Symbolism in Oedipus the King
The play ‘Oedipus the King’ by Sophocles is about King Oedipus the king who slew his father, and took his mother to be his wife. It commences with King Oedipus concerns about the plague which has befallen Thebes. After consulting the prophet, Creon informs Oedipus that the plague is a curse from gods and it will end when the murder of the former king is prosecuted. At this point, King Oedipus is determined to discover and prosecute the murderer of the first King Laius. The play ends with a revelation of Oedipus as the real murder of King Laius.
Symbolism is one of the literary devices used in the plot development of Oedipus the King. In literary work, a symbol refers to an object or an event representing something in a play. Symbols are also used to express ideas or enlarge the plot and give deeper meaning to varied concepts in the story; hence, an analysis of symbols reveals the hidden meaning of the play. Notably, in Oedipus the King, Sophocles utilizes several symbols to indicate the veiled truth concerning the relationship between Oedipus and his quest for truth. Some of the predominant symbols include the three-way crossroads, eyes, Oedipus swollen foot, and the tomb.
The Oedipus swollen foot symbolism is a major symbol in the play from which Oedipus is named. As revealed by the messenger from Corinth, three days after his birth, Laius his father tied his ankles and threw him away on the mountains (Sophocles 50). Notably, this decision was prompted by the prophecy of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother. The merciless act of Laius injured Oedipus’ foot and created a permanent scar. Notably, his swollen ankle symbolizes entrapment, Oedipus was trapped and confined at birth and he cannot free himself from the trap. Hence, Sophocles uses the scar to symbolize the fate that characterized Oedipus’s life. The scars not only symbolize the trap but also they are a visible sign of a prophecy of doom. They symbolize Oedipus’ predetermined destruction as already experienced in infancy. Similarly, the scars underscore the irony of Oedipus’ ignorance. Although Oedipus bears the marks that hint about his identity, he moves on oblivious of the scars. Also, he is ignorant about his names which literary mean the swollen foot. Indeed, Oedipus’ ignorance is gradually leading him to his fate, when he will finally discover his identity.
Secondly, Sophocles uses the symbolism of the three-way crossroads the plot development. Notably, crossroad symbolizes significant moments where critical decisions are made. In many cases, decisions made at crossroads have major consequences, thus such decisions should be made with due consideration. In the play, Jocasta reveals that the first King was murdered at the place where the three roads met. Notably, Oedipus would have killed his father at any other place, but Sophocles place the murder of the King at the crossroads. Crossroads is a point of intersection where a significant decision has been executed. This means that the murderer had made a firm decision of killing the king, and would bear the consequence of his action. In the play, crossroads symbolizes a significant moment when Oedipus the King commenced fulfilling the dreadful prophecy concerning the murder of his father and marrying his mother. Notably, in the play, the symbolism of crossroads is set in the distant past, indeed, Oedipus is unaware of the timing of his decision, hence, crossroad symbolizes fate and the power of the prophecy because Oedipus is not free to make a significant decision at crossroads. Therefore, bearing the consequences of his action of killing his father is based on fate as opposed to choice (Sophocles 40).
The tomb is another symbolism used in Oedipus the King. In the first instance, Creon condemns Antigone to a dreadful fate of being buried alive in a tomb and left there to die. To worsen the matter, no one is permitted to give her a decent burial; indeed, the people of Thebes are not to be associated with her blood when she dies. Using the symbolism of the tomb, Sophocles reveals that Antigone’s closest loyalties including her father and the brother lie with the dead. Also, Antigone’s imprisonment is symbolizing Creon’s failure to judge correctly, a significant flaw that leads him to commit a heinous crime of lodging a living person among the dead (Sophocles 50).
The symbolism of eyes is predominantly used in the play to symbolize truth and ignorance. In the play, Sophocles crafts some of his characters like Oedipus with blindness that deters them from seeing things in reality. Conversely, Sophocles crafts other characters like Tiresias with literal blindness, but gives them an ability to see the truth. Indeed, Tiresias can visibly see the misfortunes of Oedipus’ past and the dreadful future in which he is predetermined. Ironically, although Oedipus is blind to the truth, Sophocles crafts him as a knowledgeable and insightful character who becomes King for solving the riddle of Sphinx.
Further, Oedipus’ blindness continues in his determination to unfold the mystery of Laius murder. In his blindness, he accuses others as having executed the crime. However, when the truth is finally revealed, the King gorges his eyes wishing that he had never seen the light. In this sense, he blames his eyes for seeing what they were unexpected to see and failing to distinguish those he longed to see (Sophocles 93).
Similarly, in the instance when the sentry tells Creon that someone had buried the body of Polynice disregarding the law that had forbidden the burial, Creon fails to see the truth in the story and blames the sentry for having broken the law for love of money. Sentry’s response to the accusation symbolizes the human’s inability to see things correctly. Hence, blinded by judgment and pride, the characters in the play fails to see the truth.
Further, Sophocles develops the plot using the symbolism of sight versus blindness. Notably, in various instances, some words like ‘sight, blind, and vision appear in the plot development. Considerably, the continued use of such words points to Sophocles’ motif of pursuing knowledge and unveiling the hidden truth. At the beginning of the play, Sophocles’ symbolism of sight versus blindness is visible when Tiresias the blind character appears in the stage. In the rest of the play, this symbolism is continued in the character of Oedipus the King who has perfect vision, but he is ignorant and blind to the truth about his identity as well as his past life. To overcome this blindness, Oedipus sets to reveal the murderer of the first King. Sophocles brings in Tiresias the literary blind man as the only character who can open the eyes of Oedipus to the true identity of himself and his past. Tiresias successfully achieves this mission when Oedipus hears the testimony of the shepherd and he is publicly declared as the real murder of his Father (Sophocles 94). Finally, Oedipus regains his sight, now; he has a clear comprehension of his true identity. He knows the truth about his mother and father, and he finally knows that he is the murderer. The new sight is so hard for him that he cannot live with it; therefore, he decides to blind himself. Hence, blindness is the best option that will deter him from seeing the crime that he committed the suffering he caused on the city of Thebes and the scars set him apart for a predetermined fate.
Conclusively, Sophocles’ use of symbolism as a literal device in Oedipus the King contributes significantly to plot development. Crossroads, sight versus blindness, and the swollen foot is among the major symbolism in the play. Using symbolism, Sophocles successfully conceals the truth about Oedipus the King, the main character. Indeed, the play ends after the discovery of the true identity of Oedipus the King.
Works cited
Sophocles. (2004). Oedipus the King. [Ottawa]: EBooksLib.
