Sophocles Journal #5

Through the structure of the plot, Sophocles is able to bring up pity and fear within the audience in his play "Oedipus the King." Sophocles story goes along a certain path, for example, when Oedipus goes and meets with the Oracle at Delphi, it shows him that he is bound to kill his father. He tries to get away from this fate of his by going to Thebes, there, he conquers the Sphinx and becomes the King. While he is on his way to Thebes, he runs into a man named Laius and kills him, and he ends up to be Oedipus' father. Through this, the crowd feels pity and feels fear for the situation. The pity of the crowd comes from Oedipus' leaving Corinth and Polybus and coming to Thebes, and he ends up killing his own father. This situation brings up fear in the crowd because it shows how things in this play are not things that will always be portrayed in real life. Also, the crowd pities Oedipus when he realizes that Polybus was not his father, and he begins to worry about what to do. When the imagery of light falls upon different aspects of Oedipus' life, the crowd fears this as well because it shows that there is nothing left in Oedipus' character in his life. When Jocasta commits suicide and Oedipus goiges his eyes, the crowd feels pity because they can feel the struggle and pain that Oedipus is going through when his life turns out so terrible.