it. Like many of the heroes we read about, Faustus has the
highest highs and lowest lows. Maybe, as we discussed in class today, Faustus does not achieve
the respect he clamors for, but even in his position as a glorified jester, he achieves more
notoriety and fame than he ever had before in his life as a scholar. Lastly, whether or not
someone is a hero should have at least a little bit to do with their demeanor. Faustus’ actions
were heroic and cool because he did things that no mortal ever likely did, but as he cries out for
help and tries to repent as the devils pull him to hell, he seems more like a fool to me. His body
of work is heroic, but his regrets and general “wuss” attitude towards the end of the play leave
me wondering about what he should be viewed as.

Jessica

OCTOBER 15, 2013 AT 12:00 AM

I agree with Paul above with questioning whether Faustus is a hero or just a fool. It’s very hard to
tell however I think that in the end I have decided that he is a fool. He is very selfish and makes a
deal in order to gain more power and respect, and also get whatever he wants. He is also a
doctor and extremely smart and doesn’t put any of that to good use. He only cares about himself
and makes a big fool of himself for this. In the end, when the devils are putting him to hell he
apologizes and regrets what he did which makes him look even worse then he already does.
Someone can do bad things and still be a Hero (for example Othello) however, Faustus isn’t a
hero at all.

Baguidy

OCTOBER 15, 2013 AT 2:34 AM

I find it very interesting where this conversation is going. Paul I think you make a Great hero
point, Jessica you too, emphasizing the fact that Faustus succeeds on a large scale, but acts as
what you determine a “wuss” in that he cries and complains as result of being dragged to hell. I
would just like for a second for us to put ourselves in Faustus’s position. You are smart, you are
pretty, you’re handsome, and people flock to you as result of your new-found knowledge. This is
what Faustus is experiencing, it seems as though Faustus is an extremely knowledgeable guy, but
becomes so engrossed in the quest for knowledge that he gets stupid. I know its a funny
thought, but just think it out. It is possible that knowledge can lead to ignorance? and ignorance
of what. In hubris, I feel as though Faustus thought he could he double dip. and when it was all
said and done he tried to cast one last attempt to get back on the good side, an unsuccessful
attempt of course. (I feel as though this duality definitely has a purpose)

Meaghan Reid

OCTOBER 16, 2013 AT 12:43 PM

I think that Faustus can neither be classified as a hero nor an overambitious fool. He is
ambitious, but too much so; however, he does share some qualities with heroes, as you
mentioned in your argument. Faustus seems to be somewhere in between the two. There are
shades of gray for virtually everything, and although the main characters of a play are usually
deemed either good or evil, Marlowe actually leaves a lot of that classification for the reader to
determine over the course of the play, which allows for shades of gray. Faustus is certainly an
interesting case study, because the duality of his nature makes it nearly impossible to determine
whether he is good or bad, as Paul mentioned above.

Harlie

OCTOBER 18, 2013 AT 12:30 PM

I agree that Faustus can not be classified as a hero nor as an overambitious fool. He overreaches
his boundaries which can be considered heroic but his attempts to outsmart the devil and his
eventual pull into hell deem him a fool. They gray area mentioned by Meaghan definitely exists,
as Marlowe does not specifically classify Faustus as a hero or a fool.

-----------------------------------------

Oedipus Rex – Character or Destiny?

Different Interpretations of the Play Possible

Oedipus Rex is a play that may be interpreted in various ways. Perhaps Sophocles here wishes to
tell us that man is only the plaything of Fate. Or, perhaps, Sophocles means to say that the gods
have contrived an awful fate for Oedipus in order to display their power to man and to teach him
a ‘wholesome lesson. At the beginning of the play Oedipus is the great King who at one time
saved Thebes at a crucial hour and who is the only hope of the people now. At the end of the
play, Oedipus is the polluted outcast, himself the cause of the city’s distress, through crimes
predicted by Apollo before he was born. It is possible also that Sophocles has simply written an
exciting drama without going into its philosophical implications.

Characters and Adverse Circumstances

Responsible for the Catastrophe

The action of Oedipus Rex shows a certain duality. In the foreground are autonomous human
actors, drawn fully and vividly. Oedipus himself, Teiresias, Creon, Jocasta, and the two shepherds
are all perfectly lifelike characters, and so are the remoter characters who do not appear on the
stage—the hot-tempered Laius at the cross-roads and the unknown Corinthian who insulted
Oedipus by saying that the latter was not the son of Polybus. The circumstances, too, are natural,
even inevitable, once we accept the characters. Oedipus, as we see him on various occasions,
appears to be intelligent, determined, self-reliant but hot-tempered and too sure of himself. As
apparently hostile chain of circumstances combines, now with the strong side of his character
and now with its weak side, to bring about the catastrophe. A man of a poor spirit would have
tolerated the insult and remained safe in Corinth. But Oedipus was resolute. Not content with
Polybus’s assurance he went to Delphi and consulted the oracle; and when the oracle, instead of
answering his question repeated the warning given originally to Laius. Oedipus, being a man of
determination, never went back to Corinth. By a coincidence he met Laius at the cross-roads
and, as father and son were of a similar temper, a fight took place. Being a man of a high
intelligence, Oedipus was able, afterwards, to solve the riddle of the Sphinx. But though
Intelligent he was blind enough to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, all the time
feeling sure that his mother was in Corinth. Whatever happens is the natural result of the
weaknesses and the virtues of his character, in combination with other people’s. Sophocles does
not try to make us feel that a relentless destiny or a hostile god is guiding the events. Whatever
happens is a tragic chapter from Oedipus’s life except for the original oracle and its repetition.

A Hidden Power in the Background

At the same time we are made to feel that the action of the play is moving on a parallel and
higher plane. The presence of some power or some design in the background is already
suggested by the continuous dramatic irony. In the matter of the plague this hidden power is
definitely stated. The presence of this power is most imaginatively revealed in the scene
containing Jocasta’s offer of a sacrifice. She, who refused to believe in the oracles, surprises us
by coming out of the palace with sacrificial offerings. She lays them on Apollo’s altar, burns the
incense, and prays for deliverance from fear. There is a moment of reverent silence, which is
broken by the arrival of the cheerful messenger from Corinth. The messenger brings the news
that Polybus is dead. All fear comes to an end. Jocasta’s prayer has been heard. But soon
afterwards Jocasta hangs herself. This is how Jocasta’s prayer has been answered! But how does
the god answer the pitiable prayer of Jocasta? Not by any direct intervention. It was not Apollo
who instigated the Corinthian to come. It was the Corinthian’s own eagerness to be the first with
the “good” news. He wanted to win the new king’s favour because, besides the news of
Oedipus’s succession to the throne of Corinth, the Corinthian is completely autonomous, and yet
in his coming the hand of the god is visible. Thus the action moves on two planes at once. In
spite of that the whole texture of the play is so vividly naturalistic that we must hesitate to
interpret it as showing a bleak determinism. These people are not puppets in the hands of
higher powers; they act in their own right.

No Display of Power by the gods

Nor does this texture support the view that the gods want to display their power to man and
teach him a lesson. If Sophocles meant the gods to display their powers by pre-determining the
life of Oedipus in order to teach men a lesson, it was quite easy for Sophocles to say so; he could
have made the Chorus sing a song on the power and mysterious ways of the gods, but he does
not do so. On the contrary, the ode that immediately follows the catastrophe expresses the view
that the fate of Oedipus is typical of human life and fortunes and not that it is a special display of
divine power. Secondly, although Oedipus is by far the greatest sufferer in the play, he is not the
only one. There are others who suffer, though not in the same degree, and we must take them
into consideration also. Sophocles wants us to treat Oedipus not as a special case except in the
degree to which he suffers. Oedipus is typical, as the Chorus says. What happens to Oedipus is
part of the whole web of human life. One reason why Sophocles introduces the children towards
the end of the play is that Oedipus may say to them what he does actually say: “What a life must
yours be! Who will admit you to the gatherings of the citizens and to the festivals? Who will
marry you?” In short, Sophocles wants to tell us that the innocent suffers with the guilty; such is
life, such are the gods.

The Disappointment and the Distress in Store

for the Two Shepherds

The two shepherds deserve consideration also. Sophocles has presented them sharply, with their
motives, hopes and fears. The Corinthian frankly expects a reward because the news he has
brought is great news; but he has something much more surprising in reserve, and the moment
for revealing it soon comes. Oedipus learns that he is not the son of Polybus but the
circumstances in which Oedipus as an infant fell into the hands of the Corinthian have to be
explained by the Theban shepherd who handed over the child to the Corinthian. Jocasta’s last
despairing cry does not disturb Oedipus because Oedipus interprets it as Jocasta’s
disappointment at finding her husband to be a man of low birth. The Chorus is happy and
excited, and, when the Theban shepherd is brought in, the Corinthian becomes even more
obliging and helpful as he works up to his climax; “Here is the man, my friend, who was that
baby!” And this is his last speech. No reward for him, no glory in Corinth, only bewilderment and
utter dismay, for in a moment he hears the true facts from the Theban shepherd’s lips. Such is
the outcome, for these two shepherds, of their benevolent interest in an abandoned baby. Can
we regard all this as the work of Apollo? Here, as in the much bigger case of Oedipus, is that
combination of well-meant action with a situation which makes it lead to disaster. An act of
mercy, tinged with a perfectly honest shrewdness, leads the Corinthian to the verge, of great
prosperity, but as he gets ready to receive it, eagerly and with confidence it turns into horror.
The other shepherd too is one who refused to kill a baby. Part of his reward came years later
when he saw the man who killed Laius occupying the throne of Thebes and married to the
Queen—an event which sent him, for his own safety, into half-exile. The rest of his reward comes
now, when a sudden command brings him back to last to the city, to learn what he learns there.

The “Catharsis” in the Perfection of Form

These minor tragedies, of the children and the shepherds, are in harmony with the major one.
Such is Apollo and such is human life. An awful sin is committed in all innocence, children are
born to a life of shame, and virtuous intentions go wrong. Where does the “catharsis” lie? It lies
in the ultimate illumination which turns a painful story into a profound and moving experience.
It has been suggested that the catharsis of a play like this lies in the perfection of its form. The
perfection of form represents, by implication, the forces of righteousness and beneficence of
which Aeschylus speaks directly in his choric odes.

The Universe Not Chaotic and Irrational

It is necessary to add a word about Jocasta’s sacrifice, and Apollo’s swift and terrible answer.
Jocasta has been denying the truth of oracles. Sophocles certainly does not consider Jocasta’s
unbelief to be a kind of wickedness deserving severe punishment. Sophocles means much more
than this. Jocasta has said that there is no need to fear oracles and that one should live at the
random. This is a doctrine which would deny the very basis of all serious Greek thought. The
Greeks believed that the universe was not chaotic and irrational, but was based on an obedience
to law. The tragic poets too thought in this way. In Aeschylus we find moral laws which have the
same kind of validity as physical and mathematical laws. The doer must suffer. To the mind of
Sophocles the law shows itself as a balance, rhythm, or pattern in human affairs. Call no man
happy until he is dead, Sophocles tells us. But this does not mean that life is chaotic. If it so
appears to us it is because we are unable to see the whole pattern. But sometimes when life for
a moment becomes dramatic, we can see enough pattern to give us faith that there is a meaning
in the whole. In Antigone when Creon is overwhelmed, it is by the natural recoil of his own acts,
working themselves out through the minds and passions of Antigone and Haemon and we can
see in this a natural justice. In Electra the vengeance that at last falls on the murderers is linked
to their crime by the natural chains of cause and effect. In Oedipus Rex we get a much more
complex picture. Here we have a man who is destroyed like a man inadvertently interfering with
the natural flow of electricity. Many casual and unrelated actions contribute to the ruin—actions
of the shepherds, the charioteer who tried to push Oedipus off the road, the man at the banquet
in Corinth. Things happen contrary to all expectation. Life seems cruel and chaotic. Cruel, yes;
but chaotic, no—for if it were chaotic no god could predict, and Jocasta’s view of life would be
right. Piety and purity are not the whole of the mysterious pattern of life, as the fate of Oedipus
shows, but they are an important part of it, and the doctrine of chaos would deny even this. The
pattern may hit the life of the individual cruelly, but at least we know that it exists; we feel
assured that piety and purity are a large part of it.

Every detail in this play is devised in order to support Sophocles’s faith in this underlying law and
the need of obeying it. That is why we can say that the perfection of form implies a world-order.
Whether or not it is beneficent, Sophocles does not say.

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The Three Climaxes in The Play

Three Parts of the Play

Oedipus Rex may be divided into three parts, each having its point of climax and each
representing a distinct area within the play. These three parts are the condemnation of Creon by
Oedipus, the discovery, with the consequent self-blinding of Oedipus; and the conclusion of the
play.

Condemnation of Creon

The first part puts before us a picture of Oedipus as the ideal king, devoted to the welfare of his
subjects. Towards Creon he is courteous. But after the Teiresias scene, Creon is most unjustly
condemned to death, or exile. Thus Oedipus the King becomes Oedipus the Tyrant, and,
although he is persuaded to revoke the punishment, he is not convinced that his judgment of
Creon was wrong.

Why the Condemnation

It is to be noted that the condemnation of Creon does not carry forward the plot at all, except to
the small extent that it brings Jocasta upon the scene. Of course, the process of discovery gets
started, but for this purpose it was not necessary for Oedipus to be brought to the verge of a
judicial murder. A question arises why Oedipus is depicted as going to this length in tyrannical
“hubris”. It cannot contribute to his doom, that is already sealed. Not does it explain his doom,
because it is never suggested that Oedipus fulfilled the prophecies through hubris. So there must
be some other answer to the question.

Oedipus’s Excessive Faith in His Own Judgment

In the Teiresias scene an emphatic contrast is drawn between the physical blindness of the
prophet and the intellectual blindness of the King. Oedipus’s suspicion of a collaboration
between the prophet and Creon is the result of his intellectual blindness, even though Oedipus’s
reasoning has a certain plausibility. Oedipus feels so sure of himself that he will not listen to
Creon’s appeal to his reason. He instantly rejects the suggestion that he should go to Delphi and
inquire whether the god had or had not given the response which Creon has reported. He also
disbelieves Creon’s oath of allegiance. In his complete certainty he brushes aside all such
considerations, feeling too confident in his own judgment, the good King behaves like an unjust
tyrant. As the Chorus says, “swift is not always sure.”

Past and Present Mental Blindness of Oedipus

There is one obvious link between Oedipus’s present action and the past, and that is the mental
blindness from which an intelligent man suffers, or a man’s false confidence when circumstances
are treacherous. Oedipus was sure that Polybus and Merope were his parents. It never occurred
to him that he might be wrong. He is also sure that Creon is conspiring against him. The earlier
certainty led him into misfortunes of which he had been explicitly forewarned. The second
certainty leads him to an outburst of tyrannical hubris.

Sophocles’s Failure to Utilize the Opportunity for a Dramatic Ending

The last climax in the play, again, is not what the story dictates; it is not an inevitable ending to a
play about the tragic fate of Oedipus. However, this climax harmonises with the first part and the
climax of the first part. Nothing could be more logical and dramatic than that the play should
end with the exiling of Oedipus. Teiresias prophesied that Oedipus would become blind, an exile,
and a beggar cursed by all. Oedipus himself uttered a curse on the murderer of Laius. Now the
curse has recoiled upon his own head. It is established that he is responsible for the misfortunes
of the people of Thebes. The stranger who once saved Thebes by his intelligence must now save
it by leaving the city for ever. But Sophocles has not given such a dramatic ending to the play. We
must, therefore, look for a reason for the dramatist’s failure to provide that would have been a
logical and dramatic ending. Sophocles had here all the ingredients of a powerful scene and for a
forceful character-contrast. Creon, who had barely escaped death or exile at the hands of
Oedipus, has now become the King, and Oedipus is reduced to the position of a petitioner.
Hitherto Creon had a passive role in the play, now Sophocles had the opportunity to draw a
Creon who would be vindictively triumphant or exceptionally large-hearted. But Sophocles does
not utilise the opportunity. Creon is, indeed, shown as having no ill-will against Oedipus, but the
fact is dismissed in two verses. He is not depicted as strikingly kind or strikingly unkind towards
Oedipus.

Creon’s Insistence on Consulting Apollo

before Banishing Oedipus

What Sophocles does is to develop a situation perfectly antistrophic to the one at the end of the
first part of the play. As many as four times does Oedipus demand to be banished; twice he
demands it of the Chorus and twice of Creon. Once again Oedipus shows himself quite sure of
his position. But Creon refuses the demand both times and he refuses not out of kindness but
because he does not know the will of Apollo. Oedipus, earlier, did not consult Apollo to verify his
own inferences about Creon even though Creon’s life was at stake. Now Creon refuses to act in a
crisis until he has consulted Apollo even though, on Oedipus’s showing, the case for his exile is
clear.

The Ending Not Really Undramatic and Negative

This link between the first and the last parts of the play is strengthened by a verbal repetition. In
the course of Oedipus’s questioning of Creon in the first part, the latter once says that he prefers
not to express an opinion which he lacks the necessary knowledge. Now, in the last part, Creon
again says, in reply to a question by Oedipus, that, when he lacks knowledge, he prefers not to
speak at random. In other words, the contrast between certainty (on the part of Oedipus) and
caution (on the part of Creon) is very much in Sophocles’s thoughts. And we already know that in
the first part certainty led to hubris. Thus the ending of the play, though superficially un-
dramatic and negative, is not really so. This does not, however, prevent readers from wishing
that the ending should have been more striking and spectacular.

Creon’s Rebuff to Oedipus at the End

The very last action deserves consideration also; it is by no means inevitable. The two children
have been brought out. What Oedipus says to them and about them is a most tragic addition to
the picture of ruin and desolation that Sophocles is drawing. Now, when Oedipus is taken into
the palace, the children too must be removed from the stage. There is no need to make a
dramatic point of it, but Sophocles does make it. They are removed from Oedipus’s embrace
and, when he expresses a desire to keep them with him, Creon says: “Command no more. Obey.
Your rule is ended.” Such is the goal to which Sophocles has taken this long train of events.

The Illusory Nature of Certainty and Command

Certainty and command, both are illusory. Laius was given a warning and he tried to ensure his
safety by ordering the destruction of the child. He thought that he had controlled his destiny.
Oedipus thought likewise when being warned of what was to happen, he avoided Corinth where
his parents were and went in the other direction. But circumstances proved adverse. Sophocles
points out that human resolution and intelligence can easily go wrong and be defeated by
circumstances. The picture is poetically not untrue to life. Chance does sometimes defeat the
best of plans. Human control is an illusion. Further, Oedipus’s certainty led him into hubris.

The Element of Universality

If we assume that the subject of this play is merely the tragic story of Oedipus, then both the
first and the third climaxes appear to be unexpected. But the personal drama of Oedipus is in
this play surrounded by something more universal, and it is this that has determined the play’s
structure.

The Sharp Opposition Between Chance and Prophecy

The middle part of the play shows, in a terrible manner, that the incredible is true, that the
impossible has happened. With difficulty, the Chorus and Jocasta have prevailed upon Oedipus
to withdraw his decree against Creon. The episode is barely mentioned again and seems to have
no influence on what follows. Jocasta proves to Oedipus that one oracle at least has failed, but in
doing this she produces in Oedipus the frightening suspicion that he may himself be the man
who killed Laius. Jocasta repeats that the oracle has failed because Laius was not killed by his
own son. Then comes the ode in which the Chorus emphasises the need for purity, for the
observance of the unwritten divine laws, for the avoidance of that hubris which breeds the
tyrant and is always overthrown. The ode also contains the prayer that the oracles may be
fulfilled, since the validity of religion depends on it. This leads at once to Jocasta’s sacrifice and
the cruel answer that it receives. (The cruel answer is the arrival of the Corinthian messenger
and the revelation, clear to Jocasta but not yet to Oedipus, that Oedipus is Jocasta’s own son).
Before, however, Jocasta realises the horrible truth regarding Oedipus’s identity, she asserts that
oracles are not reliable and that human affairs are ruled by Chance. Hardly has she said so, when
her feeling of security is shattered, and all she can do is to go in anguish to meet her death.
Oedipus once more draws a wrong conclusion. He thinks that Jocasta’s grief is due to nothing
more than injured pride (at thinking that Oedipus is low-born). He declares himself to be the son
of Chance. The Chorus taking up the theme, wonders which of the gods begot Oedipus from
some mountain-nymph. Then enters the Theban shepherd to prove that Oedipus is no son of
Chance but of Laius and Jocasta. We are thus faced with the sharp opposition between Chance
and prophecy, and the close connection between prophecy and religion (religion meaning purity,
the observance of the unwritten laws, and the avoidance of hubris). Sophocles seems to be
saying: “Seek purity and avoid hubris; prophecies come true; religion is not a fraud.” However, he
does not clearly say that obedience to the unwritten laws would have saved these people.

The Hubris, Not of Jocasta But of Oedipus

The first part of the play, as we have seen, leads to a climax almost irrelevant to the actual story;
Oedipus, in his intellectual self-reliance, reached a conclusion which was entirely wrong and,
feeling sure of the rightness of his conclusion, nearly committed a crime of exceptional enormity.
Here was the hubris that breeds the tyrant. As for the ode, it would not be right to say that the
Chorus is referring to the hubris of Jocasta in denying the truth of the oracle. Jocasta is merely
relating what she actually knows; the child was destroyed, and the oracle did fail. In any case she
has protected herself by saying that the oracles may not have come from the god, but only from
his human interpreters; and if this be regarded as hidden hubris, then the Chorus too is guilty of
it for it said exactly the same thing earlier. On the other hand, Sophocles has created and
displayed at length a striking example of hubris in Oedipus. It was Oedipus who swept aside all
restraints like a tyrant, and went to the verge of crime because he felt too sure of himself.

Jocasta’s Erroneous Philosophy

Jocasta serves a different purpose. She also feels sure of herself, both before the ode and still
more after it when she learns that Polybus is dead and that a second oracle has failed. From this
certainty, she draws the conclusion that life is governed by chance and that it is best to live at
random. With a doctrine like this, we should not be surprised at the kind of response which she
gets to her prayers. In the other plays of Sophocles the dramatic function of prophecy is to assert
that life is not chaotic. If Jocasta’s view about “chance” is right, then Creon’s downfall in
Antigone is a mere fluke and Electra is no more than a superior thriller. In that case there is no
such thing as Order, no Dike; only Chance.

No Justice in Tragedy according to Human Standards, But not a Random Universe Either

In this context, Dike or Order should not be paraphrased as justice or natural justice, meaning
happiness for the good people and suffering only for the bad ones. Neither Sophocles nor any
earlier Greek poet believed in this kind of justice. The justice of the gods is not dispensed
according to human standards or human specifications. The Greek poets took the view that the
gods could be cruel and indiscriminate, but they knew also that the gods were not for the reason
to be disregarded. Antigone was dismayed that the gods left her to perish. They certainly left her
to perish, but equally certainly they visited their anger on Creon. In the case of this play we could
say that, while Oedipus is punished without any deliberate fault on his part, the universe is not
to be regarded as being random. Jocasta feels sure that the oracles had failed. As a consequence,
she did not recognise the place of forethought, caution, scruple. Similarly, Oedipus was sure that
Creon was a traitor. As a consequence, he observed no restraints. Surely the ode need not puzzle
us any more. The ode begins with the unwritten laws and ends with a prayer for the fulfilment of
the oracles.

Sophocles’s Philosophy in this Play

Sophocles is not just indulging in a statement of orthodox piety. It is evident that an observance
of the unwritten laws would not have prevented this catastrophe. Sophocles’s point is quite
different. Life is vast, complex, uncertain; we deceive ourselves if we think that we can control
life; human judgment may go wrong; ever-reliance on one’s judgment leads to hubris, and that
always ends in disaster. Many things in life are impossible to explain, but life is not random. The
gods do exist and their laws do operate. If we think that there are no laws, and if we neglect the
restraints on that assumption, we are only deluding ourselves.

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The Question of a Moral Lesson in the Play "Oedipus Rex"

Oedipus Rex is a play of inexhaustible interest. Literary critics and students of Greek religion in
our times continue to turn to it. Anthropologists and Psychologists find it useful as a reflection of
an ancient myth and man’s unconscious mind. In short, the play continues to be a subject of
intensive discussion.

Certain things about it are clearer than others. For instance, it can easily be analysed as a piece
of stagecraft; the methods used to arouse the interest and excite the emotions of the audience
are evident to the analytical reader. But the meaning or significance of the play has aroused a lot
of controversy. Briefly speaking, there are two major considerations regarding this play: (i)
Sophocles’s dramatic craftsmanship, and (ii) Sophoclean thought—the former presenting no
problem and the latter giving rise to considerable differences of opinion. Most critics have found
a profound meaning in the play and they have offered a variety of interpretations ranging from
the didacticism of Plutarch to the more complex explanations of the 20th century (such as
Freudian, post-Freudian, Marxist, and existentialist).

Matching Wits with the gods

The plot of this play is a search for knowledge, and its climax is a recognition of truth. The hero
here is a man whose self-esteem is rooted in his pride of intellect. The gods here manifest
themselves not by means of any miracle but by a prediction which is proved true after a long
delay. Various formulas have been imposed on this play. For instance, the play has been
interpreted to mean that a wicked man is punished, or that an imprudent man pays the price, or
that a family curse returns, or that an innocent man is victimised by fate. However, a more
appropriate formula would be to say that in this play a man matches wits with the gods. We
might even lend universality to this formula by saying that here man (and not a man) matches
wits with the gods.

The gods always Win

The play appears to dramatize the conventional Greek wisdom that, when mortal man vies with
the immortal gods, the gods always win. The theme is as old as Homer, who tells this story to
illustrate it in the sixth book of the Iliad. In this particular play the specific point of contention is
knowledge. This is Sophocles’s way of translating the old theme into a form suited to the age of
enlightenment and it creates a fine contrast or opposition between knowledge as power and
self-knowledge. In short, the awareness that man is less than the gods is undoubtedly an
element in the play.

Victory in Defeat

“Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles combines two apparently irreconcilable themes, the greatness
of the gods and the greatness of man, and the combination of these themes is inevitably tragic,
for the greatness of the gods is most clearly and powerfully demonstrated by man’s defeat. The
god is great in his laws and he does not grow old. But man does grow old, and not only does he
grow old, he also dies. Unlike the gods, he exists in time. The beauty and power of his physical
frame is subject to sickness, death, and corruption, the beauty and power of his intellectual,
artistic, and social achievement to decline, overthrow, and oblivion. His greatness and beauty
arouse in us a pride in their magnificence which is inseparable from and increased by our sorrow
over their imminent death. Oedipus is symbolic of all human achievement, his hard-won
magnificence, unlike the everlasting magnificence of the divine, cannot last and, while it lives,
shines all the more brilliant against the sombre background of its impermanency. Sophocles’s
tragedy presents us with a terrible affirmation of man’s subordinate position in the universe, and
at the same time with a heroic vision of man’s victory in defeat. Man is not equated to the gods
but man at his greatest, as in Oedipus, is capable of something which the gods cannot
experience; the proud tragic view of Sophocles sees in the fragility and inevitable defeat of
human greatness the possibility of a purely human heroism to which the gods can never attain,
for the condition of their existence is everlasting victory.”

The Lesson of Modesty or Self-Restraint

It might be held that the play teaches us the precept: “know thyself”. If we agree, we shall have
to support the view that the play is didactic and that Sophocles is a teacher; for what the Delphic
maxim just quoted amounts to is a warning to cultivate sophrosyne, a word best translated as
modesty or self-restraint. It may be asserted that the play teaches the reader to cultivate the
virtue of modesty, or self-restraint, or self-control, or caution. According to a strong supporter of
this view, the touchstone by which Oedipus is to be judged is Creon. Creon’s “pious moderation”
and “modest loyalty” are the ideals against which the arrogance of Oedipus is measured and
found to be wrong. If the play teaches the lesson of self-control and self-restraint, then we have
to admit that Creon’s personality illustrates this virtue. Creon explicitly claims this virtue in one
of his speeches. He is at all time respectful, cautious, and reverent. Even at the end, he insists
that he will not exile Oedipus until he is absolutely sure that this is what the gods desire. It is he
who points the obvious moral in the last scene, that now perhaps Oedipus will put his faith in
the gods. His last, minor dispute with Oedipus is over a question of caution. Oedipus wants to be
exiled immediately but Creon will not promise this until the will of the gods is made quite clear.
Twice in the course of the play Creon makes a statement that may be taken as his motto. The
statement is to the effect that Creon will not do or say anything unless he possesses definite
knowledge to justify his doing or saying it.

