I chose lines 1399-1408. The chorus says, “Time who sees all has found you out against your will; judges your marriage accursed, begetter and begot at one in it. O child of Laius, would I had never seen you. I weep for you and cry a dirge of lamentation. To speak directly, I drew my breath from you at the first and so now I lull my mouth to sleep with your name.” (Sophocles 1399-1408). At this point in the story, Oedipus has found Jocosta dead by suicide and he has repeatedly stabbed him in the eye out of shame and despair. In this passage I chose, the chorus begins by basically saying “Oedipus had tried to escape his fate (determined by Apollo), but time caught up with him and it happened anyway”. The chorus goes and seems to still revere Oedipus even though he has discovered who he really is. The chorus also can’t stop mourning for Oedipus. It seems like the chorus has a fascination with Oedipus’ tragedy and can’t stop detailing about his sorrow. The beautiful language in this passage contributes to great tragic theatre. Instead of the chorus just saying, “we’re sad for you Oedipus”, they go as far to say, “I weep for you and cry a dirge of lamentation” (Sophocles 1404-1405); it’s like they’re feeling the weight of his loss. The next line is also really beautiful language and also like a metaphor (?) in the fact that the chorus is still glorifying Oedipus and will “sleep with name” and still hold him close in their hearts.
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3 thoughts on “Catherine Lee Discussion 2”
I agree with what you wrote Catherine this is a beautiful language as you stated. Unfortunately time did catch up to Oedipus he tried to escape his fate. He felt terrible and he did not want to kill his father as stated in lines 1125 – 1130. The plot twist is definitely memorable and sad. You have summarized the quote in great detailed. This play was definitely a handful to read but you seem to understand everything
Catherine, you have gone way ahead of where we are so far, but that’s okay. Most people are aware of what is going to happen in the play, as all the ancient Greek viewers would have been. I like your observation that the people seem to have a “fascination” with Oedipus’s tragedy. I think we can see this kind of fascination in our own times when a tragedy befalls someone great or famous. It’s almost as if we are mesmerized by the fall of someone “rich and famous,” who seems to “have it all.”
Hi Catherine,
You chose a great scene in the entire story. I love how you interpreted the quote; the chorus definitely seems to have a type of fascination with Oedipus’ tragedy. Perhaps they can’t get over it, or they find relief in mourning and grief. This part of the story is, in my opinion, the most crucial parts of the overall plot. It is when Oedipus discovers his reality, finds Jocosta dead by suicide, and in turn critically injures his eyes out of embarrassment and guilt. I agree with you about the beautiful language being used to make statements. It really brings life to the entire theatrical drama the author is trying to bring forth.