Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Oedipus Rex Themes, Motifs, and Symbols

They are the fundamental, or often universal truths, explored throughout the text. THEME is defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly.

The willingness to ignore the truth Throughout the play, both Oedipus and Jocasta are lead to clues that reveal the truth, but they choose to ignore them. The audience, hearing the same information, realizes that Oedipus is guilty of Laius’ murder and that Laius and Jocasta are his parents. Rather than acknowledge the truth, they focus on small, insignificant details to convince themselves otherwise. For example, Oedipus and Jocasta focus on the servant’s account saying that Laius was murdered by a group of people, when all other clues point to the fact that it was Oedipus. They both seem to believe that his account is irrefutable, but refuse to entertain the idea that it could be wrong.

Jocasta tells Oedipus the prophecy she and Laius received about their child. Oedipus tells Jocasta the possibility of his being adopted, and the prophecy he learned after leaving Corinth. Both share similar stories, but refuse to acknowledge the coincidence.

Fate and free will In ancient Greece, the people worshiped and feared the gods, believing that they had the power to control their lives. Oedipus’ fate is determined for him from the moment he is born, and later revealed to him when he leaves Corinth. Jocasta and Laius try to fight their fate, believing that they can rid themselves of the prophecy by killing their son. In abandoning their son, it allows him to return to Thebes without knowing his origin. Oedipus tries to fight his fate when he sees the oracle at Delphi. Because he tries to avoid the will of the gods by fleeing Corinth, he ends up on the road to Thebes and consequently fulfills the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother.

The play teaches the lesson that fate is predetermined, and cannot be changed. The characters, in trying to fight their fate, only make it happen. Additionally, trying to fight their fate causes them to suffer even more. Oedipus has free will when he decides to discover the mystery of Laius’ murder and his origin, but only reveals the fate that was destined for him.

They are different from themes, because they are not big universal questions that the text explores. Motifs help to ENHANCE the theme. MOTIFS Are aspects that occur repeatedly in a text. They are significant ideas that enhance the meaning of the text as a whole.

Sight vs. blindness There are 2 meanings of sight in the play: physically being able to see, and having the gift of sight, or prophecy. There are 2 meanings of blindness in the play: being physically blind, or being blind to the truth.

Oedipus starts the play as physically being able to see, but is blind to the fact that he married his mother and murdered his father. All the clues point to Oedipus as the murderer and reveal his origin, but he is completely oblivious to what is presented to him. Tiresias, the blind prophet, is physically blind, but has the gift of sight. He is able to tell Oedipus the truth about Laius’ murder as well as his origin. There is a strong relationship between the 2 concepts, where a person can not have both forms of sight. When Oedipus realizes the truth, he becomes physically blind.

Action vs. reflection As a king, Oedipus is a man of action. He declares that HE will be the one to solve the mystery of Laius murder, and takes many steps to make that happen. If Oedipus stopped to take a moment to reflect on his actions, perhaps his situation would not have ended so badly. Oedipus quickly accuses Creon of murder and treason, “curses the doer,” and wishes eternal suffering for the cause of the pollution in Thebes. Oedipus could have greatly benefitted from taking a moment to reflect before committing most of his actions that lead to his downfall.

Prophecy Throughout the play, the main characters rely heavily on prophecies to reveal truth in their lives. The characters can choose to believe the prophecies or ignore them. Creon, Oedipus, and the chorus believe the prophecies or the oracle and Tiresias in the beginning of the play. Jocasta has a decidedly negative view on the power of prophecies and believes they carry no weight. Oedipus, although he chooses to ignore the power of prophecies early on, learns his lesson about their truth in the end.

symbols Symbolism is the use of an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant.

Oedipus’ “swollen feet” Oedipus gets his name from the fact that he was left in the mountains with his ankles pinned together. Jocasta explains that Laius abandoned him in this state on a barren mountain shortly after he was born. The injury leaves Oedipus with a vivid scar for the rest of his life. Oedipus’s injury symbolizes the way in which fate has marked him and set him apart. It also symbolizes the way his movements have been confined and constrained since birth, by Apollo’s prophecy to Laius.

Three-way crossroads Jocasta says that Laius was slain at a place where three roads meet. This crossroads is referred to multiple times, and symbolizes the crucial moment, long before the events of the play, when Oedipus began to fulfill the dreadful prophecy that he would murder his father and marry his mother. A crossroads is a place where a choice has to be made, so crossroads usually symbolize moments where decisions will have important consequences but where different choices are still possible. In the play, the crossroads is part of the distant past, dimly remembered, and Oedipus was not aware at the time that he was making a fateful decision. In this play, the crossroads symbolizes fate and the awesome power of prophecy rather than freedom and choice.