The Contrast with Creon

This trait in Creon contrasts him sharply with Oedipus who suffers from the pride of knowledge.
Creon shows a desire to avoid the responsibilities of kingship because they are dangerous and
painful. Creon would be content instead with public approval and with honours that bring gain.
Creon is a just man; he is even a kind man who brings the children in the last scene to meet
Oedipus. He is also an innocent man unjustly accused who reacts mildly and seems not to bear
any grudge at the end. But he is humdrum and poor spirited and self-satisfied. He is thoroughly
decent in his way, but Oedipus with his boldness and intelligence and ease of command is a
much greater personality.

The Contrast between Oedipus and

the Other Main Characters

The contrast between Oedipus and the other two principal characters is also noteworthy.
Teiresias represents and defends the wisdom of the gods in his opposition to human folly. But
Teiresias, as a person, stands no comparison with Oedipus. His first words in the play show that
Teiresias finds his knowledge unbearable, and he is quite prepared to go back home until
Oedipus provokes him to anger. As for Jocasta, she has raised irresponsibility to the status of a
principle. Besides, neither Jocasta nor Teiresias is willing to face the truth, while Oedipus is not
only willing but determined. Neither Teiresias nor Creon desires the responsibility that comes
with office and power, but Oedipus does. Teiresias and Creon are both wiser men than Oedipus
and at the end of the play Creon is still giving to Oedipus a lesson in sophrosyne or self-restraint.
But the brilliance and the courage of Oedipus make him a greater man than both Teiresias and
Creon.

The True Greatness of Man

Oedipus may be taken to represent all mankind. He represents also the city which is man’s
greatest creation. His resurgence in the last scene of the play is a prophetic vision of a defeated
Athens which will rise to a greatness beyond anything she had attained in victory. In the last
scene, we witness a vision of a man superior to the tragic reversal of his action and the terrible
success of his search for truth, reasserting his greatness not this time in defiance of the powers
which shape human life but in harmony with those powers. In the last scene we see beyond the
defeat of man’s ambition the true greatness of which only the defeated are capable.

No Moral Lesson

There is no moral lesson here. No moralist would present human folly in such bright colours and
depict wisdom and temperance as dull. The kind of play Sophocles was writing in Oedipus Rex
was intrinsically unsuited to be a lesson. The play does not persuade that Creon is a nobler man;
it only shows him to be a wiser man. It does offer some comfort to the pious reader, but only a
little, though it creates a difficulty for a philosopher like Plato who believed in the unity of
human virtues. Nor could this play have pleased humanists of the fifth century, who attached
great importance to the human intellect. Here we have a play showing man at his noblest and
greatest when he is most foolish and in the very actions which exhibit his folly. We may accept
that gratefully as a great artistic triumph, but we should not expect a moral lesson from it.

----------------------------------------------------

The Interplay of Characters in Oedipus Rex

Oedipus’s Nature Revealed

The theme of Oedipus Rex is centred in the person of Oedipus, and the function of the
subordinate persons is to reveal his nature. Three of these persons call for detailed consideration
—Creon, Jocasta, and Teiresias. The relationship of each of them to Oedipus shows a high skill of
dramatic art on the part of the author.

The Dialogue between Teiresias and Oedipus

The first major interplay of character is in Oedipus’s scene with Teiresias. The prophet begins
well-intentioned, the King respectful and calm. Indeed the extreme reverence of Oedipus toward
Teiresias is very unlike his impetuous manner in the prologue and his anger later in this scene. It
is quite clear that Sophocles is aiming at a striking contrast between the mood at the beginning
of the scene and that at its end. Oedipus, obstructed by Teiresias’s refusal to talk, soon flies into
a terrible rage and presently accuses him of complicity in the crime. This in turn strings Teiresias
into declaring that Oedipus is himself the murderer that he seeks. By now Oedipus is in a fierce
rage, and Teiresias can shout aloud the whole truth without any chance of Oedipus’s discovering
it. The two men are moving in different channels of thought, though each is impelled in the
direction he takes by the influence of the other. Oedipus hears Teiresias and reacts, and yet he
does not really hear. Or, perhaps he does hear. Perhaps there is behind his indignation and rage
that fill this scene, and the next, with Creon, a lurking fear that what Teiresias has said is right.
However, the fear, if such there is, is deep within and subconscious. Towards the end of this
scene, there is a subtle and most revealing display of Oedipus’s egotism. A reference by Teiresias
to the parents of Oedipus catches the King’s conscious ear, though the earlier declarations of his
guilt found him indifferent. Oedipus is for the moment all attention, and it seems that now he
will learn his parentage. But the prophet (Teiresias) answers enigmatically, and Oedipus
reproaches him for talking in riddles. Teiresias asks him if solving riddles is not Oedipus’s special
skill. This reminder of Oedipus’s triumph over the Sphinx so occupies the King’s attention that he
forgets all about his original question and the moment of possible disclosure passes without
Oedipus becoming any wiser about his parentage. In this scene we are also made aware of a
double contrast. There is a contrast between the outward magnificence and inward blindness of
Oedipus i.e., the opening dialogue of Oedipus with the priest followed by his talk with Teiresias.
Then there is the contrast between the outward blindness of Teiresias and his inward sight.
Oedipus taunts Teiresias with the latter’s blindness, saying that he has eyes for profit or
monetary gain but is blind as regards prophecy. Teiresias gives a reply which is a wonderful
consummation of this play on sight and blindness. Oedipus has eyes to see, says Teiresias, but
does not see his own damnation.

The First Scene between Oedipus and Creon

Oedipus has two scenes with Creon, both of which are important for the light they throw on
Oedipus’s character. The first follows the Teiresias-scene and is like it in form. Creon does not, of
course, have the fire and authority of the old prophet and therefore the dramatic pitch of the
scene is much lower. Creon is the “moderate” man. His role is to stress the extravagance of
speech and the self-reliance displayed by Oedipus in contrast to Creon’s unfailing modesty and
calm. Oedipus is angry from the start, Creon pleads only for a fair hearing. Creon shows extreme
caution in contrast to Oedipus with his wild suspicions and guesses. It is typical of Creon to say
that it is not his habit to assert what he does not know. In a long speech Creon argues that any
man of modesty would prefer to enjoy a ruler’s power without the cares of rule, as he does.
Creon wants honours that bring gain. Oedipus is arrogant in his unjust charges; he accuses Creon
of being the murderer of Laius; he accuses Creon of plotting against his own (Oedipus’s) person.
Creon is in fact mild of manner, loyal, and patient. Oedipus’s accusations therefore only serve to
show Oedipus’s stubborn reliance on his own convictions.

The Second Scene between Oedipus and Creon

The second scene between these two men comes at the end of the play. Here we have the same
contrast, though the emphasis is different. Creon is still the man of complete moderation, while
Oedipus is an extremist. But now it is himself that Oedipus attacks, while toward Creon his
attitude is one of humanity and gratitude. The change emphasizes, of course, the completeness
of Oedipus’s reversal of fortune. It also shows that Oedipus is as capable of generosity as of
abuse—which we already know.

Mechanical Virtues of Creon

Creon thus serves as a foil to Oedipus. But Creon is not a character who excites our sympathy in
spite of his unfailing justness and moderation. Creon’s virtues are a little mechanical. There is no
sign of an inward fire of conviction. This aspect of his nature is especially clear at the end of the
play. But even in his earlier self-defence his impersonal logicality fails to stir us, especially in
contrast with Oedipus’s emotional intensity. To take only one example of this contrast, when
Oedipus, convinced of Creon’s treachery, shouts “My city, alas for my city,” Creon very correctly,
coolly, and logically answers that it is his city too, not Oedipus’s alone. Creon’s words are both
just and logical while Oedipus is all wrong. Yet the unjust cry of Oedipus excites more sympathy
by its fervour than the cold truth of Creon.

The Continued Domination of the Play by Oedipus

The above contrast serves, as in the last scene, to ensure the continued domination of the play
by the tragic hero (i.e., Oedipus). Creon at no time gives a sign of emotion for the fall of Oedipus.
If he were a smaller man than he is, he would be elated. If he were greater, he would show some
sympathy. But when Oedipus begs to be exiled from Thebes, Creon answers that he would
already have given a command to that effect if he had not thought it necessary to consult the
gods first. Creon will do nothing without the certainty that it is the right thing; but he is quite
prepared to drive out his blind and helpless kinsman without the least personal feeling. Just at
the end Oedipus pleads, hopelessly, that his daughters may stay with him. Creon’s reply is that
Oedipus should try to command no longer. The reproach is slight, and no doubt justified; but its
total want of feeling is vaguely offensive. Creon is not malicious; he is well intentioned. Of his
own accord he brings Oedipus’s daughters to him. But he is colourless, without depths of good
or evil. His saneness is symbolized by his repetition, at the end, of what he said earlier, namely
that he speaks of only things of which he has knowledge. Were Creon a mere living and
attractive figure, the sympathy and admiration of the audience would not wholly go to Oedipus.
The distinction between the high spirit of the central figure and his unheroic foil—between
Oedipus and Creon—is firmly drawn.

The Skepticism of Oedipus and of Jocasta

The relation between Oedipus and Jocasta is mainly one of sympathy. The skepticism of Oedipus,
which appears in his scene with Teiresias, is shared by Jocasta. Indeed, she serves as a temptress
to induce Oedipus to disregard the ominous oracles and trust in his own judgment entirely. But
we need not for that reason interpret Jocasta as a symbol of the free-thinking, liberal,
intellectual Athenian woman of Sophocles’s time. Her skepticism springs from her own
immediate situation, from her desire to protect Oedipus and keep peace. Love, not self-
confidence, governs her attitude. Three times she speaks out against the validity of oracles. This
skepticism is, of course, a folly, because \ht oracles are ultimately vindicated. But the question is:
Does Sophocles present this skepticism as a thing to be condemned, or is his use of oracles here
a dramaturgical convenience? We cannot be certain about Sophocles’s own attitude toward the
religious significance of oracles. But this much perhaps we could say: The skepticism of Oedipus
is a symbol, not necessarily of impiety but of confidence in the self-sufficiency of human power.
In Sophocles’s view human power is an inadequate defence against suffering.
The Relentless Chain of Events

In any case, the skepticism of Oedipus and Jocasta creates effective dramatic suspense. Several
times Jocasta is used as a parallel and prelude to the fortunes of Oedipus. First she sees that the
oracles are true after all, and later he sees it too. First she finds her life ruined by the inevitable
process of events, and later he comes to the same terrible knowledge. Oedipus and Jocasta react
differently to the Corinthian messenger’s revelation of Oedipus’s origin: the knowledge and
despair of Jocasta are contrasted with the blind excitement of Oedipus. The most striking case of
a contrast and a parallel between Jocasta and Oedipus is in the following episode. When the
messenger from Corinth has brought news of the death of Polybus, Jocasta, in the excitement of
her relief, cries: “Why should a man be afraid? His life is governed by chance and the future is all
unknown. It is best to live at random, in whatever way we can.” But presently Jocasta realizes
that no chance but a relentless chain of events is in command of her life and that of Oedipus;
and she goes into the palace to hang herself in despair. But now Oedipus takes up the theme.
Baffled as to who his parents are (after the Corinthian messenger has told him that he is not the
son of Polybus and Merope) and wildly excited by the search for truth, Oedipus cries that he is
“the child of Fortune.” In the next short episode he arrives at the dreadful knowledge which
Jocasta has learnt a little earlier.

The Two Shepherds

The Corinthian messenger and the Shepherd are clearly differentiated. The Corinthian, who
comes as a bearer of what he believes to be good news, has been shown, in the episode before
they meet, to be a cheery, familiar, garrulous person. The Shepherd, knowing that he possesses a
dreadful secret about his King, is trying desperately to hide it and is therefore surly and slow to
speak, just the reverse of the Corinthian. The opposite pull of these two characters brings a
remarkable tension to this crucial scene. The cheery Corinthian is unaware of the horrors he is
bringing to light, and so he tries to stir the reluctant Shepherd’s memory. The Corinthian’s
colloquial address, his cheery delivery of the fatal message, and his ignorance of the Shepherd’s
desperate efforts to conceal his knowledge—these add enormously to the grimness of the
moment. Here is a very brief instance of the tragic use of comedy, in the Greek style.

-----------------------------

The Mind and Character of King Oedipus

Almost an Ideal King

We form an excellent impression of Oedipus as a King in the very prologue. The Priest, who leads
the citizens in a deputation to King Oedipus, recalls the great service that Oedipus did to the city
of Thebes by having saved the city from the cruel and bloodthirsty Sphinx. The people, says the
Priest, think Oedipus to be a noble, mighty, and wise man. The city looks upon him as its saviour.
Oedipus gave evidence of his high intelligence by solving the riddle of the Sphinx.

Thus Oedipus appears to us in the prologue as a man who is almost worshipped and adored by
his subjects. People have complete faith in him, and they believe that he is capable of ridding
them of the afflictions which have descended upon them. Oedipus is not only powerful and
wise, but also deeply sympathetic. Even before the people come to him with a petition, he is
aware of their sufferings. He has already sent Creon to Delphi to find out from Apollo’s oracle the
reason for the sufferings of his people and the method by which they can be delivered of those
sufferings. Furthermore, acting on Creon’s advice, he has already sent for Teiresias, the blind
prophet, to seek his guidance. Oedipus tells the Priest that he is suffering a greater torture on
account of the distress of his people than they themselves are suffering. He has been shedding
many tears on their account. Each citizen is suffering as a single individual but he, Oedipus, bears
the weight of the collective suffering of all of them. All this shows the softer side of Oedipus who
appears to us almost as the ideal King.

A Man of Determination with a

High Sense of His Duty

Soon we become aware of another of Oedipus’s good qualities. As soon as Creon reports the
information he has brought from Delphi, Oedipus proclaims his resolve to trace the murderer of
Laius and to punish him suitably. Oedipus declares his intention to start an investigation into the
murder in order to find out the truth. Oedipus also seeks the cooperation of the Chorus in his
purpose. He tells the Chorus that years ago he had come to the city as a complete foreigner,
knowing nothing about the murder of his predecessor. He would like the murderer to come
forward and confess his crime, promising that he will award no punishment to the criminal
except banishment from the city. Oedipus also utters a curse upon the man who murdered Laius:
the murderer will find nothing but wretchedness and misery, as long as he lives. It would have
been his duty, says Oedipus, to avenge the murder of Laius even if the command had not come
from Apollo. Now it is doubly his duty, and he will leave nothing undone to find the murderer.
Upon those who disobey his order in connection with the efforts to trace the criminal, Oedipus
invokes another curse. All this shows that Oedipus is a man of strong determination. He is not a
wavering kind of man. Nor does he believe in half-measures. He will go the whole hog in trying
to find out the facts and discover the criminal. Oedipus does not take things lightly. He is a
serious-minded man with a high sense of the office he holds. He identifies himself fully with his
people, and regards their sufferings as his own. Although he is a man of a compassionate nature,
there is no sign of weakness in him. The curses that he invokes upon the murderer of Laius and
upon those who evade their duty in the context of his proclamation show him to be a man of a
stern and almost ruthless nature, a man who will not shrink from taking drastic steps to punish
an evil-doer and in the pursuit of truth.

Hot-tempered, Hasty, Rash

The scene with Teiresias, however, shows Oedipus in a somewhat unfavourable light. He begins
his interview with the prophet respectfully enough, but Teiresias’s reluctance to reveal the facts
greatly irritates and upsets Oedipus. Of course, Oedipus does not know the real reason why
Teiresias is unwilling to talk and to disclose, the name and identity of the murderer of Laius. But
even so, Oedipus shows himself lacking in self-control and self-restraint. From a King reputed to
be highly intelligent and wise, we should have expected a greater capacity to control his feelings
and passions. But Oedipus flies into a rage when Teiresias accuses Oedipus himself of the crimes
which have polluted the city. Oedipus threatens Teiresias, with dire consequences for trying to
defame him. And then Oedipus commits another blunder in his state of fury. He alleges that
Teiresias is in league with Creon and that they have both hatched a conspiracy against him. This
rash, hasty verdict by Oedipus against both Teiresias and Creon does him no credit at all. We see
here a glaring defect of character in Oedipus. It is true that this defect has little to do with the
tragic fate that overtakes him, but a defect it does remain. It is a defect which greatly detracts
from his nobility. Oedipus’s taunting Teiresias with blindness also shows bad taste. When
Teiresias is provided into making some highly offensive predictions about Oedipus’s future,
Oedipus feels further enraged and shouts to the prophet to get out of his sight at once. But the
prophet has some more unpleasant things to say before he departs.

On the Verge of Committing a Judicial Murder

This ugly side of Oedipus is emphasised in the scene with Creon. Oedipus is convinced that
Creon is a traitor and he begins to treat Creon accordingly. He hardly allows Creon to speak in
self-defence but, even after Creon had explained in most lucid and straightforward manner his
position, Oedipus remains unmoved. Oedipus declares that he would sentence Creon to death
on a charge of treason. For a wise and experienced King, to pass such a hasty judgment on a
tried kinsman and supporter is unpardonable. Indeed, Oedipus comes close to committing a
judicial murder for which there are hardly any extenuating circumstances.

Oedipus’s Fear, Suspicion, Misunderstanding

Oedipus’s fear on learning from Jocasta the circumstances of Laius’s death is great. He had not
felt frightened in the least by the threats and warnings of Teiresias, but now a suspicion takes
hold of his mind that he might himself have been the murderer of Laius. This suspicion can be
removed or confirmed only by the Theban shepherd who must therefore be interrogated. His
state of mind at this time causes grave anxiety to his wife who, contrary to her own convictions,
offers worship to Apollo, seeking peace for her husband and all others. When the Corinthian
messenger discloses to Oedipus the fact that Polybus was not Oedipus’s father, he does
experience some relief to think that there is no danger of his murdering his father who has died
a natural death. However, there is still the other half of the prophecy, namely, that Oedipus will
marry his mother, and this part of the prophecy prolongs his anxiety. The Corinthian allays his
fear on this score also by revealing that Oedipus was not the son of Polybus and Merope. But
now Oedipus is very keen to know his real parentage and even the advice of Jocasta, who has
clearly perceived the truth, not to pursue his inquiry into his parentage does not deter him.
When Jocasta leaves, feeling most wretched and miserable, Oedipus commits another error of
judgment. He wrongly thinks that Jocasta has left in a bad mood because she suspects him of
being low-born.

The Discovery, the Agony, the Self-blinding

Oedipus is now determined, even more than before, to learn the truth about his parentage. He
calls himself the child of Fortune with the Years as his kinsmen. He says that he would not be
ashamed if he finds that he is low-born. The interrogation of the Theban shepherd, when he
arrives, leads to Oedipus’s discovery of the true facts. He is the son of King Laius whom he had
killed, and he is the son of Queen Jocasta whom he had married and who has given birth to
several children by him. Oedipus’s discovery of the truth, which he had pursued relentlessly,
naturally causes him an agony which is indescribable. With his mind almost crazed with grief, he
wanders through the palace calling for a sword and asking for the woman whom he had called
his wife. He forces his way into Jocasta’s chamber and seeing her dead body hanging by a rope,
groans in misery. His next step is most horrifying. With Jocasta’s pins and brooches he blinds
himself in order to punish himself for his misdeeds and also to escape the necessity of having to
witness any sight in the city which he has polluted with his sins. He does not kill himself because,
as he tells the Chorus, he could not bear to face the souls of his parents in the kingdom of death.
It was Apollo’s decree that he should suffer but the hand that has blinded his eyes was his own,
he tells the Chorus. Oedipus would now like to be driven out of the city of Thebes. He curses the
man who had removed the fetters from his feet and saved him from death when he was a child.
He calls himself God’s enemy because of the crimes he is guilty of.

A Loving Father

We are also given a brief glimpse of Oedipus as a father. A devoted husband, he also shows
himself to be a very loving and fond parent. Creon, knowing Oedipus’s great love for his
daughters, has already sent for them so that Oedipus should be able to meet them. Oedipus
expresses his gratitude to Creon for having shown him this consideration. When he turns to his
daughters, he feels for them the love of a brother as well as the love of a father. He cannot see
them, he says, being now blind, but he can weep for them because of the bitter life that they will
have to lead. His heart bleeds for them when he thinks that nobody will shelter them and no
man will marry them. He then entrusts his daughters to the care of Creon, appealing to him to
have pity on them in their state of wretchedness and desolation.

His Heroic Attitude in the Last Scene

In the final scene of the play, Oedipus seems to recapture some of his earlier greatness. This
greatness we see in the manner in which he punishes himself and in the manner in which he
faces the greatest crisis which a human being can ever be faced with. No doubt, Oedipus’s
lamentations show him as undergoing a great physical and mental agony; but he undoubtedly
shows himself to be a real hero, by the way in which he endures his misfortunes. His fortitude is
admirable, and his repeated appeals to Creon to banish him from the city show how anxious he
is that the punishment he had proclaimed for the murderer of Laius should be carried out
against him to the letter. Instead of pleading for leniency or mercy as an ordinary human being
would have done on such an occasion, Oedipus insists upon the implementation of the penalty
which had been proclaimed by him. Oedipus truly wins our genuine sympathy. If his self-blinding
horrifies us, his condition at the close of the play moves us deeply. His fate, as also the fate of
Jocasta, truly results in that catharsis of the feelings of fear and pity which, according to
Aristotle, is one of the essential functions of tragedy.

II

A Good and Pious King

In spite of his defeats, Oedipus is a good ruler. He is a good King, a father, of his people, an
honest and great administrator, and an outstanding intellect. His final care is not for himself but
for the people and the State. He even shares the throne, not only with his wife who had been his
predecessor’s wife; Creon, too, is his co-regent, a fact that shows that Oedipus avoids autocratic
appearances. He is also a pious man who believes in oracles, respects the bonds of family and
hates impurity. His piety is the very basis of the whole plot, the very tragedy of the man Oedipus.

Desire for Absolute Authority

Oedipus has a very clear feeling for the outstanding importance and high dignity of his royal
position and of Kings in general. He is a man who likes to give orders and to hear himself doing
so. He describes his position in words which show that in his heart he wants full and absolute
authority. The same tendency is seen in the attitude of those whom he governs. The suppliant
people approach him almost as a god, and he is honoured as a saviour. Such honours, as every
Greek knew, are dangerous, for they may lead to hubris.

On the Way to Tyranny

The scene with Creon clearly shows Oedipus on the verge of tyranny. The King shows a blind
suspicion towards friends, an inclination to hasty inference, and a rash vindictiveness. When he
meets opposition, or thinks he does, he easily loses all self-control. His treatment of the old
Shepherd in a later scene is outrageous. His position and greatness seem to be leading him to
become a tyrant. He identifies himself with the State and upholds the principle of monarchic rule
even if the ruler is bad. Creon, who in the play represents moderation and common sense, has to
remind him that the Polis (or the City) does not belong to him alone. Even the blinded Oedipus
gets the reproach: “Do not crave to be master in everything.”

The Failure of His Piety

Oedipus mistrusts the venerable seer, Teiresias, and suspects him of being bribed. This attitude
of distrust towards a prophet is in sharp contrast to Oedipus’s genuine piety. No doubt Oedipus
first addresses Teiresias reverently; but his attitude changes suddenly and completely when he
smells danger to his Kingship and to the State. His piety fails as soon as his political leadership
seems to be threatened. Oedipus the ruler belongs, in spite of his piety, to the world of politics
and human standards rather than to the divine order of the world.

Self-confident intellectual Pride of Oedipus

An outstanding feature of Oedipus’s character is a self-confident pride in his own wisdom and
success in solving the riddle of the Sphinx seems to have given a boost to an inherent feeling of
pride. No seer found the solution, this is Oedipus’s boast. Pride and self-confidence induce him
to feel almost superior to the gods. He tells the people who pray for deliverance from the plague
that they may be delivered if they follow his advice. He scornfully rejects both Creon’s advice
and Teiresias’s prophecy. The play shows us the difference between true wisdom and self-
confident intellectual pride. Lack of true wisdom is an essential feature of the man who is on the
verge of becoming an impious tyrant.

Oedipus’s Tragedy Due to Horrible Deeds

However, all this does not make Oedipus morally guilty. He is not an example of hubris, but a
truly great man. He suffers because he has committed deeds, though unknowingly, against the
laws of the gods. He who has killed his father and married his mother can never be called
“innocent”. Conceptions such as guilt and innocence simply have no meaning here. Horrible
deeds have been committed according to divine prediction, and thus human greatness is set
against divine power.

The Son of Chance

Oedipus’s self-reliant and independent mind is fully revealed in the speech in which he calls
himself the son of Tyche. In his quest for the truth he has come to the final stage when the
secret of his birth is to be disclosed. He is great enough to face anything, though he can think of
nothing worse than a possible low birth. Tyche is his true mother. Once he had brought Tyche,
“Chance”, to Thebes “with good omen”, the same “Saviour Chance” which he expected to come
through Creon’s message from Delphi. But it is also Tyche that in Jocasta’s words has undone the
divine prophecies, and, in Oedipus’s own words, Tyche killed Laius before he begot a son who
might kill him. To the audience, who knew better, these utterances were full of tragic irony, and
Tyche must have appeared as a fatal and disastrous power. In speaking of her, Oedipus
unsuspectingly touches on the truth, the gods’ cruel game with his life. He calls her the giver of
good, because he believes that Chance has been friendly to him up to now. It is clear that
Oedipus, in claiming to be a son of Chance, has gone beyond the bounds of tradition and
religion. At that moment, he is only just entering the circle of increasing knowledge about
himself. He realizes that his wife is ruled by outer forces, but he does not yet realize their
tremendous and cruel power. The foundations of his life have crumbled, but his great and
powerful mind knows no despair. He still relies on his own genius, and it is indeed the core of his
tragedy that, by using his high intellect honestly and uncompromisingly, he brings doom upon
himself.
III

Oedipus’s Most Striking Quality: Intelligence

Although Oedipus is by no means a one-dimensional character, his various qualities are not of
equal importance. As a King he shows himself to be benevolent, hot-tempered, and extremely
vigorous. Each of these qualities contributes to the development of the action. However, his
most striking quality, and the one which becomes a major issue, is his intelligence. His
intelligence becomes, indeed, a subject of discussion to a degree that his hot temper, for
example, does not, in spite of several allusions to it. One can see this to best advantage in the
Teiresias scene. The proud and angry speech in which Oedipus attacks Teiresias and praises
himself might easily have turned on a contrast between selfishness and patriotism, or corruption
and incorruptibility, or feebleness and youthful vigour. Each of these themes is alluded to, but all
are subordinated to the emphatic, repeated claim, “you are inept and I am clever.” Teiresias’s
blindness is intended, among other things, to serve a symbolic purpose. Oedipus taunts Teiresias
cruelly on account of his blindness, saying that he is blind not only physically but also as regards
his power of prophecy. The ground is thus prepared for Teiresias’s reply, that Oedipus is
figuratively blind already and will one day become literally blind. By the time Teiresias has
uttered his final prophecy and has left the uncomprehending King to try to understand ifs
meaning. Oedipus’s proud claim to have defeated the Sphinx and his scorn for the blindness of
Teiresias have been rebuked in a doubly unexpected way. Teiresias has used his blindness as the
starting-point of his counter-charge, and he has baffled the quick-witted King with his prophecy.
Appropriately, his parting shot is a challenge to Oedipus’s intelligence: “Go in and think over
that.”

Oedipus’s power of understanding, and not his clear conscience, seems to be the basis for his
self-esteem, and it is this faculty of his which becomes the target of Teiresias’s scorn. It is in the
reproaches of Teiresias that the issue of what the King does and does not understand is first
made explicit, but even before this scene it had been implied by ironic statement.

