what impressions do we gain of Oedipus as a king and as a man?

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In the Prologue and the First Episode, what impressions do we gain of Oedipus as a king and as a man?

The play ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’ is a famous tragedy written by an ancient Greek tragedian called Sophocles. The main protagonist of this play is Oedipus, happens to complete a prophecy that stated that he would kill his father and marry his own mother. Like in almost all greek tragedies, Oedipus is the tragic hero here and from the prologue and the first episode one may think that the tragic flaw or the weakness of the tragic hero is his intense anger.

The play begins with a dramatic situation where the Thebians are undergoing a deadly plague. In the opening scene there is a civic gathering where the desperate Thebians ask for help from Oedipus. This is a key scene in the play, because Sophocles uses it to portray Oedipus as a good King from the very beginning of the play. In fact the opening line suggests that Oedipus has a sense of paternal benevolence from the way in which he addresses his Thebians as his ‘Children’. (l.1) This can be further seen in other points of the opening speech where he says that ‘I  would be a hard man Not to feel sympathy for a gathering like this’.(l.12-13)

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From the way he sympathizes for the Thebians, one can understand that he cares for his people. Sophocles highlights another good characteristic of Oedipus that makes him a good king in his opening speech: his dutifulness. ‘I thought it wrong to rely on the reports, Of others, so have come here myself’ (l.6-7). This again manifests his availability as a king and his dutifulness. As the play goes on, an emotive side to Oedipus’s character is also shown where he empathizes with the Thebians about the horrific situation. ‘Believe me, I’ve shed many tears’ (l.66) .

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