- Tiresias to Oedipus: “So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this, you with your precious eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life, to the house you live in, those you live with,” p.1311 lines 468-472. He is basically hinting at the evils that Oedipus has already committed, unknowing as he is to it all.
- Tiresias to Oedipus: “Blind who now has eyes, beggar who now is rich, he will grope his way toward a foreign soil, a stick tapping before him step by step,” p. 1312 lines 517-19. He is referring to the lone survivor of Oedipus’ rampage on the caravan years ago. The truth will come out, whether Oedipus wants to see it or not.
- Chorus: “I cannot see what’s to come, what’s still to come…I know of nothing…no charge to bring against our king,” p. 1313 lines 553-57. They are basically saying that they will never convict their beloved king since there will never be proof against him, but the thing they do not know is that they are way off target of who the killer truly is.
- Oedipus to Creon: “I see it all, the marauding thief himself scheming to steal my crown and power,” p. 1314 lines 597-98. He is accusing Creon of planning to overthrow him. Blinded by his anger he can’t seem to see the truth behind everything that has been told to him so far, especially by Tiresias.
- Oedipus appears to be a confident, valiant hero. This is especially true during the situation alluded to at the beginning of the play, when he solves the Sphinx's riddle. Although Oedipus is not a native Theban, he still chooses to answer the riddle of the Sphinx despite her threat of death to anyone who fails to answer correctly. Only a man like Oedipus, a man possessing tremendous self-confidence, could have such courage. When Oedipus succeeds, freeing the city from the Sphinx's evil reign, he becomes instantly famous and known for his bravery and intelligence. Oedipus' bold actions seem to be a blessing, a special gift from the gods used to benefit the city as a whole. Indeed Oedipus is idealized by the Thebans, yet at times he seems to spite the gods, assuming authority that normally belongs to them. He pompously tells the Chorus, which implores the gods for deliverance from the city plague that even though they pray to the gods, he will grant them their prayers. The people accept, even long for, this language from their king. Since the gods don't seem to give them aid, they place their hopes in Oedipus, this noble hero who has saved Thebes in the past and pledges to save it again.
- Jocasta is the first realize that Oedipus is her son and that the prophecy did come true. She ends up committing suicide right after she learns of the news. After hearing from the messenger, Jocasta begs Oedipus not to follow the trail of clues anymore while Oedipus wants to find where Laius is and questions him. Jocasta doesn’t want Oedipus to know the truth about his-self since it will cause him to suffer even more. Oedipus wants to find out who he really is and clear up any doubts he has. Both fail in their ultimate goal.
- The minor characters add a sort of realistic sense, showing how the rulers of a country and the lowest social class interact where the lowest stand bow headed before people who are ranked higher than them. We see a sense of unity as well as the citizens’ respect of Oedipus (for now). The level of what tragedy really is rises because we see that the fate of more people are at stake than just the king and his family’s; the whole city could fall to ruins and that in itself provokes fear and pity within the audience who await the finale.
- We see the Greek family in terms of royalty and what we see is not appealing especially after Oedipus’ actions. The whole thing is screwed up, with the son becoming the husband who is the father to his sisters yet daughters and the brother-in-law to his uncle. Awkward. His daughters are Antigone and Ismene and his sons are Polynices and Etocles. These four are brothers and sisters to each other and sons and daughters to Oedipus but also his siblings. Its mixed up. Freud derived “the Oedipus complex” from the Theban plays because it shows an actual representation of a son growing affectionate of his mother (albeit unknowingly) and marrying her in place of a dead (not present) father.
- 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. 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. 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’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 traveler 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.
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The contribution of the chorus to the total effect of Oedipus is considerable. They link the play with common humanity. In some sense, they are often in the position of the ideal spectator. They fill in the gaps, in the action when no other character is there on the stage. They add to it the element of melody which must have been one of the attractions of Greek tragedy, though now we know very little about Greek music. They provide an appropriate transition between the titanic, heroic figure of Oedipus and the mass of common humanity represented by the two shepherds in Oedipus. The tragedy of Oedipus and its relevance to common life is very well stressed by the Chorus in the exodus. Representing the Theban people, It ties everything up and laments Oedipus’ tragic fate from beginning to end, from glory to downfall, where it concludes that death is the only escape from all pain. It can be imagined as a huge group of people gathered on stage in white ceremonial robes, hands held up in brayer, swaying back and forth with bowed heads as they trudge through the exit off to the right of the amphitheater.