----------------------------------

Oedipus’s Self-Blinding

Why the Blinding?

Why does Oedipus blind himself? So that the eyes should no longer look upon the people, the
things, that they should not. Sophocles says so. He repeats it: how could Oedipus share
sensibilities with his fellow citizens, with whom he can now share nothing? If he could have shut
off the sources of hearing, he would have, thus making himself the outcast who was to be
banned from the community, because the murderer was to be that outcast, and Oedipus is the
murderer. Sophocles adds that it would be sweet for Oedipus to cut himself loose from all evils,
from all his life he knows now as evil; and then Sophocles seems to contradict himself when
Oedipus cries for his daughters and calls them into his arms. But, by then, the mood of frenzy
has ebbed along with the strength of fury, and Oedipus is himself again, reasoning, and
justifying.

The Three Stages of the Life of Oedipus:

Oedipus as Everyman

Oedipus’s self-blinding can be seen from various angles. It seems to be a punishment of what is
evil, for Oedipus does not deign to call himself unlucky, ill-starred, but just evil or vile. But the
blinding serves one more purpose. The riddle of the Sphinx spoke of man feeble as a baby, man
strong as a grown-up man (walking on two feet), and man feeble in old age. And we have had
Oedipus as a baby. Oedipus as a grown-up man, a strong traveller walking on his two feet. We
need Oedipus old and unfeebled, and he is still a man in his prime and very strong. Only such a
disastrous self-punishment can break him so that, within moments, he has turned into an old
man who needs strength now, and needs someone to lead him. So Oedipus has lived the three
stages. The riddle of the Sphinx was the mystery of man. But it was the specially private mystery
of Oedipus. In this sense, and perhaps in this sense only, Oedipus is Everyman.

Oedipus, a Unique Individual

Oedipus is bent by the shape of the story but he generates a momentum which makes his
necessary act his own. He is the tragedy tyrant driven by his plot, but he is more, a unique
individual, and somehow a great man, who drives himself.

Blinding, a Kind of Castration

Freud said that this blinding stands for the only logical self-punishment, castration. The eyes are
as precious to man as are the genitals. One may expand this interpretation by stating that
Oedipus retaliates upon the eyes, not only the epistemological mistake in genitalia (both being
organs of knowledge), but he avenges also on the outside eye the blindness of the inner eye.
What was the sense of those carnal eyes when they saw and did not perceive? This is what
Oedipus says in blinding himself: “You were too long blind for those I was looking for.” The same
implication is present in the words of Christ stating that adultery can be committed not only by
the genitals but also by the eyes; consequently to pluck out the eyes is tantamount to castration.

II

Self-blinding, a Culminating Act of Freedom

Oedipus’s own motives in blinding himself are far from clear. He says that he did it to spare
himself the sight of the ugliness he had caused, that he could not bring himself to face the
people on whom he had brought such suffering. In Oedipus at Colonus he tells his son that he
did it in a moment of frenzy and not from a sense of guilt. When the Chorus, in the present play,
asks him directly why he did it, he says that Apollo had a hand in it. Again, he says that he did it
so that he might not meet eye-to-eye his father or his mother “beyond the grave”. No one
reason suffices, nor all of them put together. The act seems compounded of opposite elements:
egotism and altruism, self-loathing and self-glorification. As an act of destruction, it shows man
at his worst. To the extent that it was predetermined, it shows the gods at their worst. But as an
act of freedom it turns out to be curiously creative in unexpected ways, and shows man at his
best. What Oedipus insists upon in his reply to the Chorus is that the act was his own: “Apollo,
friends, Apollo has laid this agony upon me; not by his hand; I did it.” Whatever he may have
thought he was doing, the act stands in the play as his culminating act of freedom, the assertion
of his ability to act independently of any god, oracle, or prophecy.

III

The Reason for Self-Mutilation

Why does Oedipus blind himself if he is morally innocent? He tells us the reason: he has done it
in order to cut himself off from all contact with humanity. If he could choke the channels of his
other senses he would do so. Suicide would not serve his purpose because in the next world he
would have to meet his dead parents. Oedipus mutilates himself because he can face neither the
living nor the dead. If Oedipus had been tried in an Athenian court, he would have been
acquitted of murdering his father. But no human court could acquit him of pollution, because
pollution was inherent in the act itself, irrespective of its unintentional character. Least of all
could Oedipus acquit himself of this burden.

Self-mutilation Not Surprising in this Case

Oedipus is no ordinary murderer. He has committed the two crimes which, more than any
others, fill us with horror. And in the strongly patriarchal society of ancient Greece the horror
would be more intense than it is in our own. We have only to read Plato’s prescription of the
merciless treatment to be given to a parricide. And if that is how Greek Justice treated
parricides, it is not surprising that Oedipus treats himself as he does. The great King, the first of
men, the man whose intuitive genius saved Thebes, would surely act like this when he is
suddenly revealed to himself as a thing so unclean that “neither the earth can receive it, nor the
holy rain nor the sunshine endure its presence.”

-----------------------------

The Character of Oedipus in the Final Scene of the Play

Oedipus’s Recovery in the Final Scene

The play does not end with the proof of divine omniscience and human ignorance. It ends, as it
begins, with Oedipus. We cannot be content with the assessment of the Chorus when they say
that all the generations of mortal man add up to nothing. The Chorus makes this remark just
after Oedipus learns the truth about his own identity). If the play were to end with this
assessment, it would mean that the heroic action of Oedipus in pursuing the truth is a hollow
mockery. It would mean that a man should not seek the truth for fear of what he might find.

As it is, the final scene of the play offers a different estimate, though not in words but in
dramatic action. In the final scene Oedipus, on whom the hopeless estimate of the Chorus is
based, overcomes the disaster that has overtaken him and reasserts himself. He is so far from
being equal to zero that towards the close of the play Creon has to tell him not to try to assert
his will in everything. The last scene of the play is, indeed, vital, though it is often wrongly
criticised as unbearable or as an anti-climax. The last scene shows us the recovery of Oedipus,
his reintegration, and the reconstitution of the dominating, dynamic and intelligent figure of the
opening scenes.

Oedipus, a Zero at the Beginning of the Last Scene

When Oedipus comes out of the palace after having blinded himself, the sight of him is so
terrible that the Chorus can hardly bear to look at him. The Chorus approves his wish that he
should have died on the mountain-side before reaching manhood. Further, the Chorus tells him
that it would be better for him to be dead now than to live as a blind man. This despair is
expressed in Oedipus’s own words also; they are the words of a broken man. What he says, and
the manner in which he says it, shows that Oedipus is no longer an active force but purely
passive. This impression is supported by his address to the darkness in which he will now for
ever live and by his reference to the pain which pierces his eyes and mind alike. Oedipus
gratefully recognises the loyalty of the Chorus in looking after him; a blind man. This is an
expression of his complete dependence on others. He seems indeed a zero, equal to nothing.

His Own Responsibility for the Blinding

The Chorus at this point reminds him that his blindness is the result of his own independent
action after he came to know the truth about himself. His blindness was not required by the
prophecy of Apollo. Nor was it demanded in the oracle’s instructions. His blindness was an
autonomous action on this part. The Chorus asks him if he was prompted by some god in the act
of blinding himself. Oedipus replies that while Apollo brought his sufferings to fulfilment, the
hand that blinded him was his own. His action was self-chosen. It was a swift decisive action for
which he assumes full responsibility and which he now defends. At this stage, the original
Oedipus re-asserts himself. He rejects the suggestion of the Chorus that the responsibility was
not his. He rejects the reproaches of the Chorus. We now see the same man as we met in the
earlier scenes of the play. All the traits of his strong character reappear. His attitude to the new
and terrible situation in which he now finds himself is full of the same courage which he
displayed before. When the Chorus scolds him for having made a bad decision in blinding
himself, he replies with the old impatience and a touch of the old anger. He tells them not to
preach a lesson to him or to give him any advice to the effect that he has not done the best
thing. He goes on to describe in detail the reasoning by which he arrived at the decision to blind
himself. His decision was, no doubt, a result of some reflection. Oedipus shows himself fully
convinced of the Tightness of his action and the thinking which led him to it.

Insistence on Punishment

Oedipus insists, in the face of Creon’s opposition, that he be put to death or exiled from Thebes.
He rejects the compromise offered by the Chorus with the same courage with which he had
earlier dismissed the attempts of Teiresias, Jocasta, and the Shepherd to stop the investigation.
As before, he cannot tolerate any half-measures or delay. His own curse call for his exile or death
and he sees no point in prolonging the matter, Creon finally does what Oedipus wanted to be
done sooner: Creon exiles Oedipus from Thebes. Oedipus, in demanding the punishment, insists
on full clarity and on all the facts. He spares himself on detail of the consequences of his
pollution for himself and for his daughters. While Creon’s reaction is to cover and conceal,
Oedipus brings everything out into the open. Oedipus analyses in painful detail his own situation
and that of his children.

Destined to Live

The old confidence in his own intelligence and action is very much there. However, the
exaggerated and leaping hopefulness is gone. And yet there is still a kind of hope in him. After
his initial wish for death, he becomes sure that he is destined to live. He feels that he is in some
sense too strong to be destroyed. He feels himself as eminent in disaster as he once was in
prosperity. His sufferings, he says, are such as no one except himself can bear.

Concerned about the Welfare of the City

Nor does his devotion to the interests of the city become extinct in him. He is anxious that the
terms of his own curse and the demand of the oracle be immediately and exactly fulfilled. This
anxiety arises partly from his sense of the city’s need of release from the plague. The release can
come only through the punishment of the murderer of Laius. It is in terms of the interest of the
city that he states his desire for exile. He speaks this time not as the tyrant but with a
consciousness of his newly revealed position as the hereditary monarch. He does not want the
city of his fore-fathers to be doomed.

His Adaptability to Circumstances

Oedipus shows also a great capacity to adapt himself to the change in his circumstances. The
process of his rapid adjustment to his blindness is well depicted. In the opening lines of this
scene, he shows a helpless desperation. Soon he comes to realise that he has still some power of
perception and recognition; he can hear. He tells the Chorus-Leader that he can clearly
distinguish his voice, blind though he may be. After recognising the possibilities as well as the
limitations of his new state, he begins to adapt himself to the larger aspects of the situation.
Oedipus is now an outcast and, as Teiresias told him he would be, a beggar. When he was the
autocratic ruler his wish was an order; but as a beggar he lives by insistent appeal, by emphatic
and often importunate pleading. When Creon appears, Oedipus shows how he has adapted
himself to the change. The words of entreaty come as easily from his lips as the words of
authority used to come before, though his words now are charged with the same fierce energy.
Oedipus begs to be expelled from the city. Subsequently he seeks the privilege of saying fare-
well to his children. When his request is granted, Oedipus invokes blessings on Creon as a beggar
might. Later he makes another appeal to Creon’s pity, requesting him not to let his daughters
wander about husband-less, thus indicating his own status as a beggar. Indeed, Oedipus makes a
strikingly successful adjustment to his new role. As a beggar he cannot be resisted, because his
insistent entreaty is marked by an emphasis and a force which remind us of the days of his
prosperity. When he first hears the voice of Creon whom he had wrongly condemned to death,
he is full of shame and at a loss for words. Yet in a few moments he is arguing stubbornly with
him.

An Active Force in the Last Scene

Thus in the last scene of the play Oedipus, after a brief interval during which he is reduced to a
zero, shows himself to be an active force. His intelligence assures him that he must go
immediately into exile, and to this point of view he clings obstinately. He presses his point so
persistently and forcefully that Creon has to yield to it. At the last moment, when Creon orders
him into the palace, Oedipus imposes a condition. The condition is the same demand which he
has obstinately repeated throughout the scene, namely that Creon should immediately exile him
from Thebes. Creon’s attempt to shift the responsibility by seeking the advice of the oracle is
rejected by Oedipus, and Oedipus is right. According to the original advice of the oracle, and also
according to the curse uttered by Oedipus, the murderer of Laius must be exiled. While allowing
himself to be led into the palace, Oedipus makes an attempt to take his children with him, but at
this point Creon finally asserts himself and separates the children from their father, rebuking
Oedipus for trying to have his own way. Oedipus cannot have his way in everything, but in most
things he has got his way, including the most important issue of all, namely his expulsion; in this
matter the blind beggar has imposed his will on Creon.

A Remarkable and Rapid Recovery

In the last scene of the play, then, Oedipus makes a remarkable and swift recovery from the
position of a non-entity to which he had been reduced by his discovery of the truth about
himself. This recovery proceeds from no change in his wretched situation; it is not the result of
any promise or assurance by any human or divine being. This recovery, like every one of his
actions and attitudes, is autonomous. It is the expression of a great personality which defies
human expectation as it once defied divine prophecy. The last scene shows a remarkable re-
assertion of Oedipus’s forceful personality.
His Greatness in His Ruin as in His Prosperity

Thus the play ends with a fresh insistence on the heroic nature of Oedipus. The play ends as it
began, with the greatness of the hero; but it is a different kind of greatness. This greatness is
based on knowledge and not on ignorance as previously. Oedipus now directs the full force of his
intelligence and action to the fulfilment of the oracle’s command that the murderer of Laius be
killed or exiled. Creon taunts Oedipus with his former lack of belief in the oracles but Oedipus
does not care to answer the taunt. Oedipus repeatedly makes the demand that the command of
the oracle be immediately and literally fulfilled. The heroic qualities of Oedipus were previously
exercised against prophecy and the destiny of which it was the expression. Now those heroic
qualities are being exercised to support prophecy. The heroic qualities of Oedipus are being
given full play even now but now with the powers that shape destiny and govern the world, not
against those powers. The confidence which was once based solely on himself now acquires a
firmer basis; it now proceeds from a knowledge of the nature of reality and the forces which
govern it. In the last scene he supports the command of the oracle against the will of Creon. It is
Creon now who shows a politic attitude towards the oracle, and Oedipus who insists on its literal
fulfilment. Oedipus is now blind like Teiresias, and like Teiresias he has a more penetrating vision
than the ruler he opposes. In this scene Oedipus has in fact become the spokesman of Apollo.
His action ceases to be self-defeating, because it is based on true knowledge. The greatness of
Oedipus in his ruin is no less, and in some senses more, than the greatness of Oedipus when he
was a powerful King.

-------------------------

The Character and Role of Creon

A True Servant of the State. A Simple and Straightforward Man; the Bringer of a Message from
the Oracle

If Teiresias, with his prophetic powers, may be described as the true servant of the gods then
Creon, the brother of Queen Jocasta, may be regarded as the true servant of the State. We meet
Creon quite early in the play, in fact in the prologue itself. He returns from Delphi whither he had
been sent by Oedipus to seek the oracle’s guidance. He has brought what he considers to be
good news, the news that may lead to good results if all goes well. This news is most crucial for
the people of Thebes and also from the point of view of this play.

The news is, indeed, the starting point of the investigation which occupies the major part of the
play. The news is that the murderer of King Laius lives on the soil of Thebes and must be killed or
banished if the people are to expect any relief in the vast suffering which they are undergoing.
As Oedipus knows nothing about the history of King Laius, he questions Creon with regard to
Laius’s death, and Creon gives a simple, straightforward account of the circumstances of Laius’s
death as known to him, though his knowledge is not first-hand, having been obtained from the
survivor of the small group of persons attending upon Laius. At this stage we do not have enough
data to form a proper estimate of the character of Creon. Judging by appearances only, he is a
well-meaning sort of person, free from any trickery or deceit.

Creons’s Able Reasoning: His Defence of Himself

We next meet Creon after Oedipus has had a quarrel with Teiresias in the course of which
Oedipus has expressed his suspicion that Creon has, in collaboration with Teiresias, hatched a
conspiracy against him. Having come to know what Oedipus has said about him, Creon arrives
and has a brief talk with the member of the Chorus. He says that Oedipus has brought a
slanderous charge against him which he finds hard to endure. Creon seems to have been
stunned by the charge. He says that he would rather die than be guilty of doing any harm to
Oedipus either by word or by act. The Chorus tries to soothe him by saying that Oedipus spoke
the offensive words in a fit of anger. On being asked by Creon whether Oedipus had alleged that
Teiresias had been instigated by Creon, the Chorus confirms what Creon has heard. At this point
Oedipus appears and directly accuses Creon of treason. Creon would like to explain his position,
but Oedipus hardly lets him speak. However, Creon does get an opportunity to speak in his self-
defence, and the speech he makes shows his powers of reasoning and persuasive talk, though
his eloquence falls flat on Oedipus. Creon argues that he would be the last man to desire
Oedipus’s throne and that the question of his plotting against Oedipus’s life does not, therefore,
arise. He is leading a quiet and carefree life, he says, and he is at the same time wielding a lot of
influence in the city by virtue of his close relationship with Oedipus. As a moderate man, he
desires nothing more. Kingship would not please him more than his present status does. He is
not so foolish as to seek more honours than are good for him. As for his sincerity and
truthfulness, Oedipus can himself go to Delphi and verify if the message brought by Creon was
genuine or not. If he is found guilty of any secret agreement with Teiresias, he would be ready to
forfeit his life. But he would not tolerate a charge of treason against him on mere suspicion.
Oedipus has committed a blunder by bringing a baseless charge against a loyal man, Creon says.
By discarding an honest friend like Creon, Oedipus would be losing a precious treasure. Time
alone will teach Oedipus the truth of this observation. While the Chorus supports Creon in what
he has said, Oedipus rejects Creon’s plea and says that he will punish Creon’s treason with death.
The speech that Creon makes in his self-defence shows his transparent honesty and loyalty even
though Oedipus is at this time blinded by his prejudice.

A Man who Speaks on the Basis of Sure Knowledge

Two other remarks which Creon makes in the course of this interview with Oedipus are
important: he does not presume to say more than he actually knows; and what he knows he will
freely confess. The first observation shows that Creon does not indulge in idle conjectures or
speculation, while the second remark shows that he will not hide what he knows. Both these
traits of his character raise him in our estimation.

Jocasta’s Faith in Him, and the Faith of the Chorus

Creon enjoys the full confidence of his sister, Jocasta. As soon as she learns about the quarrel
between Oedipus and Creon she scolds both men. When Creon complains that Oedipus has
unjustly sentenced him to death or, a charge of treason, and swears that he has always been
loyal to Oedipus, Jocasta pleads to her husband on Creon’s behalf asking the King to believe
Creon’s oath. The Chorus supports Jocasta’s petition, pointing out that Creon has never in the
past played false to Oedipus. At the entreaties of Jocasta and the Chorus, Oedipus certainly
withdraws the sentence of death against Creon, but does not cease to suspect him of treason.
All our sympathy in this scene is with Creon, and we deplore Oedipus’s hasty judgment in
condemning an innocent and tried man on the basis of a mere suspicion.

His Consideration for and Kindness to the Blind Oedipus; His Piety and Faith in the Oracles

In the final scene, again, Creon gives a good account of himself and reinforces the favourable
impression which we have already formed of him. He tells Oedipus, who is now blind, that he
has not come to exult at Oedipus’s downfall or to reproach Oedipus for his past misdeeds,
though at the same time he would not like the unclean Oedipus to remain outside the palace in
the full light of the day. A sinner like Oedipus must not expose himself to public view, says Creon.
Out of consideration for the paternal feelings of Oedipus, Creon has already sent for Oedipus’s
daughters so that he may be able to draw some comfort from their company. Creon’s kindliness
and consideration towards the man, who had unjustly accused him of treason and had almost
taken his life, further raise him in our regard. Creon is now the King and wields all the authority
of a King. But Kingship does not turn his head. His religious piety has not diminished one whit.
He believed in prophecies before and he believes in them now; his reverence for the oracle
suffers no decline. And he repeats what he had previously said, “I do not speak beyond my
knowledge.” Creon’s character may be summed up in these words: self-restraint, self-control,
moderation, avoidance of excess of all kinds, and speaking from sure knowledge only.

----------------------------

The Character of Jocasta

A Moderate and Reasonable Woman

Jocasta has a brief but essential and crucial role to play in the drama. She appears on the stage
just after Oedipus has had a quarrel with Creon and has declared his resolve to punish Creon
with death. The very first speech of Jocasta shows her to be a moderate kind of person with a
balanced mind.

She scolds both her husband and her brother for quarrelling over private matters when the city
is passing through a critical phase of its existence. She calls upon her husband to go into the
palace and advises Creon to go home. On learning the cause of the quarrel, she appeals to
Oedipus to believe Creon’s assertions of innocence and not to distrust Creon’s oath. She pleads
on Creon’s behalf not just because he is her brother but because she knows him to be a
dependable man and a man of integrity. She insists on knowing from Oedipus why he has
conceived such a terrible hatred against Creon.

Her Scepticism

Jocasta is frankly sceptical of prophecies and, therefore, is, according to the religious ideas of the
time, guilty of irreverence towards the gods. She believes neither in the oracles nor in the
interpreters of oracles. When Oedipus tells her that her brother has been using the prophet
Teiresias as his tool, she unhesitatingly advises her husband not to attach any importance to
prophets or soothsayers. She expresses the view that no human being possesses the power of
divination (i.e., the power of knowing the unknown and probing into the mysteries of life). In a
speech, which is a striking example of dramatic irony “in the play, she tries to prove her point
with reference to the very prophecy the exact and complete fulfilment of which forms the theme
of this whole play. She tells Oedipus of the prophecy which said that Laius was to die at the
hands of his own son; she tells him of how Laius had taken measures to see that his child by her
would perish on the mountain-side; she tells him that Laius had not died at the hands of his son.
Jocasta’s story is intended to prove that oracles are not necessarily reliable. Her ultimate
discovery of the true facts becomes all the more tragic in the light of this speech in which she
denies the oracles.

Contribution to the Investigation of the Truth

Jocasta is the means by which Oedipus is enabled to make some progress in his investigation into
the murder of Laius. The surviving member of Laius’s party alone can confirm or remove the
suspicion which is now troubling Oedipus’s mind, the suspicion, namely, that he might himself be
the murderer of Laius. Jocasta undertakes to summon that man, though she repeats that there is
no such thing as divination. When the Corinthian messenger comes with his great news, Jocasta
feels further confirmed in her view that divine prognostications are meaningless. She mocks the
oracles when Oedipus comes to meet the Corinthian.

Her View of the Role of Chance and

Her Belief in Living at Random

Jocasta gives further expression to her philosophy of life when she urges Oedipus not to
entertain fears of any kind. What has a man to do with fear? she asks. She is of the view that
chance rules human lives and that the future is all unknown. Let human beings live as best as
they can, from day to day. She favours living at random. As for Oedipus’s fear that he might
marry his mother, men do such things only in their dreams. Such things must be forgotten, if life
is to be endured. There is much in this philosophy that appeals to us. The only snag about his
philosophy is that only a few moments later it is proved to be utterly false and Jocasta discovers
to her horror that the oracles are after all true.

Her Sad End

After the discovery of the truth, Jocasta tries to prevent Oedipus from learning the truth, though
he pays no attention to her. A little later we learn that she has hanged herself in her fit of sorrow
and grief. She was seen calling upon her dead husband, Laius, remembering the son to whom
she had given birth long before, the son who had killed his father, the son who became her
husband and begot children by her. The end which Jocasta meets was the only right end for a
woman in her position. It is an appropriate end for her, and this end contributes to the effect of
catharsis which this play produces in full measure.

II

Her Scepticism and Impiety

Oedipus does not stand alone. Jocasta’s love and anxiety are always at his side. It is her tragedy
that she actively leads Oedipus towards their common disaster, and that she realizes the truth
gradually though always in advance of him. Jocasta is sceptical of oracles and is, therefore,
impious from the traditional point of view. She certainly distinguishes between the god and the
god’s priest when she tells the story of the oracle given to Laius; she speaks of the oracle as
having come “not from Phoebus himself, but from his ministers.” But even so she is aware of the
impiety implied in her words. When she mentions the story again, it is the god himself whom
she blames, and feels no restraint in doing so. Although her advice to disregard all prophecies
springs from her love for Oedipus, this is no explanation of her manifest impiety. The oracle is
still the same, and it might have been easier to convince Oedipus of its untruth if she had again
held the priests responsible and not the god. She is so full of love for her husband that she
neglects and even despises the gods. And this is ample proof that, in her emotions as well as her
brain, she has no religion. Her life is an unparalleled tragedy indeed; but she is at the same time
truly impious. Her public prayer to Apollo is no more than an act of conventional duty, as her
own words confirm. When the news of the death of Polybus comes, she does not thank the
gods. With even more scorn than before she denounces the prophecies of the gods. She tries to
allay Oedipus’s fear by explaining away the oracle with a rationalistic allusion to certain dreams
and denies any belief in divine signs. Her impiety reaches its climax when she says that human
beings have nothing to fear because their life is determined by the changes of Tyche; no
foresight is possible, and to live at random is the best way to live. She proclaims the law of
lawlessness and complete disregard of the gods and their warnings.

In a Moral Sense Neither Guilty Nor Innocent

Jocasta’s belief ends where Oedipus’s ends too, in replacing the gods by Tyche, in putting
sceptical fatalism in the place of piety. But Jocasta always proceeds to the extreme possibilities
when Oedipus is still reluctant and restrained; however, he always tries to comply with her
thoughts. Whatever explanation may be accepted for Jocasta’s attitude to the gods, it will not
explain what is behind and beyond it. She cannot be truly pious, and her scepticism is necessary
because she is bound to perish on account of her incest. She shares Oedipus’s life and tragedy as
the one person who loves him most and who is most loved by him. She, too, is in a moral sense
neither guilty nor innocent. What she shows and stands for is that they both belong to a world of
man-made standards. Piety is not sufficient, if it is not the unconditional acceptance of one’s fate
at the hands of the gods.

-----------------------------------------

The Use of Tragic Irony in Oedipus Rex

The Meaning of Tragic Irony

Tragic irony is the name given to a device used originally in ancient Greek tragedy, and later
almost in all tragedies, whereby a character’s words and actions are seen to be wholly
contradictory to the actual situation as known to some of the other characters or to the
audience. Irony consists essentially in the contrast of the two aspects of the same remark or
situation. A remark made by a character in a play may have one meaning for him and another
meaning for some of the other characters and the audience, or one meaning for the speaker and
the other characters and another meaning for the audience. Similarly, a situation in a play may
have a double significance in the sense that a disaster or calamity may be foreseen by the
audience while the characters concerned may be ignorant of it. The use of irony, whether it be in
words or in a situation, heightens the tragic effect. Irony was used with striking effect by
Sophocles in his plays.

Tragic Irony in Oedipus’s Initial Proclamation

Oedipus Rex is replete with tragic irony. In fact, tragic irony is to be found in this play in most of
the speeches and in most of the situations. There are many occasions on which the audience is
aware of the facts while the speaker—Oedipus, or Jocasta, or the Corinthian messenger, or the
Chorus, is ignorant of those facts. The awareness of the audience (and some character or
characters) on the one hand, and the ignorance of the speaker and some other character or
characters on the other hand, present a contrast which lends an increased emphasis to a tragic
fact or to the ultimate tragic outcome. The very proclamation to Oedipus, for instance, that he
will make a determined effort to trace the murderer of Laius and the curse that Oedipus utters
upon the killer and upon those sheltering the criminal, possess a tragic irony in view of the
audience’s knowledge that Oedipus himself will ultimately prove to be Laius’s murderer. In this
connection it may be pointed out that the Greek audiences of those times knew beforehand the
myth pertaining to Oedipus. In other words, the audiences of those times had a prior knowledge
of the facts of which Oedipus himself, speaking on the stage, was ignorant. Even the modern
audience is well-acquainted with the myth of Oedipus before going to witness a performance of
the play in the theatre, and the modern reader knows the story of the play in advance, so that
the irony underlying Oedipus’s proclamation is not lost upon either the audience or the reader.
But, even when an audience or a reader does not have prior knowledge of the story of the play,
this speech of Oedipus, like several others which follow, will be seen to possess tragic irony in
the light of the later developments in the play. In other words, at a second reading or at a second
visit to the theatre, the reader or the audience is bound to perceive the tragic irony of Oedipus’s
expression of his anger against the offender and his resolve to bring him to book. Oedipus
proclaims that no home or house in Thebes is to provide shelter to the guilty man and that the
gods will curse those who disobey his command in this respect. Thus, without knowing the real
meaning of his words, Oedipus announces the sentence of banishment against the murderer and
heightens the tragic effect of the discovery which comes towards the end of the play. Oedipus
does not know that he himself is to become the victim of the punishment which he is
proclaiming, but we, the audience, know it. In this contrast between Oedipus’s ignorance and
our knowledge of the true fact lies the tragic irony.

The Tragic Irony in the Scene of Quarrel

between Oedipus and Teiresias

The scene between Oedipus and Teiresias is fraught with tragic irony throughout. Teiresias is the
prophet who knows everything, while Oedipus is the guilty man who does not know himself as
such. Teiresias would not like to disclose the secret that he knows, but Oedipus quickly loses his
temper with the prophet, thus irritating him and provoking him to say things which the prophet
never wanted to say. Teiresias tells Oedipus that the guilty man he is seeking is he himself, and
that he is living in a sinful union with the one he loves. The significance of these words is totally
lost upon Oedipus. The accusations of Teiresias enrage him, and he insults the prophet by calling
him a shameless, brainless, sightless, and senseless sot. A keener irony lies in the fact that,
Teiresias, who is physically blind, knows the real truth, while Oedipus, who physically possesses
normal eyesight, is at this stage in the story totally blind to that truth. Oedipus mocks at the
blindness of Teiresias, in this way showing his own inner blindness. The irony here is not limited
to the contrast between the blind but knowledgeable Teiresias, and Oedipus who, having his
eyesight, is yet blind. There is irony also in the contrast between what Oedipus truly is and what
he at this moment thinks himself to be. Actually he is ignorant of the facts, but to Teiresias he
boasts of his exceptional intelligence, citing his past victory over the Sphinx as evidence of it. The
predictions, that Teiresias goes on to make regarding the fate in store for Oedipus, also possess
irony in the sense that, while we know their tragic import, Oedipus treats them as the ravings of
a madman whom he dismisses from his presence with insulting words. These predictions are
terrible but they become even more awful when we realise that they will prove to be true and
valid. Every word of these predictions will be fulfilled. Teiresias warns Oedipus that the killer of
Laius will ultimately find himself blind, destitute, an exile, a beggar, a brother and a father at the
same time to the children he loves, a son and a husband to the woman who bore him, a father-
killer and father-supplanter. Oedipus, of course, does not have the least notion that these
threats have any reference to himself, though the prophet has at the same time clearly called
him the killer he is searching for. Even the Chorus, ignorant of the facts, refuses to believe what
Teiresias has said about Oedipus. After a few moments of perplexity, the Chorus dismisses the
warnings and predictions of Teiresias. Thus, in this scene, both Oedipus and the Chorus are
unaware of the truth while Teiresias is fully aware of it, and so is the audience.

Tragic Irony in Oedipus’s

Tyrannical Attitude Towards Creon

Tragic irony is also to be found in the scene with Creon. Creon begs Oedipus not to think him a
traitor and not to pass the sentence of death or banishment against him. But Oedipus, blinded
by his authority and his anger, shows himself relentless. This situation is ironical when viewed in
the light of the final scene in which it is Oedipus who becomes the suppliant and Creon who is
the King. In the final scene the roles are reversed. There Oedipus begs Creon to look after his
daughters, and entreats him to pass the order of banishment against him. Creon, of course, does
not show himself to be arbitrary or unrelenting in that scene: Creon is a moderate type of man.
Thus, although Oedipus makes a display of his temper and his authority as the monarch in the
earlier scene, we can perceive the irony in that situation in the light of the final scene. The
pathos of the final scene is in this way intensified.

Tragic Irony in Jocasta’s Account of the Oracle

Then there is the scene with Jocasta. Here both Oedipus and Jocasta appear as persons ignorant
of the true facts. Therefore, we the audience, who are aware of those facts, experience a deep
sorrow at the fate which is going to overtake both these characters. Jocasta is sceptical of
oracles. No man possesses the secret of divination, she says. And as a proof of the falsity of
oracles, she gives an account of what she and her husband did to the child to whom she had
given birth and, who, according to the oracle, was to kill his father. There is palpable irony in
Jocasta’s unbelief in oracles and her citing as evidence the very case which is to prove the truth
of the oracle received by her and the late Laius. This irony deepens Jocasta’s tragedy.

Tragic Irony in Oedipus’s Account of the Oracle

There is irony also in the account of his life which Oedipus gives to Jocasta. Oedipus thinks
himself to be the son of Polybus and Merope: he fled from Corinth after the oracle had told him
of the crimes he would commit; he has all along been under the impression that he has avoided
committing the crimes foretold by the oracle. But all the time Oedipus has been unknowingly
performing certain actions leading to the fulfilment of the prophecies of the oracle. The greatest
irony of the play lies in the fact that the actions of Oedipus lead to the fulfilment of those very
prophecies which he had been striving to belie, just as King Laius had earlier taken desperate but
futile measures to prevent the fulfilment of the prophecy which had been communicated to him
by the oracle.
Tragic Irony in the Scene with the Corinthian Messenger

When the Corinthian messenger arrives with the news of Polybus’s death, Jocasta gets another
opportunity to mock at the oracles. “Where are you now, divine prognostications?” she asks,
without realizing that her mockery will turn against herself. There is irony also in the simple
remark of the messenger that Jocasta is the “true consort” of a man like Oedipus. Neither the
messenger nor Jocasta knows the awful meaning of these words which the audience
understands. Jocasta tells Oedipus that the news brought by the Corinthian messenger proves
the hollowness of oracles because Polybus, whom Oedipus believed to be his father, has died a
natural death. Jocasta makes an exultant, though brief, speech on the desirability of living at
random and on mother-marrying as merely a figment of the imagination. Jocasta makes this
speech only a few moments before the real truth dawns upon her. The Corinthian, who wanted
to free Oedipus of his fear of marrying his mother, ends by revealing, unknowingly, the fact that
Jocasta’s husband, Oedipus, is really her son, although this revelation is at this stage confined to
Jocasta. The tragic irony in this situation and in what is said by the Corinthian and Jocasta in this
scene is evident.

Tragic Irony in a Song by the Chorus

The song of the Chorus after Jocasta has left, in a fit of grief and sorrow, is full of tragic irony. The
Chorus visualises Oedipus as the offspring of a union between some god and a mountain-nymph.
The Chorus thereby pays a tribute to what it thinks to be the divine parentage of Oedipus. There
is a big contrast between this supposition of the Chorus and the actual reality. The arrival of the
Theban shepherd is the prelude to the final discovery, the point in which the climax of the
tragedy is reached.

No Room for Tragic Irony in the

Concluding Part of the Play

After the discovery there is hardly any room for tragic irony and, accordingly, the concluding part
of the play contains little or no tragic irony. This concluding part consists of a long account of the
self-murder and the self-blinding, a dialogue between Oedipus and the Chorus, and a scene
between Oedipus and Creon including the brief lament by Oedipus on the wretched condition of
his daughters who have been brought to him. The concluding portion of the play is deeply
moving and poignant, but there could hardly be any tragic irony in it, because all the facts are
now known to all those concerned.

II

Tragic Irony in the Play

Oedipus Rex bristles with tragic irony. It opposes Oedipus—possessed of rumour, opinion, or
error—against those who know (Teiresias, the Theban shepherd, both of them trying to withhold
information because they know it to be bad while Oedipus insistently goes plunging forward,
armed as he with his native wit). Where characters themselves are not omniscient, the audience
is. The audience know the gist of the story and can be surprised only in the means by which the
necessary ends are achieved. They know, for instance, that Oedipus is, in all sincerity, telling
falsehood when he says: “I shall speak, as a stranger to the whole question and stranger to the
action.” The falsehood is, however, qualified in the term stranger: the stranger who met and
killed Ling Laius, the stranger who met and married Queen Jocasta, the stranger who was no
true stranger at all. At the outset, he says: “For I know well that all of you are sick, but though
you are sick, there’s none of you who is so sick as I.” Here he is, indeed, speaking the truth, but
more truth than he knows, because he is using sickness only in a metaphorical sense while
actually it is true of him in a literal sense. He only refers to his mental distress as a King worried
by the plague, but the audience knows much more than that and can only wonder when the
shock of the revelation will come to Oedipus.

Irony in the Inversion of the Action

In addition to this irony of detail, there is a larger irony in the inversion of the whole action. The
homeless wanderer by delivering the city of Thebes from the Sphinx and marrying Jocasta
became a King in fact and then was shown to be a King by right, but this revelation turned him
once more into a homeless wanderer. But the wanderer, who had once gone bright-eyed with his
strong traveller’s staff, now uses the staff to feel the way before him, because he is now old, and
blind.

The Role of the “Helpers”

The reversed pattern is seen again in the fact that the malignant oracles have their darkness
moment just before they come clear. Jocasta’s words mocking the prophecy of the gods are
echoed and amplified in Oedipus’s typical tyrant-speech of unbelief. The role of the helpers is
another example. Sophocles provides at least one helper, or rescuer, for every act. The appeal in
the prologue is to Oedipus, himself a rescuer in the past. Oedipus appeals to Creon who comes
from and represents Apollo and Delphi. It is as a rescuer that Teiresias called Jocasta intervenes
to help. So does the Corinthian messenger, and the last helper, the Theban shepherd, is the true
and original rescuer. Those who do not know the reality are eager to help; those who know are
reluctant. But all the helpers alike push Oedipus over the edge into disaster.

--------------------------------

The action in Oedipus the King rises in one great crescendo making it a drama of great tension
and tragic feeling. Elucidate.

The Observance of the Unities

The first point to note about the plot of Oedipus Rex is that, like most Greek plays of ancient
times, it observes all the three unities—unity of place, unity of time, and unity of action. The
entire action of the play takes place at the royal palace in the city of Thebes. The entire action of
the play occupies no more than the twenty-four hours which was the maximum duration
permissible according to rules. Our entire attention is focused on a single theme—the
investigation made by Oedipus into the murder, of Laius and the discovery of the truth. There
are no side-plots, or under-plots.

The observance of unities is not by itself a great merit in a play. Shakespeare violated all the
unities and yet attained great heights in the writing of drama. It cannot, however, be denied that
the unities do make a play close-knit and produce a great concentration of effect, even though
they restrict the freedom of the dramatist in several ways.

A Beginning, A Middle, and An End;

Increasing Excitement

As required by Aristotle, Oedipus Rex has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A beginning is a
situation which has definite consequences, though not very obvious causes; a middle is a
situation with both causes and consequences; and an end in the result of the middle but creates
no further situation in its turn. Oedipus Rex begins with a complaint by the people to the King,
and the arrival of Creon with a command from the oracle that the unknown murderer of the last
King, Laius, should be banished from the city. This beginning is the prologue in which the
problem is stated and the way is prepared for the development of the real theme of the play. A
feeling of suspense is also created in this opening scene. Then follow into important episodes:
Oedipus’s quarrel with Teiresias, and his quarrel with Creon. Both these scenes are highly
dramatic, especially the former in which the prophet proves more than a match for Oedipus. The
next episode, more important from the point of view of plot-development, is the arrival of a
messenger from Corinth. Jocasta realises the truth and leaves in a state of great perturbation;
while Oedipus, still ignorant, persists in his inquiry. The Theban shepherd arrives in response to
the royal summons. Now Oedipus learns the truth which is unbearably agonizing. Soon an
attendant comes and announces the self-murder of Jocasta and the self-blinding of Oedipus. All
these incidents belong to what has been called the middle of the play. It will be noticed that the
emotional excitement of the audience rises with each of these scenes and a tension is generated
in their minds till the great shock comes with the discovery first by Jocasta, and then by Oedipus
himself. The tragedy lies in the discovery of the guilt and not in the guilt itself, and so the feeling
of pity and fear reach their height with the discovery by Oedipus. The end of the play consists of
the scenes in which Oedipus laments this fate and the fate of his daughters and in which he is
banished from Thebes at his own insistence. What strikes us most here is the orderly
development of the plot. There are no digressions of any kind and nothing irrelevant. Every
situation contributes to the furtherance of the plot, even the scene of Oedipus’s quarrel with
Creon.

Surprise and Suspense

Surprise and suspense are two vital elements in a successful play. Both surprise and suspense
are found in abundance in this play and they both produce highly dramatic effects. For instance,
when Teiresias arrives, we are in a state of suspense because the prophet is now expected to
disclose to Oedipus the identity of the murderer. Teiresias, however, tries to evade giving straight
answers to Oedipus’s questions with the result that Oedipus completely loses his temper and
insults the prophet. The prophet is not the one to remain quiet. He hits back and he hits hard.
He calls Oedipus the murderer and makes a number of veiled prophecies regarding Oedipus’s
ultimate fate. The utterances of Teiresias fill us with terror. The scene of this quarrel is highly
exciting to the reader or the spectator. The pride and insolence of Oedipus have a disturbing
effect on us, and we wonder what he will do. Then follows the quarrel with Creon in the course
of which Creon, the moderate and mild-mannered man, defends himself as best as he can while
Oedipus shows how stubborn he can be till the Chorus and Jocasta prevail upon him to withdraw
the sentence of banishment against Creon.

Scenes Leading to the Final Revelation

Then follow three scenes which lead to the final revelation—the scenes with Jocasta, the
Corinthian messenger, and the Theban shepherd. This drama of revelation extends over five
hundred lines or so. The excitement increases, rather than diminishes, by being spread out.
Jocasta tries to make light of Oedipus’s fear which has been aroused by the prophet’s allegation.
She says that no man possesses the secret of divination and that Teiresias’s allegations should be
dismissed. But Jocasta’s own experience of the oracle, which she describes as evidence of the
falsity of oracles, produces yet another doubt in the mind of Oedipus, and he tells Jocasta the
story of his own life. Oedipus’s fears fill Jocasta with dread and she offers worship to Apollo. But
as soon as the Corinthian arrives and tells his news, Jocasta’s scepticism returns with an ever
greater force. However, a little later, the scene with the Corinthian messenger brings the greatest
possible shock for Jocasta, though Oedipus at this stage remains unenlightened. The shock for
Oedipus comes after his questioning of the Theban shepherd in the scene that follows. The
discovery by Oedipus is the culminating point of the play and of the excitement it produces.

Logical and Convincing Sequence of Events

It is evident that everything proceeds in a logical and convincing manner. Nothing is forced;
everything happens naturally, the only exception being the arrival of the Corinthian messenger
at a time when Oedipus is investigating the murder of Laius. The arrival of the Corinthian
messenger is certainly a coincidence, but it is the only coincidence in the play. The scenes we
have surveyed produce various feelings in us—pity, fear, awe, admiration, resentment, irritation.
But the dominant feelings are three—fear of what might happen and what really happens; pity
at the sad fate of Jocasta and of Oedipus; and admiration for the integrity of Oedipus who
pursues the investigation in spite of advice to the contrary by Jocasta and the Theban shepherd.

The Peripeteia and the Anagnorisis

Aristotle spoke of peripeteia and anagnorisis. A peripeteia occurs when a course of action
intended to produce a certain result actually produces the reverse of it. Thus the Corinthian
messenger tries to cheer Oedipus and dispel his fear of marrying his mother, but, by revealing
who Oedipus really is, he produces exactly the opposite result. Similarly, Oedipus runs headlong
into the jaws of the very destiny from which he flees. The anagnorisis means the realisation of
the truth, the opening of the eyes, the sudden lightning flash in the darkness. This moment
comes for Jocasta at the end of the talk with the Corinthian messenger and for Oedipus at the
end of the cross-examination of the Theban shepherd.

The Moving Last Scene

The final scene of the play is highly moving. The account of the self-murder and the self-blinding
is extremely horrifying; the lamentations of Oedipus show him for a while to be a helpless and
pathetic figure, but soon his original imperiousness and pride reassert themselves and he insists
on having his own way though he cannot. The last scene is very touching and at the same time
highly uplifting and productive of the cathartic effect of which Aristotle has spoken.

Use of Tragic Irony

Another important feature of the construction of the plot of Oedipus Rex is the use of tragic
irony. Tragic irony is to be found almost in every major situation in this play. Thus, when Teiresias
accuses Oedipus of being the murderer, Oedipus thinks that the prophet, prompted and
instigated by Creon, is out to defame and slander him, but Teiresias knows the exact truth (and
so does the audience). Thereafter Oedipus speaks insultingly to Creon, not realising that very
soon Creon will be the King while he himself will be reduced to the position of a suppliant.
Jocasta’s sarcastic comments on the oracles are also full of tragic irony, especially because the
oracles are going to be proved to be true in a short while. The use of tragic irony is a device by
means of which a dramatist heightens the tragic effect. Sophocles is famous for his use of tragic
irony, and this play clearly shows the skill with which he has employed it.

The Role of the Chorus

How can we ignore the role of the Chorus? The songs of the Chorus may be regarded as
representing the reactions of the audience to the play as it unfolds itself. The function of the
Chorus was to comment upon the major incidents as they occurred. In this way, the Chorus not
only represented the feelings of the audience but also reinforced them, sometimes providing a
kind of guidance to them. The entry-song of the Chorus is, for instance, an invocation to the gods
to protect the people of Thebes. This song is indicative of the religious feelings of the Chorus and
of the people whom it represents. The second song of the Chorus shows its perplexity at the
allegations of Teiresias against Oedipus. This feeling of perplexity would naturally be shared by
the reader or the spectator seeing the play for the first time. The third song of the Chorus
expresses its reverence for the divine laws and condemns, indirectly, Oedipus’s pride. The fourth
song speculates upon Oedipus’s parentage, visualising a love-affair between some god and a
mountain-nymph. The tragic irony of this song is obvious. The last song of the Chorus expresses
the idea that human happiness is short-lived, citing the case of Oedipus as a clear illustration.
This song deepens our sense of tragedy. Today it is possible for us to regard the Chorus as an
unnecessary element in the play or as an encumbrance. But the Chorus was an essential part of
every drama in those days, and we just cannot shut our eyes to it. The Chorus does serve a
dramatic purpose, as we have seen above. Here and there, the Chorus plays an active role in the
action of the play also. For instance, the Chorus dissuades Oedipus from carrying out the
sentence of banishment against Creon. The Chorus also soothes the feelings of Oedipus when he
appears before them, blind and helpless, though the Chorus does not make light of the sinful
deeds of which Oedipus has been shown to be guilty.

----------------------------------

Consider the protagonist of Oedipus Rex in the light of Aristotle’s account of the tragic hero. Do
you think that this protagonist is a man guilty of pride and so punished for his sin?

Aristotle’s Conception of a Tragic Hero

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a distinguished person occupying a high position or having
a high status in life and in very prosperous circumstances falling into misfortune on account of a
“hamartia” or some defect of character. Morally speaking, a tragic hero, in Aristotle’s view,
should be a good or fine man, though not perfect. There is nothing, says Aristotle, to arouse the
feelings of pity or fear in seeing a bad character pass from prosperity to misfortune. At the same
time, the ruin of a man who represents near-perfection in the moral sense is repugnant and
horrible. Thus the tragic hero, for Aristotle, is a man not especially outstanding in goodness nor
yet guilty of depravity and wickedness. The tragic hero is neither a moral paragon nor a
scoundrel. Aristotle also demands that the tragic hero should be true to type, and consistent or
true to himself. So far as the disaster or catastrophe in a tragedy is concerned, Aristotle would
attribute it to an error rather than a deliberate crime.

Oedipus, as Judged by Aristotle’s Criteria

The main requirements of Aristotle in regard to the tragic hero are thus: (1) high social standing,
(2) moral excellence or goodness, and (3) some fault of character, or some error committed by
the hero in ignorance of the circumstances. Oedipus answers to all these requirements, though
so far as the last-mentioned requirement is concerned, the matter has to be considered
carefully. Oedipus is a man of royal birth; he is brought up by a King and a Queen and he himself
afterwards becomes a King and marries a Queen. He is thus a man of social eminence. He is also
a man possessing excellent qualities of character, though he is by no means perfect. We cannot
say in categorical terms that his misfortune is due to any defect in his character, though his
defects do produce the impression that such a man must pay for his defects. At the same time, it
would not be correct to say that he is a puppet in the hands of fate. Within certain limits he is a
free agent, though it must also be recognised that, no matter what other precautions he had
taken besides those which he does actually take, the prophecy of the oracle would yet have
been fulfilled.

Oedipus’s Excellent Qualities as a King and as a Man

Oedipus is a good King, a great well-wisher of his people, a man of integrity, an honest and great
administrator, and an outstanding intellect. He is also a pious man who believes in oracles,
respects the bonds of family, and hates impurity. His belief in the prophecies of the gods is the
very basis of the whole body; it is because he receives a message from the Delphic oracle that he
undertakes an investigation into the murder of the late King Laius. Oedipus is highly respected by
his people. The suppliant people approach him almost as a god and he is honoured as a saviour.
The Priest recalls the valuable service that he rendered to the city of Thebes by conquering the
Sphinx, and looks forward to his rescuing the people from the afflictions that have now
descended upon the city. Oedipus responds to the appeal of the Priest wholeheartedly; in fact
he has already despatched Creon to consult the Delphic oracle, and soon he summons the
prophet, Teiresias, to seek his guidance. When Creon reveals the cause of the city’s suffering and
the remedy communicated to him by the oracle, Oedipus declares his resolve to track down the
criminal and he utters a terrible curse upon him. In the light of all this, we can say that Oedipus is
almost an ideal King. He also shows himself as a devoted husband and as a loving father. He
shows due consideration for the opinions and feelings of Jocasta and he lavishes all his affection
on his daughters. His relations with the Chorus are also very cordial and he shows all due
courtesy to them, sometimes even acting upon the advice tendered by them. In short, both as a
man and as a King Oedipus is worthy of high respect.

The Faults of Oedipus

However, Oedipus has his faults. He is hot-tempered, hasty in his judgment, excessively proud of
his intelligence, and arbitrary in his decisions. He quickly loses his temper with Teiresias when he
finds the prophet reluctant to reveal the things that he knows. He jumps to the conclusion that
Teiresias has been bribed by Creon and that the two of them have hatched a conspiracy against
him. No doubt, he first addresses Teiresias reverently, but his attitude changes suddenly and
completely when he smells a danger to the Kingship. This attitude of distrust towards the
prophet is in sharp contrast to Oedipus’s genuine piety. Oedipus the ruler belongs, in spite of his
piety, to the world of politics and human standards rather than to the divine order of the world.
His piety fails also later on when, under the influence of Jocasta, he becomes somewhat
sceptical regarding the oracles.

On the Way to Tyranny

The scene with Creon clearly shows Oedipus’s arbitrariness and his dictatorial tendency. His
attitude towards a tried and trusted kinsman is one of thoughtless and blind suspicion showing a
hasty influence and a rash vindictiveness. It would seem that his position and authority are
leading him to become a tyrant. In spite of all his love for the people, he wants full and absolute
power, while in the case of Creon he comes close to committing a judicial murder.
His “Hubris” or Pride

An outstanding feature of Oedipus’s character is an inherent feeling of pride in his own wisdom.
This feeling of pride seems to have been considerably nourished and inflated by his success in
solving the riddle of the Sphinx. It is his boast that no seer, not even Teiresias, found the solution
to that riddle. Oedipus’s feeling of pride is the subject of indirect comment in one of the choral
odes. Because of this hubris, or arrogance, Oedipus certainly alienates some of our sympathy.
Self-confidence is a good quality, but when it takes the form of pride, haughtiness, arrogance or
insolence, it becomes disgusting and obnoxious. His attitude of intolerance towards both
Teiresias and Creon and his highly offensive and insulting words for both of them create in us the
impression that he is paving the way for his own downfall. Of course, Oedipus has already
committed the crimes which make him a sinner in the eyes of the gods, in his own eyes, and in
the eyes of other people; he killed his father and married his mother long before his defects
come to our notice. But the tragedy lies not so much in the committing of those crimes as in his
discovery that he is guilty of them. If the crimes had remained unknown there would hardly have
been any tragedy. Tragedy comes with the fact of discovery both for Jocasta and himself.

His Pride not the Direct Cause of His Sins

It would be a flaw in logic to say that Oedipus suffers because of his sin of pride. That he is guilty
of this sin cannot be denied. But his pride is not the direct cause of his crimes or his tragedy.
Having come to know from the oracle what was in store for him, he tried his utmost to avoid the
fulfilment of the prophecies. It was completely in a state of ignorance that he killed his father
and married his mother. His tragedy is a tragedy of error, not of any wilful action. And yet it is
possible to argue that, if he had been a little more careful, things would have taken a different
shape. He might have avoided the quarrel on the road if he had not been so proud or hot-
tempered; and he might have refused to marry a woman old enough to be his mother if he had
not been blinded by the pride of his intelligence in solving the riddle of the Sphinx. But, then, the
prophecies of the oracle would have been fulfilled in some other way, because nothing could
have prevented their fulfilment. Pride, therefore, has little to do with Oedipus’s killing his father
and marrying his mother.

His Pride, the Motivating Force Behind the Discovery

But does pride have anything to do with the discovery of his crimes because, after all, the
tragedy lies mainly in this discovery? We can be almost certain that, if Oedipus had not
relentlessly pursued his investigations, he might have been spared the shock of discovery.
Something in him drives him forward on the road to discovery. After Teiresias has first refused to
tell him anything and then uttered some frightening prophecies, Oedipus is discouraged by
Jocasta to continue his investigations. But he pays no heed to her philosophy of living at random.
She makes another effort to stop his investigations when she has herself realised the truth, but
again she fails. The Theban shepherd too tries to dampen Oedipus’s determination to know the
truth, but in vain. It is this insistence on the truth that leads to the discovery in which lies the
tragedy. We may, if we like, interpret this insistence on the truth as a form of pride, the pride of
intellect, or the pride of knowing everything. The link of cause and effect is unmistakable
between Oedipus’s pride of intellect and Oedipus’s discovery of his sins. But there is no strong
link between his pride and the actual committing of his sins because the sins would have been
committed in any case, if the oracle was to be fulfilled. The oracle did say that Oedipus, would be
guilty of those sins, but no oracle said that Oedipus must discover the truth. What causes the
tragedy is Oedipus’s own loyalty to the truth. To this love of the truth we may, as already
suggested above, give the name of the pride of intellect what follows the discovery, the self-
blinding and self-punishment, is another matter; what follows is deeply tragic also, but that is an
offshoot of the discovery which is the major tragedy.

The Indomitable Spirit of the Tragic Hero

Oedipus is thus an authentic tragic hero in the Aristotelian sense because, among other things,
his tragedy is as much due to his own initiatives in discovering the truth as to external
circumstances. To the modern mind, a high social position is not necessary for the tragic hero.
The modem reader does not recognise the validity of oracles, too. But, apart from these
considerations, Oedipus is an authentic tragic hero even from the modern reader’s point of view.
In Oedipus we see the helplessness of man in the face of the circumstances and we see at the
same time man’s essential greatness. The manner in which Oedipus blinds himself after realizing
his guilt, and the manner in which he endures his punishment raise him high in our esteem. He is
introduced to us as a man of heroic proportions in the prologue, and he departs at the close of
the play as a man of a heroic stature. The spirit of Oedipus remains unconquered even in his
defeat, and that is the essential fact about a tragic hero.

------------------------------------

Discuss the relationship between man and the gods in Oedipus Rex. (P.U 2004)

Crucial Events Pre-determined

Oedipus Rex is, to a large extent, a tragedy of fate. The crucial events in the play have been pre-
determined by fate or the gods. Human beings seem rather helpless in the face of the
circumstances which mould their destiny.

King Laius was told that his own son by Jocasta would kill him. Laius did everything possible to
moment such a disaster. As soon as Jocasta gave birth to a son, Laius had him chained and
handed him over to a trustworthy servant with strict and precise instructions to the effect that
the child be exposed on. Mt. Cithaeron and allowed to perish. No child could have survived
under the circumstances. But the servant, out of compassion, handed over the child to a
Corinthian shepherd who passed him on to the Corinthian King. The child grew up as the son of
Polybus and Merope, the King and Queen of Corinth, and subsequently killed his true father,
Laius. Of course, the son killed his father unknowingly and in complete ignorance of the real
identity of his victim. But Apollo’s oracle was fulfilled in the case of Laius even though he and his
wife Jocasta took the extreme step of ordering the death of their own child, in order to escape
the fate which had been foretold by the oracle.

Oedipus’s Efforts to Avert His Fate Thwarted

Oedipus, the son whom Laius had begotten, had likewise to submit to the destiny which Apollo’s
oracle pronounced for him. Oedipus learnt from the oracle that he would kill his own father and
marry his own mother. Like his parents, Oedipus tried his utmost to avert a terrible fate. He fled
from Corinth, determined never again to set eyes on his supposed father and mother as long as
they lived. His wanderings took him to Thebes the people of which were facing a great
misfortune. King Laius had been killed by an unknown traveller (who was none other than
Oedipus himself) at a spot where three roads met; the city was in the grip of a frightful monster,
the Sphinx, who was causing a lot of destruction because nobody was able to solve the riddle
which she had propounded. Oedipus was able to solve the riddle and thus put an end to the
monster. As a reward for the service he had rendered to the city, Oedipus was joyfully received
by the people as their King and was given Laius’s widow as his wife. Thus, in complete ignorance
of the identity of both his parents, he killed his father and married his mother. He performed
these disastrous acts not only unknowingly and unintentionally, but as a direct result of his
efforts to escape the cruel fate which the oracle at Delphi had communicated to him.

Characters Not Responsible for their Fate

It is evident, then, that the occurrences which bring about the tragedy in the life of Laius,
Oedipus, and Jocasta are the work of that mysterious supernatural power which may be called
fate or destiny or be given the name of Apollo. This supernatural power had pre-determined
certain catastrophic events in the life of these human beings. These human beings are even
informed in advance that they will become the victims of certain shocking events; these human
beings take whatever measures they can think of, to avert those events; and yet things turn out
exactly as they had been foretold by the oracles. How can we attribute any responsibility for the
tragic happenings to characters? Oedipus, the greatest sufferer in the play, has done nothing at
all to deserve the fate which overtakes him. Nor do Laius and Jocasta deserve the fate they
meet.

The Goodness and Intelligence of Oedipus

Let us, however, take a closer look at the character of Oedipus, the tragic hero of the play.
Aristotle expressed the view that the tragic hero is a man, esteemed and prosperous, who falls
into misfortune because of some hamartia or defect. Now, there can be no doubt at all about the
essential goodness of Oedipus. He is an able ruler, a father of his people, an honest and great
administrator, and an outstanding intellect. His chief care is not for himself but for the people of
the State. The people look upon him as their saviour. He is adored and worshipped by them. He
is also a religious man in the orthodox sense; he believes in oracles; he respects the bonds of
family; and he hates impurity. Indeed, in the prologue of the play we get the feeling that Oedipus
is an ideal King. That such a man should meet the sad fate which he does meet is, indeed,
unbearably painful to us.

Oedipus’s Defects of Character

Oedipus is not, however, a perfect man or even a perfect King. He does suffer from a hamartia or
a defect of character which makes him liable to incur the wrath of the gods. He is hot-tempered,
rash, hasty in forming judgments, easily provoked, and even somewhat arbitrary. Even though in
the beginning his attitude towards Teiresias is one of reverence, he quickly loses his temper and
speaks to the prophet in a highly insulting manner accusing both him and Creon of treason. His
sentencing Creon to death even though subsequently he withdraws the punishment shows his
rashness and arbitrariness. Indeed, in the two scenes with Teiresias and Creon, Oedipus shows a
blind suspicion towards friends, an inclination to hasty inference, and a strange vindictiveness.
When he meets opposition, or thinks he does, he easily loses all self-control. His position and
authority seem to be leading him to become a tyrant. (That is the reason why this play is also
called Oedipus Tyrannus). Creon has to remind him that the city does not belong to him alone.
Even when blinded he draws the reproach; “Do not crave to be master in everything always.” All
this shows that Oedipus is not a man of a flawless character, not a man completely free from
faults, not an embodiment of all the virtues. His pride in his own wisdom is one of his glaring
faults. His success in solving the riddle of the Sphinx seems to have further developed his
inherent feeling of pride. No seer or prophet found the solution: this is Oedipus’s boast, pride
and self-confidence that induce him to feel almost superior to the gods. There is in him a failure
of piety even. Under the influence of Jocasta, he grows sceptical of the oracles. Thus there is in
him a lack of true wisdom and this lack is an essential feature of the man who is on the verge of
becoming an impious tyrant.

The Oracle’s Predictions Inescapable

But the question that arises is: what is the connection between these defects of character in
Oedipus and the sad fate that he meets. It may be said that if he had not been hot-tempered, he
might not have got entangled in a fight on the road and might thus have not been guilty of
murdering his father. Similarly, if he had been a little more cautious, he might have hesitated to
marry a woman old enough to be his mother. After all there was no compulsion either in the
fight that he picked up during his journey or in the act of his marriage with Jocasta. Both his
killing his father and his marrying his mother may thus be attributed to his own defects of
character. At the same time it has to be recognised that the pronouncements of the oracles were
inescapable. What was foretold by the oracle must inevitably happen. Even if Oedipus had taken
the precautions above hinted at, the prophecy was to be fulfilled. The oracle’s prediction was
unconditional; it did not say that if Oedipus did such and such a thing he would kill his father and
marry his mother. The oracle simply said that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother.
What the oracle said was bound to happen.
Oedipus Not a Puppet, But a Free Agent in

His Actions on the Stage

If Oedipus is the innocent victim of a doom which he cannot avoid, he would appear to be a
mere puppet. The whole play in that case becomes a tragedy of destiny which denies human
freedom. But such a view would also be unsound. Sophocles does not want to regard Oedipus as
a puppet; there is reason to believe that Oedipus has been portrayed largely as a free agent.
Neither in Homer nor in Sophocles does divine fore-knowledge of certain events imply that all
human actions are pre-determined. The attendant in the present play emphatically describes
Oedipus’s self-blinding as voluntary and self-chosen and distinguishes it from his involuntary
murder of his father and marriage with his mother. Some of Oedipus’s actions were fate-bound,
but everything that he does on the stage, from first to last, he does as a free agent—his
condemnation of Teiresias and Creon, his conversation with Jocasta leading him to reveal the
facts of his life to her and to his learning from her the circumstances of the death of Laius, his
pursuing his investigation despite the efforts of Jocasta and the Theban shepherd to stop him,
and so on. What fascinates us in this play is the spectacle of a man freely choosing, from the
highest motives, a series of actions which lead to his own ruin. Oedipus could have left the
plague to take its course but his pity over the sufferings of his people compelled him to consult
the oracle. When Apollo’s word came, he could still have left the murder of Laius un-
investigated, but his piety and his love of justice compelled him to start an inquiry. He need not
have forced the truth from a reluctant Theban shepherd, but he could not rest content with a lie
and, therefore, wanted to prove the matter fully. Teiresias, Jocasta, the Theban shepherd, each
in turn tried to stop Oedipus, but in vain; he was determined to solve the problem of his own
parentage. The immediate cause of his ruin is not fate or the gods; no oracle said that he must
discover the truth. Still less does the cause of his ruin lie in his own weakness. What causes his
ruin is his own strength and courage, his loyalty to Thebes, and his love of truth. In all this we are
to see him as a free agent. And his self-blinding and self-banishment are equally free acts of
choice.

The Responsibility of fate and the

Responsibility of Character

What is our conclusion, then? In spite of the evidence to prove Oedipus a free agent in most of
his actions as depicted in the play, we cannot forget that the most tragic events of his life—his
murder of his father and his marriage with his mother—had inevitably to happen. Here the
responsibility of fate cannot be denied. But the discovery by Oedipus of his crimes or sins is the
result of the compulsions of his own nature. The real tragedy lies in this discovery, which is due
to the traits of his own character. If he had not discovered the truth, he would have continued to
live in a state of blissful ignorance and there would have been no tragedy—no shock, no self-
blinding, and no suffering (assuming, of course, that Jocasta too did not discover the truth). But
the parricide and the incest—these were pre-ordained and for these fate is responsible.
--------------------------

“Tragedy is a representation which by means of pity and fear effects the catharsis or purgation of
such emotions.” Examine Oedipus Rex in the light of this view of Aristotle.

What is Catharsis

According to Aristotle, a tragedy should arouse in the spectators the feeling of pity and terror—
pity chiefly for the hero’s tragic fate and terror at the sight of the dreadful suffering that befalls
the characters, particularly the hero. By arousing these feelings of pity and terror, a tragedy aims
at the catharsis or purgation of these and similar other emotions. According to the
homoeopathic system of medicine, like cures like; that is, a sick person is given dose of a
medicine which, if given to a healthy man, would make him sick. Similarly, a tragedy, by arousing
pity and terror, cures us of these very feelings which always exist in our hearts. A tragedy,
therefore, affords emotional relief and the spectators rise at the end with a feeling of pleasure.

This, according to Aristotle, is the aesthetic function of tragedy. The catharsis of pity and fear and
similar other emotions does not mean that men are purged of their emotions; it means that the
emotions are reduced to a healthy and balanced proportion. It is also to be noted that pity and
fear are not the only emotions believed by Aristotle to find a healthy relief in tragedy. Aristotle
refers to these and similar other emotions. An audience also experiences such feelings as
contempt, repugnance, delight, indignation, and admiration while witnessing a tragedy.
However, these emotions are less important or less intense. Pity and fear are the dominant
emotions and they are intensely produced.

A Multitude of Feelings Aroused by Tragedy

This is, however, a limited interpretation of the function of a tragedy. Tragedy provides, by
means of pity, fear, and other emotions, not only relief but also exercise and nourishment for the
emotional side of human nature. Nor is that all. Tragedy also satisfies in certain ways our love of
beauty and of truth, of truth to life and truth about life. Experience, and more experience, is a
natural human craving. Tragedy leads to an enrichment of our experience of human life. It may
teach us to live more wisely, but that is not its function. Its function is to widen the boundaries
of our experience of life. Tragedy deals primarily with evil and with suffering, and it shows
human beings in the grip of these. Tragedy shows us the eternal contradiction between human
weakness and human courage, human stupidity and human greatness, human frailty and human
strength. Tragedy affords us pleasure by exhibiting human endurance and perseverance in the
face of calamities and disasters. Broadly speaking, tragedy also supports the view that there is a
moral order in the universe, thus arousing in us a feeling of eternal justice. In short, tragedy
arouses a multitude of feelings in us. At the same time the beauty of the writer’s style and
imagination arouses also an artistic emotion. The total effect of tragedy, hard to analyse, is to
remould our whole view of life towards something larger, braver, less self-centred.

Feelings of Pity and Fear Aroused in the Prologue

There is no doubt that pity and fear are the dominating feelings produced by the play, Oedipus
Rex, though a number of subsidiary feelings are also produced. And there is no doubt that, apart
from providing a catharsis of these feelings, the play greatly deepens our experience of human
life and; enhances our understanding of human nature and human psychology. The very
prologue produces in us the feeling of pity and fear, pity for the suffering population of Thebes
and fear of future misfortunes which might befall the people. The Priest, describing the state of
affairs, refers to a tide of death from which there is no escape, death in the fields, death in the
pastures, death in the wombs of women, death caused by the plague which grips the city.
Oedipus gives expression to his feeling of sympathy when he tells the Priest that his heart is
burdened by the collective suffering of all the people. The entry-song of the Chorus which
follows the prologue, heightens the feelings of pity and fear. The Chorus says: “With fear my
heart is riven, fear of what shall be told. Fear is upon us.” The Chorus makes yet another
reference to the sorrows afflicting the people of Thebes: “The city reeks with the death in her
streets.” The effect of the whole of this first Choral ode is to deepen the feelings of terror and
pity which have already been aroused in our hearts.

Feelings Aroused by the Clash

Between Oedipus and Teiresias

Oedipus’s proclamation of his resolve to track down the murderer of Laius brings some relief to
us. But the curse, that Oedipus utters upon the unknown criminal and upon those who may be
sheltering him, also terrifies us by its fierceness. The scene in which Oedipus clashes with
Teiresias further contributes to the feelings of pity and terror. The prophecy of Teiresias is
frightening especially because it seems to pertain to Oedipus in whose fortunes we have become
deeply interested. Teiresias speaks to Oedipus in menacing tones, describing Oedipus in a veiled
manner as “husband to the woman who bore him, father-killer and father-supplanter,” and
accusing him openly of being a murderer. The reaction of the Chorus to the terrible utterance of
Teiresias intensifies the horror. The Chorus refers to the unknown criminal as the shedder of
blood and the doer of evil deeds, and expresses its feelings of perplexity and awe all the terrible
things the prophet has spoken.

The Climax of Pity and Terror in the Scene of Discovery

In the scene with Creon, the feeling of terror is considerably less, arising mainly from Oedipus’s
sentence of death against the innocent Creon, which, however, is soon withdrawn. The tension
in the play now diminishes to some extent but it begins to reappear with Oedipus’s suspicion on
hearing from Jocasta that Laius was killed at a spot where three roads met. Oedipus’s account of
his early life before his arrival at Thebes arouses the feeling of terror by its reference to the
horrible prophecy which he received from the oracle at Delphi, but even to both terror and pity
subside in this scene mainly because Jocasta tries to assure Oedipus that prophecies deserve no
attention. The song of the Chorus severely rebuking the proud man and the tyrant revives some
of the terror in our minds, but it again subsides at the arrival of the Corinthian after hearing
whom Jocasta mocks at the oracles. The drama now continues at a comparatively low key till first
Jocasta and then Oedipus, find themselves confronted with the true facts of the situation. With
the episode of the discovery of true facts, both the feelings of pity and terror reach their climax,
with Oedipus lamenting his sinful acts in having killed his father and married his mother.

Pity and Fear in the Last Scene

But the feelings of pity and fear do not end here. The song of the Chorus immediately following
the discovery arouses our deepest sympathy at Oedipus’s sad fate. The Chorus extends the
scope of its observations to include all mankind: “All the generations of mortal man add up to
nothing.” Then comes the messenger from the palace and he gives us a heartrending account of
the manner in which Jocasta hanged herself and Oedipus blinded himself. This is one of the most
terrible passages in the play, the messenger concluding his account with the remark that the
royal household is today overwhelmed by “calamity, death, ruin, tears, and shame.” The
conversation of the Chorus with Oedipus who is now blind is also extremely moving. Oedipus
speaks of his physical and mental agony, and the Chorus tries to console him. Oedipus describes
himself as the “shedder of father’s blood, husband of mother, Godless and child of shame,
begetter of brother-sons.” The feeling of profound grief being expressed by Oedipus is
experienced by the audience with an equal intensity. The scene of Oedipus’s meeting with his
daughters is also very touching. His daughters, laments Oedipus, will have to wander homeless
and husbandless. He appeals to Creon in moving words to look after them.

Relief, Exhilaration, Upliftment

As we leave the theatre or as we complete our reading of the play at home, our hearts are heavy
with sorrow and grief. We are hardly in a position to speak a word on account of the intensity of
the feelings, mainly of pity and fear, which we have been experiencing from the very opening
scene of the play onwards. Other feelings aroused in our hearts were irritation with Oedipus at
his ill-treatment of Teiresias, resentment against Teiresias for his obstinacy and insolence,
admiration for Creon for his moderation and loyalty, liking for Jocasta for her devotion to
Oedipus, admiration for Oedipus for his relentless pursuit of truth, and so on. But the feelings of
relief, exhilaration, and pleasure have also been aroused in us. These feelings are the result
partly of the felicity of the language employed and the music of poetry, but mainly the result of
the spectacle of human greatness which we have witnessed side by side with the spectacle of
human misery. The sins of Oedipus were committed unknowingly; in fact Oedipus did his utmost
to avert the disaster. Oedipus is, therefore, essentially an innocent man, despite his sin of pride
and tyranny. Jocasta too is innocent, in spite of her sin of scepticism. There is no villainy to be
condemned in the play. The essential goodness of Oedipus, Jocasta, and Creon is highly pleasing
to us. (Teiresias lives on a different plane altogether.) But even more pleasing, though at the
same time saddening, is the spectacle of human endurance seen in Jocasta and Oedipus
inflicting upon themselves a punishment that is awful and terrible. In the closing scene, the blind
Oedipus rises truly to heroic heights, displaying an indomitable spirit. Blind and helpless though
he now is, and extremely ashamed of his parricide and incestuous experience as he is, he yet
shows an invulnerable mind, and it is this which has a sustaining, cheering, uplifting, and
exhilarating effect upon us.

----------------------------------------

Write a critical note on the themes of the Choric odes in Oedipus Rex.

The Purpose of the Choric Odes

The Chorus used to be an important ingredient in a Greek tragedy. Its utterances were closely
related to the development of the plot. The Chorus was not just a spectator but a commentator.
It took stock of the changing situations and developments, and expressed its reactions to them
mostly in the form of songs which took the shape of odes. The Chorus represented the citizens
and as such, could not be treated as an extraneous element in the play. The songs of the Chorus
took the form sometimes of an invocation, sometimes a prayer, sometimes a wish, sometimes a
lament, sometimes an expression of joy or grief. Thus the Choric odes covered a wide range of
subjects and emotions.

The Theme of the First Song

In this play the first Choric ode is sung just when Oedipus has declared his resolve to trace the
murderer of Laius, and when the Priest, feeling satisfied, disperses his followers who had come
to submit a petition to the King. The Chorus, having learnt the message that has come from the
Delphic oracle, here expresses its state of fear. Invoking three deities, Athena, Artemis, and
Phoebus, the Chorus seeks the three-fold power to save the city of Thebes from the fire and pain
of the plague which is raging there. The Chorus then goes on to describe the conditions
prevailing in the city. People are suffering sorrows which defy description. Sickness has taken the
form of an epidemic and no remedy is available. The soil has become unproductive and women
are giving birth to dead babies. Large numbers of dead people lie in the streets. Dead babies lie
on the ground, un-pitied and unburied, infecting the air with pollution. Young wives and aged
mothers approach the altars and cry aloud in prayer. Although there is no war being fought, yet
the terrible cry of the fierce god of war rings in the ears of the people. The Chorus appeals to the
all-powerful Zeus to hurl his thunderbolt upon the god of war in order to subdue him”. The
Chorus also appeals to Apollo, Artemis, and Bacchus to fight against the power of the savage god
of war, and to drive him away from Thebes.

Critical Comments
This opening song of the Chorus has two themes, the message from Delphi and the plague
raging in the city. Although both these themes have already been dealt with in the prologue, the
Choral song does not produce any feeling of repetition. Both these themes which were
presented vividly through the dialogue in the prologue, now become something much more
immediate when presented through a song. A noteworthy point is that the two themes appear
in the song in the reverse order, first the message and then the plague. The reverse order will
make the transition from the prologue to the first episode more smooth. It is also to be noted
that, while the prologue ended on a note of hope, the first Choric ode ends on a note of
apprehension and prayer.

The Theme of the Second Song

The Chorus sing its second song just after the departure of Teiresias who has had a quarrel with
Oedipus. Teiresias has spoken to Oedipus most bitterly, accusing him of the murder of Laius and
making many other offensive and insulting allegations. The Chorus asks the identity of the man
who did the horrible deeds mentioned by the prophet. Let that man flee from the city of Thebes
with the maximum possible speed because the son of Zeus, armed with his fires and his
lightnings, is coming to destroy that man. A command has come from the god to avenge the
murder of Laius. Where is the murderer? asks the Chorus. The prophet has spoken terrible
things denouncing Oedipus. Out of its respect for Teiresias, the Chorus cannot disbelieve him but
out of their high respect for Oedipus the Chorus cannot believe him to be guilty of any evil. The
Chorus is, therefore faced with a dilemma and cannot come to a conclusion. Why such
allegations against Oedipus? All secrets of earth are known to Zeus and Apollo. But no mortal,
not even Teiresias, can claim to know everything. The Chorus will, therefore, not believe the
allegations against Oedipus till these are proved. Oedipus had conquered the Sphinx and won
fame. The Chorus cannot consent to think him other than good.

Critical Comments

This ode is highly dramatic and thoroughly relevant to the situation. There are two parts of this
ode. In the first the Chorus speaks of the guilty man as a homeless outcast shrinking from men’s
eyes. The Chorus utters a warning to this “shedder of blood”, this doer of horrible deeds, to flee
from Thebes if he wishes to escape the wrath of Zeus. This part of the ode obviously contributes
to the atmosphere of awe and terror in the play by visualising the fate which the murderer of
Laius will meet. In the second part of the ode the feeling of uncertainty experienced by the
Chorus is expressed. The Chorus cannot disbelieve the words of Teiresias whom they know to be
a true prophet; at the same time they cannot believe Teiresias who has accused their idol,
Oedipus, of the murder of Laius. Thus this second part reveals the conflict of loyalties of the
Chorus. Towards the end of the ode it is the Chorus’s loyalty to Oedipus which wins. The Chorus
recalls Oedipus’s heroic action in conquering the Sphinx and refuses to entertain any doubts
about the goodness and nobility of Oedipus who has been denounced by Teiresias. The conflict
in the mind of the Chorus is a reflection or echo of the conflict that must at this point be taking
place in the minds of the audience which is seeing or reading the play for the first time without
previously knowing the story. To this extent the second ode correctly represents the reaction of
the spectators.

The Theme of the Third Ode

The third song begins with an expression of the reverence which the Chorus feels for the laws
framed by the gods. These laws have a divine origin, and mortal men had no part in framing
them. Nor can these laws ever become invalid because the gods neither die nor grow old. The
Chorus then speaks of pride which is a hateful characteristic of a tyrant. A tyrant is proud of his
power and his wealth; a tyrant’s wisdom collapses before his pride. This pride leads the tyrant to
destruction from which nothing can save him. The Chorus next utters a prayer that a man, who is
proud in word or deed and who has the fear of justice, should be overtaken by utter ruin. Those,
who seek dishonourable advantages and lay violent hands on holy things, can never be secure
from the wrath of the gods. Finally, the Chorus expresses its dismay at the decline in religious
faith and religious piety. If the oracles of the gods are not fulfilled, people will lose their faith in
the gods. People are tending to deny Apollo’s power; Apollo’s glory is no longer recognised to
the same extent. Let the gods become vigilant!

Critical Comments

This ode is indicative of the importance which religion held in those days and the reverence
which was, in general, paid to the oracles. The Chorus makes it clear that the divine laws, which
had the sanction of the gods, must be obeyed by the people. The Chorus condemns pride and
arrogance, and wants men guilty of such offences to perish. The Chorus also deplores people’s
dwindling religious faith and declining piety. In other words, the Chorus stands for religious
sanctity and piety. The Chorus also shows its zeal for the observance of virtues like humility and
self-restraint. In short, this ode has a moral and didactic quality. But that is not all. This ode has
its relevance to both Oedipus and Jocasta. The song begins with a prayer for purity and
reverence, and this is clearly an answer to Oedipus’s and Jocasta’s doubt about the oracles. It
ends with an even more emphatic expression of fear of what will happen if people begin to
refuse to believe the oracles. The middle portion of the song describes the man who is born of
hubris or pride, such pride as displayed by Oedipus and Jocasta. This description follows to a
large extent the conventional picture of the tyrant. The Chorus fears that he, who behaves with
pride and with an insolent self-confidence, will turn tyrannical and impious. If Zeus does not
punish people’s disbelief in oracles, all religion will become meaningless.

The Theme of the Fourth Ode

The Chorus sings its fourth song just after Jocasta, feeling shocked by the discovery of Oedipus’s
identity, has left and Oedipus has called himself the child of Fortune. This song shows that the
Chorus has, up to this point, not discovered the true identity of Oedipus: The Chorus speculates
upon Oedipus’s parentage and visualises a love-affair between a god and a mountain-nymph.
Instead of imagining any evil connected with the birth or parentage of Oedipus, the Chorus
celebrates Mt. Cithaeron as the foster-nurse and birth-place of Oedipus and expresses the view
that Oedipus was begotten as result of the union of a mountain-nymph with some god. This god
could be Pan, or Apollo, or Hermes, or Dionysus.

Critical Comments

This song is intended by the Chorus as a tribute to Oedipus. The loyalty of the Chorus to Oedipus
remains undimmed so far, because the Chorus does not suspect any evil in Oedipus. The Chorus,
indeed, exalts and deifies Oedipus. We have here a striking example of tragic irony. Neither
Oedipus nor the Chorus knows the real truth but the audience has by now enough knowledge of
the facts to perceive the great disparity between what Oedipus really is and what the Chorus
thinks him to be. This ode, celebrating the possible divine birth of Oedipus, comes, ironically
again, moments before the discovery of the truth through the questioning of the Theban
shepherd.

The Theme of the Final Ode

The last song of the Chorus expresses the idea that human happiness is short-lived, the fate of
Oedipus being a clear illustration of this idea. Nobody ever won greater prosperity and power
than Oedipus did. His triumph over the Sphinx not only snowed his great wisdom but enabled
him to save the people of Thebes. Thebes honoured him by making him its King. All the people
of Thebes were proud of the majesty of his name. But now who is more wretched and more
afflicted with misery than Oedipus? His life now has been reduced to dust and ashes. He has
proved to be the husband of the woman who had given him birth. How could such a monstrous
thing be endured so long and remain unknown so long? Time has disclosed the truth and
punished Oedipus for his unnatural marriage. The Chorus ends this song with a wish that it had
never seen or known Oedipus. He who was the source of life for the Chorus has now proved to
be a source of death to it.

---------------------------------------

“Sophocles shows his dramatic talent in presenting Oedipus in the act of learning about his guilt,
rather than in the act of committing it. The tragedy lies in the hero’s knowledge of the guilt
rather than the guilt itself.” Discuss.

The Plot-movement Towards the Discovery of the Guilt

The play Oedipus Rex opens many years after the committing by Oedipus of the two heinous
crimes foretold by the Delphic oracle. The play opens when Oedipus, after having killed his
father Laius, has lived as his mother’s husband for many years during which period he has
begotten several children by his mother-wife.

The earlier events, namely, the prophecy of the Delphic oracle, the measures taken by King Laius
to avert the disaster, the flight of Oedipus from Corinth in order to avoid the fulfilment of the
oracle, the fight on the road-side and the murder of Laius, Oedipus’s conquering the Sphinx by
solving her riddle and consequently becoming the King of Thebes and marrying the widowed
Queen Jocasta who was no other than his own mother—all these events took place many years
before, and these are communicated to us only through narrative accounts of them given by
Oedipus and Jocasta. The play as such deals with the discovery by Oedipus and Jocasta of the
sins they have unwittingly committed, the account of the sins being given to us incidentally
because an occasion has arisen on which Oedipus finds it necessary to narrate the story of his
life to Jocasta. Even during the narration of these events, Oedipus is completely ignorant, and so
is Jocasta, of the sins that have been committed. The tragedy lies in the revelation or the
disclosure of the guilt, and not in the guilt itself. It is the revelation of the guilt that is dramatic. It
is towards the revelation of the guilt that the development of the plot in the play has been
moving. If Oedipus and Jocasta had remained ignorant of the sins committed by them till the
natural end of their lives, there would have been no tragedy. Sophocles shows his dramatic skill
in choosing as the theme of his play the circumstances leading to the discovery, the sins
themselves being shown as having occurred in the past.

The Theme of the Play Stated in the Prologue

The play opens with the Theban citizens, led by their Priest, describing their misfortunes to their
King, Oedipus, who, however, is already aware of their sufferings and who has already sent his
brother-in-law, Creon, to the Delphic oracle to seek divine guidance. Almost immediately after
Oedipus has informed the Priest of the steps which he has already taken, Creon arrives with a
message from the oracle that the murderer of Laius must be found and banished from the city
before the people can get any relief from their affliction. In this way the subject of the drama
and the situation from which it starts are presented to us. The situation is the sufferings that
have overtaken the city of Thebes, and the subject of the drama is the search for the criminal
who murdered Laius. As a dutiful and conscientious King, Oedipus resolves to trace the murderer
and to punish him with banishment, uttering at the same time a curse upon the criminal and
those who may be providing shelter to him. In the announcement of the punishment for the
murderer are the seeds of Oedipus’s insistence on his own banishment from Thebes at the end
of the play, just as in the resolve to trace the murderer are the seeds of his discovery of himself
as the murderer of his father. Whether we know the myth and the story in advance or not, a lot
of suspense is created in the prologue or the opening scene. If we do not know the story in
advance, the situation arouses a deep curiosity about who the murderer is and why his identity
has remained unknown for so many years; if we know the myth in advance, the suspense is
caused by our desire to find out how Sophocles handles the myth.

The Dramatic Clash Between the King and the Prophet

The clash between Oedipus and Teiresias is highly dramatic. It is natural for Oedipus to summon
the prophet in order to get from him a clue to the identity of the murderer. Teiresias is reputed
to possess powers of divination, and Creon has advised Oedipus to send for the prophet, the
advice being presently reinforced by the Chorus. Teiresias, of course, knows who the murderer
is, but he would not like to disclose the shocking fact to Oedipus. He therefore evades Oedipus’s
question with the result that Oedipus misunderstands the whole situation, flies into a rage, and
accuses Teiresias and Creon of having hatched a conspiracy against him. Teiresias loses his
temper also, with the result that hot words ensue between the two men, and the prophet
openly names Oedipus as the murderer, hurling certain other accusations at Oedipus, and
foretelling in a veiled manner the tragic end that is in store for Oedipus. The verbal fight
between Oedipus, the man with supreme secular authority, and Teiresias, the man with supreme
spiritual powers, is very exciting from the point of view of the audience or the readers, arousing,
as it does, several emotions. The scene throws much light on the characters of both the men and
clearly brings out the defects in Oedipus’s character, defects which seem to justify, to some
extent, the punishment that ultimately befalls him, though the punishment is not a direct result
of these defects. We find Oedipus to be hot-tempered, rash, hasty in drawing inferences,
suspicious, arbitrary, and moving towards tyranny. The prophecy by Teiresias arouses feelings of
uncertainty and perplexity in the Chorus, and we fully share these feelings. The Chorus is utterly
unaware of the true facts and is not prepared to accept the accusations of Teiresias on their face
value. In any case the clash between the King and the prophet takes the story one step further
towards the ultimate discovery.

The Contrast Between Oedipus and Creon

The scene with Creon is not so dramatic from the emotional point of view, but it serves an
important dramatic purpose. This scene emphasizes the contrast between the mild and
moderate Creon, and the rash and autocratic Oedipus. Oedipus pays no heed to Creon’s defence
of himself and sentences Creon to death or at least to banishment. The hubris of which Oedipus
is guilty is further emphasized in this scene, though we find also that Oedipus is not totally
unresponsive to the advice given to him by the Chorus and by Jocasta in the matter of the
alleged crime of Creon.

The Scene with Teiresias, another Step Forward in the Direction of the Discovery

The accusations of Teiresias have deeply disturbed the mind of Oedipus. Jocasta tries to soothe
her husband’s feelings by saying that no man possesses the secret of divination and that the
words of Teiresias should, therefore, not weigh upon his mind. As evidence of the falseness of
oracles, Jocasta refers to the prophecy made by the oracle with regard to the manner of Laius’s
death.

The tragic irony of Jocasta’s advice to Oedipus here is noteworthy; the evidence which she cites
to support her view of the falseness of oracles is precisely the evidence which, without her
knowing it, supports the truth of oracles. Jocasta’s account of the circumstances of the death of
Laius serves only to strengthen the doubt that has arisen in Oedipus’s mind as a result of the
accusation by Teiresias. Oedipus would now like to interrogate the sole surviving member of
Laius’s party. At the same time he gives Jocasta an account of his own early life before his arrival
in Thebes and his marriage with her. Jocasta, however, ridicules the prophecy which the oracle
had communicated to Oedipus, namely, that he would kill his father and marry his mother.
However, even Jocasta presently offers worship of Apollo because she is deeply troubled by
Oedipus’s wretchedness at the doubts that are tormenting him. By now, our curiosity and
suspense have further been increased. Oedipus is feeling more and more troubled by doubts,
and his apprehensions have begun to trouble Jocasta’s mind also. The scene with Jocasta thus
carries the story further towards the discovery.

The Stunning Disclosure

The next development in the plot is the arrival of the Corinthian messenger. On hearing the
news this messenger has brought, Jocasta immediately reverts to her former, habitual
scepticism, and she urges Oedipus to shed all fear of oracles and to live as best as he can. When
the messenger learns the cause of Oedipus’s fears about the future, he tries to comfort Oedipus
by informing him that he is not the son of Polybus and Merope, which he believes himself to be.
When the messenger reveals the circumstances in which he himself had handed over Oedipus as
an infant to Polybus, the real identity of Oedipus as her own son flashes upon the mind of
Jocasta and she turns white with terror. Her only anxiety now is that Oedipus should be spared
the knowledge of his own identity. But Oedipus is determined, now more than ever, to know his
parentage. The arrival of the Theban shepherd leads to the final discovery in the play. This is the
supreme moment of the tragedy in the play. The Theban shepherd tries his utmost to keep back
the information which would have a stunning effect on Oedipus, but Oedipus forces the Theban
shepherd to come out with the truth. When the truth does come out, it is the most agonizing
moment of Oedipus’s life. The realisation, that the words of the oracle have proved true and that
he had really killed his father and married his mother, comes to Oedipus as an unbearable shock.
This moment marks the climax of the play. This is the most painful moment for the audience
also. Oedipus had tried his utmost to prevent the fulfilment of the oracle’s prophecy, but he had
failed. Circumstances and, to some extent, his own temperament had gone against him and he
had committed the very sins which he had tried to avoid.

The Various Steps in the Process of Discovery

The tragedy lies in Oedipus’s discovery of his guilt, and this tragedy he has himself brought
about. Teiresias had tried to keep Oedipus in the dark, but Teiresias’s attitude had only aroused
Oedipus’s ire. He was determined to find out Laius’s murderer, mainly to bring relief to his
suffering subjects. He could not shirk his duty as the King. The words of Teiresias had mentally
disturbed him and, produced a doubt in his mind. The doubt was strengthened by Jocasta’s
account of the manner in which Laius had met his death. The Corinthian messenger’s
information marked the next step in the process of the discovery, and the process was
completed by the information obtained from the Theban shepherd under the pressure exerted
upon him. Thus it is as a result of Oedipus’s efforts to punish the murderer of Laius and to find
out his own parentage that Oedipus learns the truth; and the truth is appalling for him and for
us.
Emphasis on Human Greatness

An important ingredient in a tragedy is the emphasis on human greatness. Great as Oedipus has
been portrayed so far, his real greatness has yet to be pointed out. After the disclosure, Jocasta
kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself. The blinded Oedipus, though in a state of despair, and
suffering agonies on account of his sense of guilt and shame, yet shows an indomitable spirit.
Oedipus has been defeated by circumstances and by his own actions, but his spirit has not been
crushed. He shows himself still capable of self-assertion. He still retains his authoritative manner,
his imperiousness, and some of his pride, even though he has lost all hope. He matched his wits
against the gods, and failed. But even in defeat and in failure he shows his essential nobility.
“Sophocles’s tragedy presents us with a terrible affirmation of man’s subordinate position in the
universe, and at the same time with a heroic vision of man’s victory in defeat.”

---------------------------------------------

hubris

Pg.14 Tiresias' lines

Pg.22 Creon's Benefits

What is Hubris?

Pg.15 End of Oedipus' line

Oedipus is placing blame on Tiresias for the murder of Laius, unknowingly he himself is the killer.
The pride Oedipus has in his blaming is an example of hubris.

"I whom you now seek to cast out, in hope to stand upon the steps of Creon's throne! You and
the framer of this plot methinks shall rue your purge for guilt! Dotard you seem, else by
experience you had come to know what thoughts these are you think!"

Tiresias has listened to Oedipus rant about how Tiresias is lying and is really just helping Creon
become king by placing the blame on Oedipus for Laius' murder. Oedipus also says Tiresias
doesn't know anything because he's a stupid blind man. So Tiresias says to him I may be blind
but really it is you who doesn't see the evils around you.

"I say you have your sight, and do not see

What evils are about you, nor with whom,

Nor in what home you are dwelling. Do you know

From whom you are? Yea, you are ignorant

That to your own you are an enemy,

Wether on earth, alive, or under it."

Pg. 15 Tiresias

Theme

Oedipus is talking, by himself, to the town on the benefits of his presence.

"Deeming unmeet, my children, this to learn from others by the mouth of messengers, I myself
come hither, Oedipus, known far and wide by name. Do thou , old man, since 'tis my privilege to
speak for these, say in what case ye stand; if of alarm, or satisfaction with my readiness to afford
all aid; hard-hearted must I be, did I not pity such petitioners."

Oedipus has been told of the scene at the roads where King Lauis was murdered, and Oedipus is
becoming convinced he was there, due to the prophecies he was told. On the other hand,
Jocasta swears the prophecy is false.

"Be assured, that was the word quite plainly (the word of the robbers is true)! And now he
cannot blot it out again. Not I alone, but the whole city heard it."

Pg.1 Oedipus

The Chorus talks about Oedipus' excessive pride and how that many cause his failure.
Foreshadow.

"Pride is the germ of kings; pride, when puffed up, vainly, with many things unseasonable,
unfitting, mounts the wall, only to hurry to that fatal fall, where feet are vain to serve her. But
the task propitious to the city GOD I ask never to take away! GOD I will never cease to hold my
stay."

Oedipus is saying that Creon's paid Tiresias to say he was Lauis's slayer. Also, that Creon wants to
be King. In respond says that he does want to be King and that he has the same benefits without
the stress.

"Neither am I, by nature, covetous to be a king, rather than play the king..(Break).. the waiters
on your favour fawn on me; for all there propering

depends thereby."

Tiresias is countering the blame for Laius' murder, and points out Oedipus' hubris.

""I say you know not in what worst of shame you live together with those nearest to you, and
see not in what evil plight you stand."

Pg.31 Chorus 1.2 speech

Hubris in Oedipes Rex

Excessive pride and self confidence

There are many examples of this in literature, especially when dealing with a Tragic Hero... let's
look into the hubris in the Oedipus Rex!

Pg.30 bottom, Jocasta's line

This story is all about hubris, and based on people's pride. The idea of the book is to show how
fate can sneak up on your life, and you not even know it. This book shows the greed, pride, and
dumbness of the human nature as we ironically assume and judge our own/each others lives,
only to find out later on more bigger things are to come. Pretty much every character in this
book shows hubris at one point

-------------------

Hubris Definition

Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character, which ultimately brings about his
downfall.

Hubris is a typical flaw in the personality of a character who enjoys a powerful position; as a
result of which, he overestimates his capabilities to such an extent that he loses contact with
reality. A character suffering from hubris tries to cross normal human limits, and violates moral
codes. Examples of hubris are found in major characters of tragic plays.

Definition of Hubris by Aristotle

Aristotle mentions hubris in his book Rhetoric:

“Hubris consists in doing and saying things that cause shame to the victim … simply for the
pleasure of it. Retaliation is not hubris, but revenge. … Young men and the rich are hubristic
because they think they are better than other people.”

Aristotle believed that people indulge in crimes. like sexual misconduct and maltreating others.
only to fulfill their basic desire to make themselves feel superior to others.

The Concept of Hubris in Greek Mythology

Similarly, Greek mythology depicts hubris as a great crime that demands a severe punishment.
Generally, the Greek idea of hubris is that a character in an authoritative position becomes so
proud of his exceptional qualities that he forms a delusion that he is equal to gods, and
eventually he tries to defy the gods and his fate.

Examples of Hubris in Literature

Hubris examples are also examples of “hamartia,” a tragic flaw in a character that brings about
his tragic downfall.

Example #1: Oedipus Rex (By Sophocles)

In the famous Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, the character of King Oedipus provides
a classic example of a character who suffers from hubris, or excessive pride. Due to his hubris, he
attempts to defy prophecies of gods, but ended up doing what he feared the most, and what he
was warned against. The Oracle of Delphi told him that he would kill his father and marry his
mother.

Overcome by hubris, Oedipus tries to avoid this by leaving Corinth, traveling toward Thebes. On
his way to the neighboring city, he kills an old man in a feud, and later marries the queen of
Thebes, as he was made king of the city after he saved the city from a deadly sphinx. One can say
that he commits all these sins in complete ignorance, but nevertheless he deserves punishment
because he became so proud that he does not shy from attempting to rebel against his fate. His
reversal of fortune is caused by his hubris.

Example #2: Paradise Lost (By John Milton)

In his famous epic Paradise Lost, John Milton portrays Satan as a character that suffers from
hubris. His loses his glorious position through giving in to his excessive pride. It was his hubris
that made him try to take control over Heaven. Although he failed miserably, his pride lasts:

“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n.”

The reason of his desire to rebel against his creator originates from his reluctance to accept the
authority of God and His Son because he believed that angels are “self-begot, self-raised” and
hence bringing his downfall in being thrown out of Paradise.

Example #3: Doctor Faustus (By Christopher Marlowe)

An instance of hubris can be spotted in Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus”. Faustus’s arrogance and
extreme pride in his scholarship and his irresistible desire to become superior to all other men of
his age forces him to sell his soul to “Lucifer” by signing a contract with his blood. He learns the
art of black magic and defies Christianity. Finally, he has to pay for his arrogance and pride. The
devils take away his soul to Hell and he suffers eternal damnation.

Example #4: Frankenstein (By Mary Shelley)

Likewise, “Victor” the protagonist of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” exhibits hubris in his
endeavor to become an unmatched scientist. He creates a “monster” named “Frankenstein”
which ultimately becomes the cause of his disaster.

Function of Hubris

In literature, portrayal of hubristic characters serves to achieve a moralistic end. Such characters
are eventually punished thus giving a moral lesson to the audience and the readers so that they
are motivated to improve their characters by removing the flaws that can cause a tragedy in
their lives. Witnessing a tragic hero suffering due to his hubristic actions, the audience or the
readers may fear that the same fate may befall them if they indulge in similar kinds of actions.

---------------------------------------------

Examine The Importance of Being Earnest as a social satire.

The Targets of Satire in This Play

A satire is a humorous or witty exposure of human failings; weaknesses, follies, absurdities, and
pretensions. The Importance of Being Earnest is truly a satire, and a very witty and amusing one.
The principal target of satire in this play is the English upper class of the time, although we have
a couple of satirical portraits of persons belonging to certain different orders of society, namely
those of a clergyman and a governess. The author in this play ridicules certain typical
representatives of the English aristocracy of the time, and he equally ridicules certain other
persons as well.
The Satirical Portrayal of Algernon

Let us take the case of Algernon first. He is a typical representative of the English upper class of
the time, and he has been portrayed in a satirical manner. His shallowness, irresponsibility,
extravagance, and vanity have been exposed in such a manner as to make us laugh at this
specimen of the aristocracy. If the servants in his house drink his champagne, he treats the
matter light-heartedly. He throws expensive parties, even though he admits that he is short of
money. He tells Jack that he would like to get a prize for restoring his cigarette-case to him
because he is particularly hard up at this time. In fact, he is in a state of indebtedness. As Lady
Bracknell points out, “he has nothing but his debts to depend upon.” Another trait of his
character which is satirically treated is his gluttony. As Jack points out, this man is always hungry
and is always eating whether it be cucumber sandwiches or muffins. He wants Jack to invite him
to dinner at an expensive restaurant. One would think that eating is his main bobby. Algernon is
a fashionable man, and is always over-dressed. This too is something to make us laugh, because
aristocratic young men attach too much importance to their clothes. As Lady Bracknell points
out, Algernon “is nothing but he looks every thing”. According to Jack. Algernon has a ridiculous
vanity. This is clear from the fact that Algernon claims to be always “immensely over-educated”.
His vanity is seen also in his claim that he plays on the piano with wonderful expression,
sentiment being his forte. One of his absurdities is that he expects the lower orders of society to
set a good example of moral responsibility to the upper classes. His view that relatives are “a
tedious pack of people” again shows his vanity and his egoism. He actually loves to hear his
relatives abused. One aspect of his shallowness is that at every party he would like to flirt with
some woman. Nor does his Bunburying do him any credit. In short, the whole portrayal of
Algernon is satirical, his only commendable and admirable quality being his brilliant wit.

The Satirical Portrayal of Jack

Then there is Jack. He too is a representative of the upper class. But he is a much better
specimen because there is much in him that we approve. He is a responsible-minded guardian,
and he is a serious type of young man in whose talk, according to Miss Prism, “there is no room
for triviality and idle merriment”. But he goes to the other extreme. While Algernon is too light-
hearted, Jack is too serious-minded. His very solemnity is made to look ridiculous. Cecily says
that her Uncle Jack sometimes looks so serious as to give the impression that he is unwell.
Algernon says that lack is “the most earnest-looking man” he has ever known. Jack’s over-
seriousness has sharply been contrasted with Algernon’s gaiety. Jack’s over-seriousness is also to
be found in his refusal to go either to the theatre, or to the club, or to the Empire. When asked
by Algernon what they should do, Jack’s reply is : “Nothing”. Nor is his over-seriousness the only
ridiculous aspect of his character. He thinks Gwendolen to be a very intellectual kind of girl,
while we know her to be absolutely shallow. He admires Cecily not only because she has an
excellent appetite and takes long walks but also because she pays no attention at all to her
studies. He does not believe in telling the truth to a nice, sweet, refined girt. He does not know
whether a severe chill is hereditary or not. Thus the portrayal of Jack too is satirical in intention
and in effect.
The Satirical Portrayal of Gwendolen

There are three women representatives of the upper class, and each has been portrayed in a
satirical manner. There is Gwendolen whose superficiality and ignorance are extremely amusing.
For instance, she cannot understand how anybody of any importance can exist in the
countryside. Nor did she have any idea that there were flowers growing in the countryside.
Though fond of living in the town, she hates crowds. She is proud of the fact that she has never
seen a spade. When she makes a railway journey, she likes to carry her diary with her because
she wants to read something sensational. But her most amusing absurdity is her enthusiastic
reaction to the name of Ernest. She thinks Ernest to be a divine name which has a music of its
own and which produces vibrations. It was always her cherished ideal to love someone of the
name of Ernest, she says. In order to marry the man with whom she has fallen in love, chiefly on
the basis of his name, she runs away from home thus showing no regard at all for the decencies
of family life. It is clear, then, that the author is laughing at this aristocratic young girl and, of
course, he makes us laugh at her too. In her case too it could be said that her talent for witty
conversation is her only redeeming quality.

The Satirical Elements in the Portrayal of Cecily

Cecily is another representative of the upper class and though a better specimen than
Gwendolen, she amuses us by her failings and absurdities. She is not at all interested in German
grammar, political economy, or geography, all of which she regards as “horrid” She keeps a diary
in which she .records every minor detail of her life, calling its contents “the wonderful secrets of
life”. Though she does have charm, and a good deal of it, she yet shows a ridiculous side to her
personality. Like Gwendolen, she too goes into raptures over the name Ernest. It had always
been a girlish dream of hers to love someone of the name of Ernest, she says. Her account of
how she had fallen in love with Ernest is even more absurd than her enthusiastic reaction to the
name. She fell in love with him without even having seen or met him ; she got engaged to him in
her imagination ; she even bought herself an engagement ring on his behalf ; and once she broke
off the engagement. Her absurdity appears further in her wanting to put down in her diary every
word that her lover has to say in praise of her.

The Satirical Portrayal of Lady Bracknell

The portrayal of Lady Bracknell is perhaps the most satirical of all. In this case the author simply
gloats over his task of exposing the foibles and absurdities of the upper-class ladies of his time.
Nor is there any doubt about the enormous success that the author has made of his job. Lady
Bracknell claims to have a taste for music, but she would like her nephew to make the selection
of the numbers to be played at her party. In other words, her taste in music is simply a pretence.
But this is only a minor, foible in her. Her principal absurdities are her snobbery, her class-
consciousness, her mercenary outlook on life, her suspicious nature, and her domineering
temperament. The manner in which she cross-examines Jack to determine his suitability as her
son-in-law shows both her suspicious nature and her domineering temperament. Both these
traits appear again in the questions which she subsequently asks in order to determine
suitability of Cecily as a wife for Algernon. This second cross-examination shows also the
importance of money in her eyes because, as soon as she learns that Cecily will bring a rich
dowry, she begins to see, in Cecily certain qualities which she had not observed before. But even
then she speaks to Cecily and about Cecily in a patronizing, tone, and adopts a superior attitude
towards her. Perhaps her greatest absurdity appears in her claim that, although she herself did
not have any fortune, she did not allow that circumstance to stand in the way of her marrying
Lord Bracknell. Her domineering nature appears also in the manner in which she exercises rigid
control over her daughter and her own husband, and this aspect her life is also ridiculed by the
author. The portrayals of Lady Bracknell and the two younger specimens of the aristocracy are
thus very successful in exposing the failings and absurdities of the society ladies of the time.

The Satirical Portrayal of Dr. Chasuble

Another satirical portrait in the play is that of Dr. Chasuble. This portrait is a satire on clergymen.
A clergyman is expected to inspire respect, but Dr. Chasuble excites our mirth. Dr. Chasuble is
ridiculed for his pompous manner of speaking, his hypocrisy, his lack of real scholarship, and his
materialistic attitude to life. As for his pompous manner of speaking, one example will serve the
purpose. On seeing Jack in mourning clothes, Dr. Chasuble says to him : “Dear Mr. Worthing, I
trust this garb of woe does not betoken some terrible calamity ?” His lack of any real learning is
evident from Cecily’s remark that he is one of the most learned men because he has not written
a single book. It is absurd on his part to claim that a particular sermon of his can be adapted to
almost any occasion, joyful or distressing. Another absurdity in his talk occurs when he makes a
classical allusion drawn from the pagan authors. He is a Christian priest, but he quotes pagan
authors. His hypocrisy appears in the fact that in theory he is opposed to matrimony but that
actually he has been flirting with Miss Prism precisely with the object of marrying her. He is a
clergyman without any really spiritual quality. He feels very disappointed when Algernon and
Jack give up their intention to be baptised after having obtained his view that there can be no
technical objection to the baptism of grown-up people.

The Satirical Portrayal of Miss Prism

Miss Prism amuses us by her literary pretensions. She once wrote a three-volume novel which
she deposited” in the perambulator while she put the baby under her charge in a hand-bag
which she placed in a railway cloak-room. Nothing could be more absurd than this behaviour
which is supposed to have resulted from her absent-mindedness. In addition to her literary
pretensions, she also has moral pretensions which she shows in her dislike of the wicked
younger brother of Jack Worthing and in her feeling of joy at the reported death of that wicked
fellow. As a man sows, so shall he reap, she remarks on this occasion, with an air of moral
superiority. The portrayal of Miss Prism is also satirical.

--------------------------------------\

“Lady Bracknell is a character who transcends in her rumbling fury all the rest of Wilde’s
dramatic creations.” How far do you agree with this opinion ?

A Most Striking and Unforgettable Character

The portrayal of Lady Bracknell is certainly the most striking in The Importance of Being Earnest.
She is undoubtedly an unforgettable character. According to most critics, she represents the
greatest achievement of Wilde so far as the creation or portrayal of characters is concerned.

At the same time she is a most convincing person even though most of the situations in this play
are improbable and the plot is on the whole absurd and incredible. Lady Bracknell dominates the
company wherever she is present. We meet her in Acts I and III of the play, and on both
occasions she impresses us as a formidable personality. She does not figure in Act II at all, and
yet she remains in our thoughts throughout the play. She has strongly been individualized, and is
clearly distinguishable from all the other characters in the play. According to one critic, there is
no one in the whole of English dramatic literature quite like her. In other words, she is a unique
person.

Her Liking For Cucumber Sandwiches

The first thing that we learn about Lady Bracknell is her partiality for cucumber sandwiches.
Algernon has especially asked his servant Lane to prepare cucumber sandwiches because Lady
Bracknell is coming to tea at his flat. It is another matter that he himself consumes all the
cucumber sandwiches before Lady Bracknell arrives, with the result that, when she asks for
cucumber sandwiches, Algernon has to make an excuse that cucumbers were not available in the
market even for ready cash.

Her Interest in Music and Her Liking For Her Nephew

Another trait of her character is her taste for music, though she does not approve of French
songs which seem to her to be improper. However, her interest in music is more to keep up with
the fashion than any genuine love of music. In fact, she seeks Algernon’s help in selecting the
kind of music that she should provide on the occasion of her last party of the season.

She is quite fond of Algernon, who is her nephew and whose presence at her parties she thinks
to be very necessary even though he does not like her much and seeks excuses to keep away
from her parties and receptions. She feels quite disappointed when he tells her that he will not
be able to attend her last reception of the season as he has to go to meet his ailing friend,
Bunbury (who is a fictitious character).

Domineering and Suspicious

Lady Bracknell is a true representative of the upper classes in England of the time when this play
was written. She is snobbish and class-conscious, and she is at the same time a person who
judges people by the amount of wealth they have. She cross-examines Jack Worthing very
closely in order to determine his suitability as her son-in-law. The very manner in which she
interrogates Jack shows not only her domineering temperament but also her suspicious nature.
Her comments on the replies which Jack gives to her questions are amusing because of their
mixture of approval and disapproval. When, for instance, in reply to a question he says that be is
twentynine years old, her comment is that it is a very good age to be married at. But when, in
reply to another question, he says that he owns a house in the country, she doubtfully asks how
many bedrooms that house has adding that this point can be cleared up afterwards. When Jack
tells her that his town house is occupied by a tenant by the name of Lady Bloxham, she says that
she does not know that lady adding that the fact of Lady Bloxham’s being considerably advanced
in years is no guarantee of respectability of character. She feels quite satisfied with most of the
particulars that Jack gives to her in answer to her questions, but she feels very disappointed to
learn that as an infant he was found in a hand-bag in a railway cloak-room and that his parentage
is unknown. She forbids the marriage of her daughter Gwendolen to him for this reason. Jack’s
account of the circumstances in which he was found in a hand-bag bewilders Lady Bracknell, as
she herself says. According to her, to be born, or at any rate bred, in a hand-bag shows a
contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life reminding her of the worst excesses of the
French Revolution. This is one of her wittiest and most amusing remarks. On account of Jack’s
inability to establish his respectability, she rejects him summarily and in a categorical manner as
a candidate for the band of her daughter. Her cross-examination of Jack shows her bullying
nature. When Jack asks her what he should do under the circumstances, she gives the
paradoxical reply that he should acquire some relatives as quickly as possible and should be able
to produce at least one parent of either sex before the season is over. Jack is, indeed, right when
after the cross-examination, he expresses to Algernon his opinion that Lady Bracknell is a
“Gorgon” and a “monster without being a myth”.

Her Mercenary Outlook

Lady Bracknell is acutely class-conscious and advises Algernon never to speak disrespectfully of
high society because only those who cannot move in high social circles speak disparagingly of
high society. The questions that she asks about Cecily in order to determine Cecily’s suitability as
a wife for her nephew Algernon again shows her class-consciousness, and these questions again
show her suspicious nature and her desire to get to the bottom of a situation and not to judge by
appearances only. When Jack names Cecily’s family solicitors, Lady Bracknell says, in a
condescending manner, that one partner in that particular firm of solicitors is occasionally seen
at upper-class dinner-parties and that for this reason she feels quite satisfied with this aspect of
Cecily’s credentials. She is very particular to know whether Cecily will bring a rich dowry or not ;
and, on being informed that Cecily has a large amount of money in her name, Lady Bracknell
comes to the conclusion that Cecily is a suitable girl to marry her nephew. In fact, Cecily’s having
so much money in her name is in Lady Bracknell’s eyes Cecily’s most important qualification.

Her Patronizing Manner of Speaking to Cecily

The information about Cecily’s having a lot of money in her name makes Lady Bracknell see
certain qualities in Cecily which she had not detected in her before. But even then she speaks to
Cecily in a patronizing tone, adopting a superior attitude towards her. She points out that Cecily’s
dress is “sadly simple” and that her hair seems almost as Nature had left it. She then wants to
see:

Cecily’s profile and, after looking at it closely, remarks, again in a patronizing tone, that there are
distinct social possibilities in her profile. Although she approves of Cecily as a wife for Algernon
chiefly on the basis of Cecily’s wealth, she yet declares that she does not approve of mercenary
marriages. Citing her own case, she says that she had no fortune at all when she married Lord
Bracknell but that she never allowed her lack of a dowry to stand in the way of her marriage to
him. This is, indeed, one of her most amusing remarks, the humour here arising from the twist
which she gives to the argument. If she had no fortune of any kind when she married Lord
Bracknell, it went to the credit of Lord Bracknell that he married a woman without a dowry. But
Lady Bracknell claims thee credit for herself.

Her Authoritarian Attitude Towards Her Daughter

Lady Bracknell is an extremely self-assertive woman who makes her presence felt by everybody.
She not only tries to overawe Jack and afterwards Cecily but adopts an authoritative and stern
attitude towards her daughter, Gwendolen. When Gwendolen tells her that she has got engaged
to Mr. Worthing, Lady Bracknell declares that she is not engaged to any one and that, when she
does become engaged, she will be informed of the fact by her mother or by her father in case his
health permits him. Afterwards, when Gwendolen again tells her mother that she has get
engaged to be married to Mr. Worthing, Lady Bracknell again speaks to her in a tone of authority,
declaring that she does not recognize this engagement. Nor do we doubt that Lady Bracknell
rules her husband. Whenever she refers to her husband, she does so in the manner of a woman
who thinks herself to be the boss in her home. This is clear from her remark that she has never
“undeceived” her husband on any question, implying that she never allows her husband to know
what is going on in the house.

Her Wit
Lady Bracknell possesses an inexhaustible capacity to make witty remarks and statements.
Indeed, her wit adds greatly to her stature as a character in the play. Even without her wit, she
would be a person to reckon with. But her ready wit and her capacity for sarcasm make her even
more formidable. Almost every remark that she makes is amusing. For instance, she says that it
is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether to live or to die. She considers the
modern sympathy with invalids to be undesirable as it shows morbidity in the sympathizer.
Afterwards, when she is told that Mr. Bunbury is dead, she makes the comment that Mr.
Bunbury showed much sense in deciding to die. When jack, in the course of her interrogation of
him, tells her that he had lost both his parents, she makes the comment that his having lost both
his parents shows carelessness on his part. Later, when Jack tells her in a tone of irritation that
he has in his possession certificates of Cecily’s birth, baptism, whooping cough, registration,
vaccination, and the measles, Lady Bracknell remarks that Cecily’s life has been “crowded with
incident” and that such a life is somewhat too exciting for a young girl. Lady Bracknell then adds
that she herself is not in favour of a girl having premature experiences. When Lady Bracknell
sees Jack kneeling before Gwendolen, she pricks the romantic bubble by asking him to rise from
his “semi-recumbent, indecorous posture”. Perhaps her most memorable remark is made when
she tells Jack that she and her husband would never dream of allowing their only daughter to
“marry into a cloak-room and form an alliance with a parcel.”

Her Paradoxical Remarks

Some of Lady Bracknell’s remarks are paradoxical and at the same time witty. When, for
instance, she says that a girl having a simple, unspoiled nature like Gwendolen can hardly be
expected to reside in the country, she provides an example of a witty paradox because actually a
simple and unspoiled girl would prefer to live in the country and because it is only the
sophisticated and spoiled girls who have a preference for town life and a distaste for the
countryside. Again, Lady Bracknell expresses her opposition to long engagements on the ground
that they give the two partners an opportunity of finding out each other’s character before
marriage and that this is not at all desirable. This statement too is a paradox because actually it
is thought better that a man and a woman should understand each other’s character before
marriage. Lady Bracknell expresses her opinion of Algernon in the following paradoxical manner :
“He has nothing but he looks everything. What more can one desire ?” Another paradoxical
remark that she makes about Algernon is : “He has nothing but his debts to depend on.” She
makes a satirical and paradoxical remark about society ladies who do not tell their real age.
London society, says Lady Bracknell, is full of women who have remained thirtyfive for years. She
cites the case of Lady Dumbleton who has been thirtyfive ever since attaining the age of forty
many years ago. Lady Bracknell makes another paradoxical and amusing remark when she says
that she does not approve of anything that interferes with natural ignorance. It is lucky, she
adds, that in England education produces no effect whatsoever on people. If education were to
prove effective, it would be a serious danger to the upper classes and would probably lead to
acts of violence in Grosvenor Square*.

A Convincing Character

Lady Bracknell is certainly a convincing character. There is nothing fantastic or incredible about
her. She has vividly been presented and her portrayal is perfectly realistic. Such women are not
common, but such women do exist. After all, a combination of snobbery, class-consciousness,
haughtiness, garrulity, love of money and wealth, a tendency to dominate, and a capacity to
make satirical and hard-hitting remarks is nothing impossible. If at all “there is any exaggeration
in her portrayal, it is in the wit that she displays. Apart from her wit which is certainly unusually
fertile, Lady Bracknell is a person in whose existence we can thoroughly believe.

-------------------------

Have the women characters in The Importance of Being Earnest been made to live, and are they
convincing persons ?

Each Woman Distinguishable From the Others

It is not for his portrayal of human character that Wilde is famous as a playwright. His strength as
a dramatist lies neither in character-portrayal nor in his plots which are deficient in action. His
strength lies in his dialogues which amuse us greatly by their humour and wit. However, that
does not mean that Wilde fails altogether in the portrayal of his men and women. The four
women in The Importance of Being Earnest, for instance, have been drawn with a fair degree of
success.

The four women are Gwendolen, Cecily, Miss Prism, and above all Lady Bracknell. Each of these
women has clearly been differentiated from the others. Of course, the talent for making witty
remarks and observations is common to all these women. In respect of wit they are almost all
alike, though Lady Bracknell can be singled out as the wittiest of all and as the most pungent in
her wit. Between Gwendolen and Cecily too there are certain similarities, and in some respect
one echoes the other. But there are also certain distinguishing features of each of them. On the
whole, then, we can safely affirm that each of the four women has been individualized and been
made to live before us, though Lady Bracknell occupies a commanding position.

Deficiency of Psychological Interest

It may also be pointed out that Wilde does not go deep -enough in his character-portrayal. He is
not interested in an analysis of human nature or in probing human motives. His “plays therefore
do not possess adequate psychological interest. All that Wilde is interested in is to write witty
dialogues, and in endowing each of his characters (men or women) with a capacity to offer the
reader or the spectator in a theatre witty paradoxes, witty epigrams, and witty sarcasms.

Distinguishing Traits of Gwendolen

It would be worth while to take a look at the distinguishing features of each of the four women
presented to us in this play. Gwendolen is a charming girl who loves town life and feels bored in
the country. She cannot understand how anybody of any importance can exist in the country.
Nor did she have any idea that there were flowers growing in the countryside. Though fond of
living in the town, she says that she hates crowds. She is an independent-minded girl who
accepts Jack’s proposal of marriage without consulting her mother. Subsequently she runs away
from home in order to meet Jack at his country house. However, she is not defiant towards her
mother. When Lady Bracknell forbids her marriage to Jack, Gwendolen has to keep quiet.
Distinguishing Traits of Cecily

Cecily is in certain ways quite different from Gwendolen. She is a girl of active habits interested
in such hobbies as watering flower-plants, but averse to studying German grammar, political
economy, and geography, all of which she regards as “horrid”. She is a cheerful, sprightly person
who does not approve of her Uncle Jack’s over-seriousness, but who, paradoxically enough, feels
depressed by novels which have happy endings. Though quite young (being just eighteen), she is
observant and perceptive enough to have noticed the growing intimacy between Miss Prism and
Dr. Chasuble.

Both Gwendolen and Cecily in Love With the Name “Ernest”

In certain respects, as has been already pointed out, these two, girls are alike. Both readily
accept the proposals of marriage from their respective lovers. Both are fascinated by the name
Ernest. Gwendolen says that it was always her cherished ideal to love someone of the name of
Ernest. It is a divine name with a music of its own, and it produces vibrations, she says. Cecily
likewise says that it had always been a girlish dream of hers to love someone whose name was
Ernest. Both the girls think that there is something in the name Ernest which inspires absolute
confidence. Of course, the reaction of each of these girls to the name Ernest is absurd, but
absurdity is the very keynote of this play. Cecily’s account of how she had fallen in love with
Ernest (who is actually Algernon) is even more absurd than her enthusiastic reaction to the nare.
She fell in love with her guardian’s younger brother without even having seen or met him ; she
got engaged to, him in her imagination ; and she even bought herself an engagement ring in his
name.

Both Girls Keeping Diaries

Another similarity between the two girls is that they both keep diaries. Gwendolen keeps her
diary with her when she goes on a railway journey, because she wants to read something
sensational during a journey. This is another absurdity of course, because a diary, being a record
of everyday events, can have nothing sensational in it. Cecily’s keeping a diary in order to record
“the wonderful secrets of her life” in it is even more absurd because when Algernon praises her
beauty in superlative terms she at once picks” up her diary and “ pen, and says that she would
like to put down everything that Algernon has to say about her. She also makes au absurd
statement when she says that her diary, being a record of her own thoughts and impressions, is
meant for publication.

The Blunder Committed By Miss Prism

Miss Prism belongs to a much lower social stratum of society than the other three women in the
play. She was originally a nurse in Lady Bracknell’s household. Subsequently she became Cecily’s
governess in the house of Jack Worthing. As a nurse twentyeight years ago, she had in a fit of
absent-mindedness, put Lady Bracknell’s infant nephew Ernest into a leather hand-bag which
she had deposited in a railway cloak-room. Miss Prism gives a brief account of her blunder
towards the close of the play, and this account explains the mystery of Jack’s parentage. Of
course, this whole incident is something absurd and incredible, but round it the plot of the play
hinges. Miss Prism is a woman of some literary pretensions. She once wrote a three-volume
novel in which the bad characters received the punishment they deserved while the good ones
received their due reward. However, she is opposed to the practice of keeping a diary and tells
Cecily that memory is the diary which we all carry about with us.

Miss Prism’s Dislike of Jack’s Younger Brother*

Miss Prism is quite appreciative of her employer Jack’s seriousness of nature and temperament
and she tells Cecily that idle merriment and triviality would be out of place in his conversation.
Miss Prism is also a kind of moralist. She has formed a very bad opinion about Jack’s spoilt
younger brother, Ernest. As a man sows so shall he reap, she says. She is, however, not in favour
of reforming bad people. She does not believe in the “modern mania for turning bad people into
good people at a moment’s notice.” When it is reported that Jack’s younger brother is not dead
after all she says that the sudden return of that young man is peculiarly distressing, because his
death was a blessing of an extremely obvious kind.

Miss Prism’s Interest in Dr. Chasuble

Miss Prism feels drawn towards Dr. Chasuble, and develops a matrimonial interest in him. She
makes a direct suggestion to him to get married, saying : “You are too much alone, dear Dr.
Chasuble. You should get married”. She also tells him that by persistently remaining single a man
converts himself into a permanent public temptation.

Lady Bracknell, Gossipy and Fastidious

Lady Bracknell has been regarded as Wilde’s greatest creation in the sphere of characterization.
She is indeed an unforgettable character. She dominates the company whenever she is present.
She is a talkative, gossipy, fastidious lady with a partiality for cucumber sandwiches. She has a
taste for music, but she will not allow French songs which seem to her to be improper.

Snobbish and Class-Conscious

Lady Bracknell is very snobbish and class-conscious. She rejects Jack as a possible match for her
daughter because his parentage is unknown. When Algernon says something disparaging about
society in general, Lady Bracknell says to him : “Never speak disrespectfully of society. Only
people who can’t get into it do that.” When Jack names Cecily’s family solicitors, Lady Bracknell
says that one partner in that particular firm of solicitors is occasionally seen at dinner parties and
that for this reason she feels quite satisfied with Cecily’s credentials. Lady Bracknell also shows
her mercenary outlook on life when, on being told that Cecily has a large amount of money in
her name, she at once declares Cecily to be a suitable bride for Algernon.

A Formidable Personality

Lady Bracknell is, indeed, a formidable personality. She not only tries to overawe Jack and
afterwards Cecily, but adopts an authoritative attitude towards her daughter, Gwendolen. Nor
can we have any doubt that she rules her household and her husband Lord Bracknell. She plainly
says that she never undeceives her husband with regard to any matter, implying that she does
not allow him to know all that is going on in the house.

A Capacity For Wit Common to All These Women

It is clear from the above brief character-sketches that each of the women in this play exists in
her own right, and that there is no possibility of our confusing one woman with the another.
Each of the women has her own individual traits of character and each can be recognized by us
as a separate entity. However, as already pointed out, in one respect there is some over-lapping.
They are all witty, and a witty remark made by any one of them could have been made by any
other of them. However, we should not regard this as a serious flaw in an artificial comedy, the
object of which is to make people laugh in the theatre and to make them keep laughing most of
the time.
Gwendolen’s Wit

Some of the witty remarks made by each of these women would show the ingenuity and the
capacity for quick thinking of each. Gwendolen, for instance, provides ample evidence of her
sharp and ready wit. When Jack tells her that she is perfect, she denies it on the ground that she
intends to develop in many :_directions and that perfection would rule out the possibility of any
development. She makes a paradoxical statement when she says that the old-fashioned respect
for the young is fast dying out. Another witty paradox which we have from her is when she says
to Jack : “If you are not too long, I’ll wait here for you all my” life.” When there is an exchange of
repartees between her and” Cecily, she says : “I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It
is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.”

The Wit of Cecily and Miss Prism

Cecily makes a witty remark when she says that human memory records things that have never
happened and that could not possibly have happened. Another witty remark that she makes is
as follows : “When one is going to lead an entirely new life, one requires regular and wholesome
meals.” Cecily’s wit is quite biting in the course of her dialogue with Gwendolen. For instance,
when Gwendolen says that she hates crowds, Cecily makes the following sarcastic remark to
her : “I suppose that is why you live in town. Miss Prism is witty too, and her wit is often caustic
as in her remarks about Jack’s supposed younger brother. She also amuses us when she says that
she can understand a misanthrope but not a womanthrope*. Another witty remark that she
makes is that no married man is ever attractive except to his wife.

Lady Bracknell’s Wit

So far as Lady Bracknell is concerned, almost every remark that she makes is witty. For instance,
she compares Jack’s having been found as an infant in a hand-bag to one of the worst excesses
of the French Revolution. One of her wittiest remarks is that she cannot allow her daughter “to
marry into a cloak-room and make an alliance with a parcel.” She also amuses us when she tells
Algernon that it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he is going to live or to
die. She considers the modern sympathy with invalids to be undesirable as it shows morbidity.

--------------------------------------------

The Importance of Being Earnest is described as a comedy of dialogue. What are the comic
features of the dialogue in this play? Illustrate your answer.

Abundant Use of Paradox, Epigram, and Comic Irony

The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of dialogue, abounding in the use of paradox,
epigram, and irony. All these three devices produce a comic effect in this play, even though it is
possible for a dramatist to use these devices for a serious purpose also. There are a number of
paradoxical statements, epigrammatic remarks, and ironical or sarcastic remarks, all of a comic
nature so” as to amuse us. When the play is presented on the stage, the audience would keep
laughing most of the time because of the witty paradoxes and witty remarks of an ironical
nature.

Paradoxical Statements Made By Algernon

A paradoxical statement may mean something seemingly absurd yet true in fact ; or it may mean
a statement apparently at variance with or in opposition to established principles yet
demonstrably true ; or it may mean a statement expressing an idea which is contrary to received
opinion. Almost every character in The Importance of Being Earnest makes paradoxical remarks
which are witty. At the very outset, for instance, Algernon says that the lower orders of society
should set a good example of moral responsibility for the upper classes. This is a paradoxical
statement, because the accepted view is that the upper classes should set a good example for
the lower classes to follow. Algernon soon afterwards, talking to Jack, makes the statement that
more than half of modern culture depends on what people should not read. This is a paradoxical
remark because, in actual fact, reading contributes to the development of culture. Another
paradoxical statement made by Algernon is that the truth is rarely pure and never simple, the
accepted view being that truth can be pure and -simple. Algernon here adds that modern
literature would be. a .complete impossibility if truth were either pure or simple, and this is
another paradox. Algernon also says that literary criticism should be left to people who have not
been at a university, and this too is a paradoxical statement because in actual fact literary critics
are people who have had the benefit of a university education. When Algernon demands from
Jack an explanation of the inscription on his cigarette-case, Algernon speaks in a paradoxical
manner, saying to Jack : “Now produce your explanation, and pray make it improbable,” whereas
normally we would say : “Now produce your explanation, and pray make it probable or
plausible.” When Algernon describes women’s flirtation with their own husbands as washing
their clean linen in public, he is again making a paradoxical statement because the idiom is “to
wash one’s dirty linen in public” Another paradoxical statement made by Algernon is that in
married life three is company and two is none, whereas the common saying is that two is
company and three is none. Algernon again makes a paradoxical statement when he says that
people who are not serious about their meals are very shallow-minded, because the accepted
view is that people who are too particular about their meals must be shallow-minded and not in
the habit of thinking. Algernon also says that he loves to hear his relations abused and that it is
the only thing that makes him put up with them at all. This is a paradoxical statement because
normally we do not want to hear our relatives abused. Another paradoxical remark from
Algernon is as follows : “It is awfully hard work doing nothing.” How can idleness or doing
nothing be regarded as awfully hard work ? (This remark has also an epigrammatic quality).
When Algernon says that he loves scrapes (or difficult situations) because they are the only
things that are never serious be makes a paradoxical statement because scrapes or difficulties
are certainly serious matters which give rise to feelings of anxiety in us. Another paradoxical
statement made by Algernon is as follows : “Well, one must be serious about something, if one
wants “to have any amusement in life.” How can seriousness about anything be a source of
amusement ? Yet another paradoxical statement made by him is the following : “When I am in
trouble, eating is the only thing that consoles me. At the present moment I am eating muffins
because I am unhappy.” The real fact is that when one is in trouble or is unhappy, one feels no
desire to eat anything.

Paradoxical Remarks Made By Jack

Jack also makes a number of paradoxical statements which are quite amusing. For instance,
when he sees tea-cups and cucumber sandwiches on the table in Algernon’s flat, he says to
Algernon : “Why all these cups ? Why cucumber sandwiches ? Why such reckless extravagance in
one so young ?” In the first place, cucumber sandwiches are no sign of reckless extravagance ;
and secondly it is only the young who are recklessly extravagant. Talking of modern culture, Jack
says that it is not the sort of thing one should talk about in private. This is a paradoxical remark
because there is no reason why modern culture or any other culture should not be talked about
in private as well as in public. Jack makes another paradoxical statement when he says that the
truth is not quite the sort of thing one should tell to a nice, sweet, and refined girl, because the
normal view of the matter is that a nice and sweet girl should always be told the truth and
should not be deceived. Talking of Cecily, Jack says that she is not a silly girl, that she has an
excellent appetite and takes long walks, adding paradoxically that she pays no attention at all to
her studies. Yet another paradoxical statement made by Jack is that it is a terrible thing for a man
to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth. Why should it be
something terrible for anybody to discover that he has been speaking the truth? After making
this statement, Jack asks Gwendolen whether she can forgive .him for having spoken nothing but
the truth, and this question which he asks her is also paradoxical.

Gwendolen’s Paradoxical Remarks

A number of paradoxical and witty remarks come from Gwendolen also. When Algernon says
that he cannot allow Gwendolen to have a private conversation with Jack, Gwendolen makes the
following paradoxical remark to Algernon : “Algy, you always adopt a strictly immoral attitude
towards life. You are not quite old enough to do that.” Then she makes another paradoxical
statement by saying : “The old-fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out.” (Respect is
always shown to the elderly people and not to the young). Speaking to Jack, Gwendolen says :
“The simplicity of your character makes you exquisitely incomprehensible to me.” (If a man has a
simple character, he is fully comprehensible, and not incomprehensible as Gwendolen says).
Another paradoxical remark made by Gwendolen is that the home is the proper sphere for a
man, while the actual fact is that the home is the proper sphere for a woman. Gwendolen adds
that when a man begins to neglect his domestic duties he becomes painfully effeminate, and this
too is a paradoxical remark. A very amusing paradoxical remark is made by Gwendolen when, on
being asked by Jack to wait for him till he comes back, she says to him : “If you are not too long, I
will wait here for you all my life.” The two parts of this reply by Gwendolen contradict each
other.

Cecily’s Paradoxical Remarks

Cecily makes her own contribution to the paradoxical and witty statements in this play. After her
German lessons she becomes less attractive in her appearance, she says to her governess.
Memory, says Cecily, usually records the things that have never happened, and could not
possibly have happened. When Miss Prism tells Cecily that she had once written a novel, Cecily
makes the following paradoxical remark : “I don’t like novels that end happily. They depress me
so much.” (Why should novels with a happy ending depress anybody ?) When Algernon, after
saying that he would like to reform himself, tells Cecily that he is feeling hungry, Cecily makes the
paradoxical statement that when one is going to lead an entirely new life one requires regular
and wholesome meals. Yet another paradoxical remark that she makes is that it is always painful
to part from people whom one has known for a very short time. Speaking of her engagement
with Algernon, she says that it would hardly have been a really serious, engagement if it had not
been broken off at least once. Cecily also makes the paradoxical remark that, whenever one has
anything unpleasant to say, one should always be quite candid. (Actually, of course, when
somebody has anything unpleasant to say, we expect him not to say it in a blunt or candid
manner).

Lady Bracknell’s Paradoxical Remarks

Lady Bracknell, who has a very fertile and pungent wit, makes a number of paradoxical
statements. Speaking of Lady Harbury who has lost her husband, Lady Bracknell says that Lady
Harbury is now an altered woman because she looks at least twenty years younger. (Normally,
when a woman has become a widow, she looks older on account of her grief at her widowhood).
Lady Bracknell, paradoxically enough, does not approve of anything that interferes with
anybody’s natural ignorance. She feels happy to note that in England education produces no
effect whatsoever. If education were to produce any effect, it would prove to be a serious danger
to the upper classes. These are paradoxical remarks because the accepted view is that ignorance
should be removed through education, and that education has a beneficial effect upon all
classes. When Jack admits that he smokes, Lady Bracknell paradoxically says : “I am glad to hear
it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind.” (She regards smoking as an
occupation). Another paradoxical remark made by Lady Bracknell is that a girt with a simple,
unspoiled nature like Gwendolen is not expected to reside in the countryside. Her comments on
the death of Mr. Bunbury are also of a paradoxical nature. Mr. Bunbury, she says, seems to have
had great confidence in the opinion of his physicians. Lady Bracknell recommends, Algernon as a
would-be husband for Cecily by making the paradoxical remark that Algernon has nothing but
his debts to depend upon I When Lady Bracknell thinks that a heated argument is going on
upstairs, she makes the following paradoxical statement : “I dislike arguments of any kind. They
are always vulgar, and often convincing.” (Actually convincing arguments appeal to people, but
Lady Bracknell finds convincing arguments to be unwelcome).

Witty Epigrams in the Play

Witty epigrams are also contributed to the play by almost all the characters. An epigram is an
interesting or amusing thought expressed in a few words. Or, an epigram may be defined as a
short, pointed saying, ingenious in thought and clever in expression. Thus Algernon makes an
epigrammatic remark when he says that the very essence of romance is uncertainty. He then
makes another epigrammatic remark when he says that divorces are made in heaven, thus giving
a twist to the well-known saying that marriages are made in heaven. Algernon also makes the
epigrammatic remark that the only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her if she is
pretty, and to someone else if she is not pretty. Jack gives us an epigram when he says : “When
one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people.”
Again, Jack makes an epigrammatic remark by saying “It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when
one isn’t a dentist. It produces a false impression.” Cecily makes an epigrammatic remark when
she says: “Of course, a man who is much talked about is always very attractive. One feels there
must be something in him, after all.” Then we get a few epigrams from Miss Prism also. “Even
these metallic problems have their melodramatic side,” she says with reference to the
devaluation of the rupee. By persistently remaining single, a man converts himself into a
permanent public temptation, says Miss Prism in an epigrammatic manner, adding in the same
style : “Men should be more careful ; this very celibacy leads weaker vessels astray.” Miss Prism
gives us a number of epigrammatic statements in one of her speeches “Maturity can always be
depended on. Ripeness can be trusted. Young women are green.”

Irony in the Play

There is plenty of irony in this play, and it is comic irony of course. The essence of comic irony is
mockery or deception of one kind or another, and its force derives from the pleasure in
contrasting “appearances” with “reality”. There are various types of comic irony. The simplest
and the most commonly used is verbal irony which occurs when the speaker says the opposite of
what he means and yet conveys his real meaning so as to produce an amusing effect. In this case
the proper signification of the words constitutes the appearance ; and the destined meaning is
the reality. Irony also means a kind of ridicule which exposes the errors or faults of others by
seeming to approve or defend them. Irony means, too, pretending ignorance with the intention
of irritating or perplexing somebody in agreement or dispute. Jack’s remade to Lady Bracknell :
“How extremely kind of you,” when Lady Bracknell says that she is satisfied with certain
particulars about Cecily, is ironical. So is Lady Bracknell’s remark : “A life crowded with incident,”
when Jack tells her about the certificates which be has got regarding Cecily’s birth, baptism, etc.
There is irony in Algernon’s pointing out to his servant that in a bachelor’s house the servants
invariably drink costly wines. (In this case Algernon knows the reason but pretends ignorance).
There is irony in Cecily’s remark to Miss Prism : “You know German and geology, and things of
that kind influence a man very much.” (Here Cecily is ridiculing Miss Prism’s self-conceit about
her knowledge of German and geology). Comic irony also exists in a clash between one aspect
and another of some double situation, the whole of which is understood by the reader and some
of the characters, while other characters are ignorant of it. An obvious example is Algernon’s
coming to Jack’s country house under the assumed name of Ernest and pretending to be Jack’s
younger brother. Here the reader, as well as Algernon and Jack, knows the reality, but Cecily and
the others do not.

-----------------------------------------------

How far is it appropriate to describe The Importance of Being Earnest as a farcical comedy ?

An Artificial, Farcical Comedy

The Importance of Being Earnest belongs to a literary genre known as artificial comedy. This kind
of play flourished during the Restoration in England and was subsequently revived by Congreve.
This kind of comedy is entirely lacking in truth to nature, and it creates an artificial, imaginary,
illusory world. The Importance of Being Earnest too is deficient in truth to nature. However, it is
free from the indecency and obscenity which were a glaring feature of Restoration comedy. The
Importance of Being Earnest is characterized by exaggeration and extravagance both in its plot
and its dialogue. In fact, the keynote of this play is absurdity. The proper description of this play
is to call it a farce.An Artist in Sheer Nonsense

One of the contemporary reviewers of this play expressed the view that by writing The
Importance of Being Earnest Wilde “found himself as an artist in sheer nonsense”. That reviewer
called this play a farce “in which there is no discordant note of seriousness”. “It is of nonsense all
compact, and better nonsense our stage has. not seen,” he added. In this play Wilde shows
himself as “an artificer of the ludicrous”. There is no philosophy, no profundity, no underlying
significance, no symbolism, and no theme even in this play. It is just talk, witty talk, and the chief
interest of thee play lies in that witty talk.

A Trivial Comedy For Serious People

Wide described the play as a “trivial comedy”, and, he was right ; but he also described it as a
trivial comedy “for serious people”, which is a paradox characteristic of Wilde. How can a trivial
comedy appeal to serious people ? Perhaps Wilde meant that even serious people would be
moved to laughter by the comedy of this play. Or, perhaps, he meant that, though it was a trivial
comedy,, it did convey certain ideas which might interest serious people.

The Farcical Situation of a Baby Found in a Hand-Bag

The distinguishing feature of a farcical comedy, as already indicated above, is exaggeration to the
point of absurdity. Now, most of the situations in The Importance of Being Earnest are absurd
and they amuse us by their very absurdity. The central situation about which the play hinges is
Jack’s having been found in a hand-bag in the cloak-room of a railway station in London. Jack is
thus a foundling. (A foundling is a child who is found somewhere, having been abandoned or
forsaken, most probably because it was -an illegitimate child and its mother wanted to get. rid of
it in the hope that somebody else would find it and bring it up out of sympathy or pass it on to
an orphanage). The fact of` being a foundling is not by itself absurd. What is absurd is that Miss
Prism, the nurse, committed a blunder by putting the child in a hand-bag and the three-volume
novel written by her in the perambulator instead of putting the manuscript in the hand-bag and
letting the child remain in the perambulator. Now, it is impossible for us to believe that anybody,
no matter how absentminded, can commit a blunder of that kind. That is not the only absurdity.
We do not understand why, after having committed that blunder, Miss Prism did not go back to
her employers to report the loss of the child and why she simply disappeared from the scene.
There is nothing absurd about Mr. Thomas Cardew’s discovery of the foundling, but it is absurd
that he should have named the child Worthing because he was having a first-class railway ticket
for a sea-side resort called Worthing.

The Witty Remarks Made By Lady Bracknell

The absurdity of the manner in which Jack was lost as an infant serves as the basis for a number
of witty remarks by Lady Bracknell and also as the basis for her rejection of Jack as her would-be
son-in-law. When, in the course of her interrogation of Jack, she is told that he does not know his
parentage, she tells him that she can never allow her daughter “to marry into a cloak-room and
form an alliance with a parcel”, which is one of her most witty remarks. When Jack asks her what
he should do under the circumstances, her advice to him is to try and acquire some relations as
soon as possible and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, as
soon as possible. When, towards the end of the play, Miss Prism gives an account of how she
had lost the child, Jack jumps to the conclusion that he is the illegitimate son of Miss Prism
herself and so he amuses us by offering to forgive his supposed mother for her act of folly in
having been seduced and having given birth to an illegitimate child.

The Absurdity of Gwendolen’s Rapturous Reaction to the Name “Ernest”

Another absurdity which could be found only in a farcical comedy is Gwendolen’s rapturous
reaction to the name of Ernest. She tells Jack that it had always been her ideal to love some one
of the name of Earnest because there is something in this name that inspires absolute
confidence. She adds that the moment her cousin Algernon first mentioned to, her the fact that
he had a friend called Ernest, she knew that she was destined; to love the man having that
name. She also makes the paradoxical statement that she was far from indifferent to Jack even
before having met him. He always had an irresistible fascination for her, she says. She also makes
it clear that she could not love a man with any other name. The name Jack, for instance, is not
acceptable to her because this name is a notorious domesticity for John. Gwendolen pities any
woman who is married to a man called John because such a woman would never enjoy the
pleasure of a single moment’s solitude. The name Ernest, she says, is a divine name, with a
music of its own. It is a name that produces vibrations. All Gwendolen’s comments on the name
Ernest are absurd, but delightfully witty. No woman in her senses would talk in this way about a
name, but this very talk constitutes one of the comic highlights of the play.

The Absurdity of Cecily’s Having Fallen in Love With Algernon

Another absurdity in this farcical comedy is Cecily’s similar reaction to the name Ernest. Cecily
too says that there is something in the name Ernest which seems to inspire absolute confidence,
and she too pities any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest. She too says
that it had always been a girlish dream of hers to love some one whose name was Ernest. We
have already noted the absurdity of Gwendolen’s reaction to the name Ernest, and now a similar
reaction oh the part of another girl to that name makes the situation doubly absurd. Not only
that, the absurdity in Cecily’s case is further heightened by the account she gives to Jack of now
she tell in love with him and got engaged to him in her imagination. She tells Jack that she had
become engaged to him on the kith of February, about three months ago, and that the next day
she had bought an engagement ring in his name and also a bangle with the true lover’s knot
which she promised him in her imagination always to wear. The absurdity does not end here.
Cecily has also been writing letters to her lover, and been replying to those letters on his behalf.
She always wrote three times a week, and sometimes oftener. “Oh one occasion she broke off
her engagement with him because of a quarrel, but she forgave him within the same week and
got engaged to him again.

The Absurdity of the Proposed Christenings

Yet another absurdity in the play is “the decision of both Algernon and Jack to be rechristened in
order to acquire the name of Ernest watch has fascinated their beloveds. Both of them make
appointments with Dr. Chasuble for the christening ceremonies which Dr. Chasuble readily
agrees to perform is really surprising and incredible that two sensible, well-educated girls should
be fascinated by a name, and that two sensible and well-educated men should think of changing
their names to Ernest because of that fascination. But farcical situations are always incredible or
at least improbable.

The Absurdity of Certain Remarks and Statements

Then there are some remarks made by the various characters, in the play which are too
preposterous to be believed, and these remarks too are part of the farce. For instance,
Gwendolen makes the paradoxical and amusing remark that the simplicity of Jack’s character
makes him exquisitely incomprehensible to her. (if a man’s character is simple, it should be
perfectly comprehensible and not incomprehensible). Cecily makes the remark that the memory
of a human being records the things that have never happened and could no; possibly have
happened, which too is a paradoxical statement. Dr. Chasuble says that his sermon on the
meaning of the manna in the wilderness can be adapted to almost any occasion, joyful or
distressing. Cecily’s keenness to enter in her diary the words that Algernon speaks in praise of
her beauty is also absurd. Her saying that Dr. Chasuble is a great scholar who has never written a
single book is also a remark of that kind. Algernon makes the remark that half of the people who
get into the Bankruptcy Court are called Algernon. Another remark of the same kind which
Algernon makes is that, when he is in. trouble, eating is the only thing that consoles him.

The Realistic Elements in the Play

In spite of so many absurdities in this play, it must be admitted that there are a number of
realistic, and credible situations and happenings in the play also. For instance, there is nothing,
nonsensical or absurd or fantastic about Algernon’s invention of Bunbury and Jack’s invention of
a younger brother called Ernest. We all seek excuses for some of out unusual or objectionable
activities, and both Algernon and Jack have created two persons in order to cover up their
escapades. Lady Bracknell’s reaction to Jack’s account of his origin is also perfectly believable. No
society lady would agree to the marriage of her daughter with a man whose parentage is not
known. Lady Bracknell’s reaction to the fact that Cecily has a large amount of money in her name
is also perfectly believable, because a bride who can bring a rich dowry is always acceptable to
people. There is nothing fantastic about the three love-affairs in the play also. It is perfectly
natural for Jack to be in love with Gwendolen, for Algernon to fall in love with Cecily as soon as
he sees her, and for Dr Chasuble to be attracted by Miss Prism and to marry her in order to
relieve his loneliness even though the Primitive Church was opposed to matrimony. Nor is there
anything absurd about Gwendolen’s flight from home to meet her lover at his country home. So
many girls run away from their homes to join their lovers.

The Possible Appeal of This Play For Serious People

It is quite possible that Wilde, apart from providing rich comic fare to his audiences, wanted also
the serious people among them to derive some food for thought from his play. Wilde posed as a
“trifler”, but he was a, trifler with a capacity for, thinking, and there is often a wonderful
suggestiveness in his lightest banter and his wildest paradox. Several remarks in the play seem-to
have a” serious point. For instance, the excessive consumption of wine by servants at parties at.
Algernon’s flat is the kind of complaint which all bachelors will share. Again, Algernon voices a
well established fact that, strictly speaking, romance ends when a proposal of marriage is
accepted. Algernon is right also when he speaks of English society of the time suffering from the
corruption which was depicted in French drama. That relatives are a pack of tedious people is
another observation containing a large measure of truth. Another serious element in the play is
the portrayal of Lady Bracknell as a snobbish woman with a mercenary outlook. This portrayal is
a satirical attack on social snobbery, class-consciousness, and greed for money. The portrayal of
Dr. Chasuble may also be taken in a serious light as a satirical picture of the .hypocrisy and
shallowness of certain members of the clergy. Furthermore, the play also poses the problem as
to how Jack should have been treated by society if he had really been an abandoned, illegitimate
child. Gwendolen, no doubt, finds Jack’s origin to be exciting or stirring, but Lady Bracknell
rejects him summarily, and it is Lady Bracknell, who is the true representative of fashionable
society. Indeed, there is much food for thought in the play for serious people, and the author has
made it very enjoyable too by his wit.
----------------------------------

A comic treatment of the theme of love and marriage. How far is it correct to describe The
Importance of Being Earnest in these terms ?

Three Successful Love-Affairs

There are three love-affairs in the Importance of Being Earnest. Jack Worthing is in love with
Gwendolen Fairfax ; Algernon is in love with Cecily Cardew ; and Dr. Chasuble is drawn towards
Miss Prism who is the governess in Jack’s household. There is no serious obstacle in the way of
the fulfilment of any of the love-affairs, and the desire of each of the characters is fulfilled by the
time the play ends.

Jack’s Intention to Propose Marriage to Gwendolen

We learn about Jack’s love for Gwendolen in the very opening Act. Jack is on a visit to Algernon
whom he informs that be has come to town expressly to propose marriage to Gwendolen.
Algernon’s comment on Jack’s intention is that there is nothing romantic in proposing marriage
though it is very romantic to be in love. The excitement comes to an end with the acceptance of
a proposal of marriage, says Algernon. He also says that, if ever he gets married, he will try to
forget the fact, to which Jack replies that the Divorce Court was specially invented for people
whose memories are short. Algernon remarks that divorces are made in heaven.

Gwendolen’s Prompt Acceptance (if Jack’s Proposal of Marriage

Lady Bracknell comes to Algernon’s flat for tea in the company of her daughter Gwendolen. As
already arranged between Algernon and Jack, Algernon takes Lady Bracknell away into another
room in order to enable Jack to have a few moments alone with Gwendolen and to make his
proposal of marriage. Jack expresses his love for Gwendolen in a halting, hesitant manner, but
Gwendolen gives him a favourable reply promptly and in unambiguous terms. She tells him that
it has been her ideal to love someone of the name of Ernest because there” is something in that
name which inspires absolute confidence. (She knows Jack under his assumed name of Ernest).
She tells Jack that he has always had an irresistible fascination for her. When Jack asks her if she
would not have loved him in case his name had been different, she says that this question
involves a metaphysical speculation and has no reference to the actual facts of real life. When
Jack says that the name Ernest does not suit him at all, Gwendolen replies that it suits him
perfectly, that it is a divine name with a music of its own, and that it produces vibrations. Jack
asks her what she thinks of the name Jack, and Gwendolen says that this name has no music in
it, that it does not thrill her,” and that it produces absolutely no vibration. The name Jack, she
says, is a “notorious domesticity” for John, and a woman married to a man having this name
would never have the pleasure” of a single moment’s solitude. The only real safe name is Ernest,
says Gwendolen. Jack then decides to be christened in order to acquire the name of Ernest.
When Jack says that they must get married at once, Gwendolen replies that he has mentioned
marriage without having formally proposed to her whereupon Jack makes a formal proposal
which Gwendolen immediately accepts, saying that his eyes are wonderfully blue and expressing
the hope that he will always look at her in the same loving manner in which he is looking at her
now.

Lady Bracknell’s Objection to Jack’s Proposal of Marriage

Then comes the obstacle in the way of the marriage of Jack and Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell
cross-examines Jack in order to determine his suitability as her would-be son-in-law. In reply to
her questions, he tells her that he does not smoke, that his age is twentynine, that he knows
nothing, that his income is between, seven and eight thousand pounds a year, that he has a
country house with some land attached to it, and so on. Lady Bracknell feels quite satisfied with
all these particulars but when Jack tells her, in reply to another question, that he does not know
his parentage and that he was found as an infant by Mr. Thomas Cardew, a man of a very
charitable and benevolent nature, who brought him up and gave him the name of Worthing,
Lady Bracknell feels outraged and tells him that she cannot allow her daughter to marry a man
who was found as an infant in a hand-bag lying in a railway cloak-room. She cannot allow her
only daughter “to marry into a cloak room and form an alliance with a parcel” says Lady
Bracknell. The interrogation by Lady Bracknell has been quite an ordeal for Jack who tells
Algernon that Lady Bracknell is perfectly unbearable and that she is really a Gorgon, “a monster
without being a myth”.

The Love-Affair Between Algernon and Cecily

The love-affair between Algernon and Cecily begins in Act II. Algernon’s curiosity about Cecily
having been aroused by the inscription on Jack’s cigarette-case, Algernon visits Jack’s country
residence in the disguise of Jack’s younger brother, Ernest (who is an imaginary person invented
by. Jack as an excuse for paying his frequent visits to London). Algernon falls in love with Cecily at
first sight and, when he praises her beauty, she tells him that she had fallen in love with him
without even having met or seen him. He tells her that he thinks her to be the visible
personification of absolute perfection, and that he loves her wildly, passionately, devotedly, and
hopelessly. He then asks her if she will marry him, and she replies that she will certainly marry
him because she has been engaged to him for the last three months. Algernon is surprised to
hear this. But Cecily explains that she fell in love with him at the very time when her Uncle Jack
first told her that he had a younger brother by the name of Ernest who was very wicked and bad.
She had even bought herself an engagement ring on his behalf and she had also obtained a
bangle with the true lover’s knot as a gift from him. Not only that, she had been writing letters to
him regularly and had herself been replying to them on his behalf. Once she had broken off the
engagement because he bad offended her, but she had forgiven him within the same week, and
the engagement had been restored. She then praises his hair for curling naturally, and she
admires his name, saying that it had always been a girlish dream of hers to love some one
having, the name of Ernest because there was something in that name which inspired absolute
confidence. Algernon asks her whether she could not have loved him if his name had been
different, and Cecily replies that if he had a different name, such as Algernon, she might have
admired his character but she could not have given him her undivided attention. On learning
that the name Ernest has a great deal to do with Cecily’s love for him, Algernon too decides to
undergo a christening ceremony in order to acquire the name of Ernest, just as lack had done.: It
is amusing to find that both Jack and Algernon now make an appointment with Dr. Chasuble for
christening ceremonies in order to get the name of Ernest which: has a great charm for both
Gwendolen and Cecily. It is part of the absurdity of this play that two well-educated and
aristocratic girls are fascinated by the name Ernest and that they fall in love with two men who
are supposed to have this name.
A Misunderstanding Between the Two Girls

A misunderstanding arises when Gwendolen comes on a visit to Jack’s country residence. Both
Gwendolen and Cecily think that the same man, by the name of Ernest, has proposed marriage
to them. They exchange some sarcastic remarks because of this misunderstanding. The
misunderstanding is, however, cleared up and the two women become allies on discovering that
neither of their lovers has the name of Ernest. Jack admits that he has no brother at all, while
Algernon also admits that he is not Ernest but Algernon. These confessions by the two men
annoy the girls and they behave as if they were feeling greatly offended with their lovers for
having pretended to have a name which they actually did not have. However, they admire their
lovers” spirit of self-sacrifice in so far as they are ready to undergo the ceremony of being
christened once again at this age in order to – acquire the name of Ernest. In view of this
readiness on the part of the two men to undergo the christening ceremony, the girls no longer
attach any importance to the name. However, a new hitch arises, and it is in Act III that this hitch
is dealt with learning that her nephew Algernon is interested in marrying Cecily, she inquires
about various particulars of the girl and feels quite satisfied as to her suitability as her nephew’s
wife when she is told that Cecily has a large amount of money in her name. Lady Bracknell gives
her approval to the proposed marriage of Algernon and Cecily, but she still does not approve of
her daughter Gwendolen marrying Jack, her objection being that his parentage is unknown and
that he is therefore not acceptable to her as a son-in-law.

Jack’s Objection

Jack, who is Cecily’s legal guardian, now refuses to allow Cecily to get married to Algernon.
When Lady Bracknell asks him why he does not allow this marriage, he says that the solution to
the problem lies in Lady Bracknell’s own hands. He will allow his ward Cecily to marry Algernon,
if Lady Bracknell allows her daughter Gwendolen to marry him (Jack).
A Discovery

Lady Bracknell still cannot allow her daughter to marry a man whose parentage is unknown. But
this difficulty is removed when, as a result of Lady Bracknell’s interrogation of Miss Prism, it is
found that Jack is the son of Lady Bracknell’s own late sister and the elder brother of Algernon.
In view of this discovery, Lady Bracknell can have no objection to the marriage of her daughter
Gwendolen to Jack.

The Love-Affair Between Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble

The third love-affair which also achieves its fulfilment is the one between Miss Prism and Dr.
Chasuble. We meet both these persons in Act II and it becomes clear as soon as they are
introduced to us that they are emotionally interested in each other. Cecily has perceived the
attraction between the Rector and her governess, and that is why she suggests that Miss Prism
should go for a walk with Dr. Chasuble. Miss Prism suggests to Dr. Chasuble that, in view of his
loneliness, he should get married. She can understand a “misanthrope”, but not a
“womanthrope”, she says. Dr. Chasuble replies that the Primitive Church was distinctly opposed
to matrimony, but Miss Prism says that, by persistently remaining unmarried, a man converts
himself into a permanent public temptation. The flirtation between Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism
leads to a happy result. When Gwendolen and Cecily accept their respective lovers whole-
heartedly, Dr. Chasuble embraces Miss Prism and says enthusiastically : “At last” ! Thus the play
ends with the fulfilment of the three love-affairs.

-------------------------------

Oscar Wilde is famous for his gift of wit. To Who extent does The Importance of Being Earnest
illustrate this aspect of Wilde as a playwright ?

A Dearth of Action in Wilde’s Plays

There is very little action in the plays of Oscar Wilde. Wilde’s own mother once complained to
him about the dearth of action in his plays and urged him to put more action in them. However,
action was not the strong point of Wilde as a playwright. All his famous plays, of which there are
only four, are comedies of dialogue, and The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception. The
notion in this play is quite inadequate and the entire appeal of the play lies in the brilliance of its
dialogue.

Action in Act I

Hardly anything happens in the entire play. In terms of action, The Importance of Being Earnest
is a flimsy play.” In Act I, for instance, the only action consists in the following developments Jack
Worthing’s visit to Algernon’s flat ; the arrival of Lady Bracknell and her daughter Gwendolen for
tea at the same place ; Jack’s proposal of marriage to Gwendolen and her immediate acceptance
of it Jack’s inward decision to change his name to Ernest; Lady Bracknell’s rejection of Jack as
possible son-in-law after her interrogation of him and his confession that he does not know his
parentage. Besides these incidents, we are also informed that while Algernon has invented an
ailing friend by the name o Bunbury to serve as an excuse for his frequently leaving the town to
escape from its social activities, Jack has invented a younger brother by the name of Ernest in
order to serve as an excuse for his leaving his country home in order to pay frequent visits to
London.

Action in Act II

In Act II the action consists in the following situations Cecily’s finding an excuse for Miss Prism to
go for a walk with Dr. Chasuble ; Algernon’s arrival at the Manor House in disguise in order to get
acquainted with Cecily, Jack’s return home in mourning clothes ; Gwendolen’s unexpected arrival
at Jack’s country home and the misunderstanding that takes place between her and Cecily
;Algernon’s decision and the arrangements made by both Jack and Algernon for their christening
by Dr. Chasuble ; and Algernon’s refusal to leave Jack’s house.
Action in Act III

In Act III, the action consists in Lady Bracknell’s arrival at the Manor House ; Lady Bracknell’s
approval of Cecily’s marriage to Algernon but her continued disapproval of Gwendolen’s
marriage to Jack ; Jack’s objection to Cecily’s marriage to Algernon ; Lady Bracknell’s
interrogation of Miss Prism and the resolution of the main complication of the play.

The Wit and Humour in the Remarks of All the Characters

Thus there is very little of what is called “plot” in this play and yet it is a play which holds the
attention and the interest of the audience and the readers throughout. It is the humour and the
wit of the dialogue which lends to the play its main interest. Each of the characters gives
evidence of a brilliant wit in whatever be or she says. As all the characters are well-educated
(even the governess Miss Prism has written a three-volume novel), the humour and the wit in
the speeches of each is not of the unconscious variety. In other words, each character is
conscious of his or her wit. But it must be kept in mind that none of the characters gives any sign
of being aware that he or she is speaking in a witty manner. Another point to note is that the wit
is not laboured but spontaneous and effortless. Witty remarks, statements, and comments flow
from the lips of the various characters naturally. In fact, it is impossible for us, on a closer view,
to believe that all the characters can possess such a fertile wit ; but in the theatre, or. even in the
study, we hardly stop to question the talent for making witty remarks of which every character
provides ample evidence. And, in any case, we know that we are reading what is known as an
artificial comedy, and so it does not matter whether the possession of this gift of wit by so many
characters is something convincing or not.

The Display of Wit By Algernon and Jack

The comic and witty quality of the play becomes apparent to us in the very opening, dialogue
which takes place between Algernon and his servant Lane. Even the servant amuses us by his
remark that bachelors keep superior wines in their homes and that in married households the
wine is rarely of a first-rate brand. Lane’s remark about marriage leads Algernon to make a
paradoxical statement which also amuses us. Algernon says that the lower orders of society
should set a good example by showing a sense of moral responsibility so that the upper classes
can learn something from them. This dialogue is followed by a much longer dialogue between
Algernon and lack, and in the course of this dialogue we come across a large number of witty
remarks to which both these characters make a contribution, though Algernon shows himself to
be more witty than his friend. Algernon indulges in a lot of bantering talk in connection with the
inscription on Jack’s cigarette-case. One of the witty remarks that Algernon makes here is that
girls never marry the men they flirt with. Jack makes a witty remark when he says that some
aunts are tall, some aunts are not tall, and that it is a matter which an aunt may be allowed to
decide for herself. Algernon makes another paradoxical and witty remark when he says that
literary criticism should be left to people who have never been at a university. He makes yet
another witty remark by saying that the number of women in London who flirt with their own
husbands is perfectly scandalous: Another witty remark comes from Algernon when he gives a
twist to a well-known saying and modifies it by saying that in married life three is a company and
two is none. Another paradoxical remark from Algernon is that people who are not-serious
about meals are shallow-minded.

The Display of Wit By Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen

Then Lady Bracknell and her daughter Gwendolen arrive, and we have some real fireworks. On
being told by Jack that she is perfect, Gwendolen replies that she would not like to be perfect
because perfection would leave no room for developments and because she intends to develop
in many directions. Lady Bracknell makes a very witty remark when she says that Mr. Bunbury
should make up his mind whether he is going to live or to die and that his shilly-shallying with
the question is absurd. She also says that she does not approve of the modern sympathy with
invalids, which is a paradoxical remark because generally one is expected to be sympathetic
towards the sick and the ailing. Gwendolen’s reaction to the name Ernest is highly amusing to us.
It is indeed very funny that a highly sophisticated girl should find in the name Ernest something
that inspires absolute confidence. It has always been her ideal, she says, to love some one of the
name of Ernest. Lady Bracknell makes a very witty remark when, on seeing Jack kneeling. before
Gwendolen, she says to him “Rise, sir, from this semi-recumbent posture ; it is most indecorous.”
A witty remark which is also paradoxical is made by Lady Bracknell when she says that she does
not approve of anything that interferes with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic
fruit which should not be touched but should be allowed to remain intact. She thinks it fortunate
that education in England produces no effect whatsoever on the people because, if it were to
produce any effect, it would prove to be a serious danger to the upper classes. One, of Lady
Bracknell’s wittiest remarks is that to be born or bred in a handbag shows a contempt for the
ordinary decencies of family life reminding her of the worst excesses of “the French Revolution.
This remark is amusing because of the extreme exaggeration implied in the comparison of a
child’s being found in a hand-bag with the worst excesses of the French Revolution. But,
perhaps, the most hilarious remark that Lady Bracknell makes is that she and her husband
cannot allow their “only daughter to marry into a cloakroom and form an alliance with a parcel.”

More Witty Remarks By Algernon and Jack

After Lady Bracknell has rejected Jack as a possible son-in-law and has then left, Jack makes a
witty remark when he calls her a Gorgon, and adds that she is a “monster without being a myth”.
Jack makes another witty remark when, on being asked by Algernon if he has told Gwendolen
the truth about his being Ernest in town and Jack in the country, Jack says that truth is not quite
the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, and refined girl like Gwendolen. To this, Algernon
replies wittily that the only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her if she is pretty and
to make love to some other woman if the first one is unattractive. There is something comic in
the very invention of an ailing friend by the name of Bunbury and a younger brother by the
name Ernest. Referring to the invention of Bunbury, Algernon says that, if he had not invented
this friend with extraordinarily bad health, he would not have been able to escape from his
dinner-engagement with Lady Bracknell. Towards the end of Act I we again meet Lane who, on
being told that he is a perfect pessimist, replies that he does his best to give satisfaction to his
master, implying paradoxically that his pessimism should be a cause of satisfaction to his
employer. Act I ends with Jack telling Algernon that the latter always talks nonsense and with
Algernon replying that everybody talks nonsense and nothing but nonsense. Thus the whole of
Act I is replete with witty paradoxes, sarcasms, ironical remarks, and amusing statements which
have an epigrammatic quality.
Witty Remarks of Miss Prism, Cecily, and Gwendolen

The wit shows no signs of dwindling in Act II. In the beginning of this Act, we find Miss Prism
telling Cecily that she is not in favour of the modern mania for turning bad people into good
people at a moment’s notice, which is certainly an amusing remark. Cecily makes an amusing
remark when she says that memory records the things that have never happened and could not
possibly have happened. This remark is also a paradox. Another paradoxical and witty remark is
made by Cecily when she says that she does not like novels that end happily because such novels
depress her much. Miss Prism makes a witty remark when, talking to Dr. Chasuble, she says that
by remaining unmarried a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation. We are
greatly amused also when Dr. Chasuble claims that his sermon on the meaning of the manna in
the wilderness can be adapted to almost any occasion, joyful or distressing. He has preached this
sermon at harvest celebrations, christenings, confirmations, on days of humiliation and festivals
days. Of course, Dr. Chasuble does not say this in order to amuse anybody ; in fact, he is quite
serious about what he is saying ; but he produces a comic effect, and the humour” here is
unconscious. Miss Prism amuses us when she says that the news of the sudden return of Jack’s
younger brother who was supposed to have died is peculiarly distressing. Several other remarks
made by Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism are also very amusing. Cecily makes a paradoxical and
amusing remark when she says that it is always painful to part from people whom one has
known for a brief space of time but that the absence of old friends can be endured without
much difficulty. Cecily’s whole account of how she had fallen in love with Algernon (who has
come in the disguise of Jack’s younger brother Ernest) and how she had become engaged to him
is also extremely amusing and would make an audience roar with laughter. She also amuses us
when she says that she would like to put down in her diary whatever words her lover has to
speak to her in order to express his sentiments about her. Algernon makes a very witty remark
when he says that half of the chaps who get into the Bankruptcy Court are all called Algernon.
Gwendolen makes a sarcastic remark to Cecily when, after Cecily has mentioned a spade,
Gwendolen says : “I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social
spheres have been widely different.” Act II closes with Algernon again indulging in banter at the
cost of Jack, and Jack ultimately groaning and sinking into a chair while Algernon continues to
eat muffins.

Witty Dialogue in Act III

Nor is Act III deficient in wit. Lady Bracknell, for instance, says that hesitation of any kind is a sign
of mental decay in the young and of physical weakness in the old. Speaking to Cecily, Lady
Bracknell says that an experienced French maid would certainly bring about a lot of
improvement in Cecily’s hair and her way of dressing. She gives the example of Lady Lancing
whom her own husband could not recognize after she had undergone the treatment by a French
maid for three months. Jack here intervenes to say that after six months nobody could recognize
that lady, which also is a witty remark. Lady Bracknell amuses us greatly when she says that she
does not approve of mercenary marriages, giving her own example and pointing out that when
she married Lord Bracknell she had no fortune of any kind. It is extremely amusing for us to hear
Lady Bracknell say that she never allowed her lack of dowry to stand in the way of her marriage
to Lord Bracknell. Another witty remark “made by Lady Bracknell is that thirtyfive is an attractive
age for a woman to get married. London society, she adds, is full of women of the very highest
birth who have remained thirtyfive for years. When Lady Bracknell refuses to give her consent to
her daughter’s marriage to Jack, Jack wittily says : “Then a passionate celibacy is all that any one
of us can look forward to.” Gwendolen makes a paradoxical and witty remark when, on being
asked by Jack to wait for him, she says “If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my
life.”

In short, although some of the situations in the play are certainly funny, it is the dialogue which
keeps us laughing most of time.

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