Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus at Colonus
(Read: OEDIPUS AT COLONUS)
Summary
After years of wandering in exile from Thebes, Oedipus arrives in a grove outside Athens. Blind and frail, he walks with the help of his daughter Antigone. Neither she nor Oedipus knows the place where they have come to rest, but they have heard they are on the outskirts of Athens, and the grove in which they sit bears the marks of holy ground. A citizen of Colonus approaches and insists that the ground is forbidden to mortals and that Oedipus and Antigone must leave. Oedipus inquires which gods preside over the grove and learns that the reigning gods are the Eumenides, or the goddesses of fate. In response to this news, Oedipus claims that he must not move, and he sends the citizen to fetch Theseus, the king of Athens and its environs. Oedipus then tells Antigone that, earlier in his life, when Apollo's oracle prophesied his doom, the god declared that Oedipus would die on this ground.
The Chorus enters, cursing the strangers who would dare set foot on the holy ground of Colonus. The Chorus convinces Antigone and Oedipus to move to an outcropping of rock at the side of the grove, and then interrogates Oedipus about his origins. When Oedipus reluctantly identifies himself, the Chorus cries out in horror, begging Oedipus to leave Colonus at once. Oedipus argues that he was not responsible for his horrible acts, and says that the city may benefit greatly if it does not drive him away. Oedipus expresses his arguments with such force that the Chorus fills with awe and agrees to await Theseus's pronouncement on the matter.
The next person to enter the grove is not Theseus but Ismene, Oedipus's second daughter. Oedipus and the two girls embrace. Oedipus thanks Ismene for having journeyed to gather news from the oracles, while her sister has stayed with him as his guide. Ismene bears terrible news: back in their home of Thebes, Eteocles, the younger son of Oedipus, has overthrown Polynices, his elder son. Polynices now amasses troops in Argos for an attack upon his brother and Creon, who is ruling along with Eteocles.
The oracle has predicted that Oedipus's burial place will bring good fortune to the city in which it is located. Both sons, as well as Creon, know of this prophecy, and Creon is currently en route to Colonus to try to take Oedipus into custody and thus claim the right to bury him in his kingdom. Oedipus swears he will never give his support to either of his sons, for they did nothing to prevent his exile years ago. The Chorus tells Oedipus that he must appease the spirits whom he offended when he trespassed on the sacred ground, and Ismene says that she will go and perform the requisite libation and prayer.
Analysis
Oedipus at Colonus is set many years after Oedipus the King, and the long-wandering Oedipus has changed his perspective on his exile. First, he has decided that he was not responsible for his fate, though at the end of the previous play Oedipus proudly claimed responsibility for his actions, blinding himself and begging for exile. Oedipus has also decided that his sons should have prevented his exile, though in Oedipus the King his sons never even appeared onstage. We do not yet know what to make of Oedipus's revised sentiments—he may simply be a broken man making excuses, or perhaps his many years of wandering have imbued him with a new kind of wisdom.
Although Oedipus seems to have traded his former pride and disdain for kindness, the scene that opens the play creates a puzzling contradiction. The characters are trespassing on holy ground that is described lovingly by Antigone. The trespass must be rectified with libation and with prayers, and it is. At the same time, it seems odd that a play dedicated to piety begins with trespass on holy ground. What seems clear is that this Oedipus is far more devout than he once was—when a prayer or libation is called for, he agrees to it at once. Yet, although Oedipus has his daughters perform the necessary rites, he does not really apologize for his trespass. Rather, he regards himself as someone who holds knowledge of the gods beyond that of the naive citizens. This odd tension between piety and pride will not cease but increase as the play progresses.
What Oedipus has gained in wisdom, he has lost in enthusiasm—he is now a much less dynamic and heroic character. Perhaps the older Oedipus's lack of dramatic interest is due to the fact that all of the characters are of secondary importance in this play, which is primarily concerned with rituals and religious themes that are difficult for the modern reader to understand.

Oedipus at Colonus
Summary
The Chorus gathers around Oedipus, relentlessly denouncing his crimes and insisting that he recount his tragic life story. Oedipus reluctantly tells of killing his father and marrying his mother, both crimes that he insists he undertook unknowingly. Theseus now enters, saying that he knows Oedipus's story and pities his fate. Oedipus thanks Theseus for not making him repeat his story yet again, and tells him that his body will prove a great boon to the city. Oedipus requests that Theseus provide him with proper burial in Colonus, and Theseus agrees. Oedipus then warns him that Thebes will attack Athens for the right to his body, and Theseus asks why Oedipus doesn't return home to die, if Thebes so desires his presence. In reply, Oedipus launches into a lament on the cruelty of his exile, the fragility of the bonds of friendship and love, and the untrustworthiness of all but the eternal gods, who promise protection to the city that buries him. Theseus swears that he will protect Oedipus from the Thebans and never betray him. Theseus exits, and the Chorus comes forth to praise Colonus.
Antigone sees Creon and his guards approaching. Creon notices the family's fear and insists that he comes only to bring Oedipus home and give him rest. He tells Oedipus that his pitiful wanderings bring shame upon Thebes, but Oedipus disbelieves this statement, arguing that Creon willingly sent him away. He tells that he knows why he is being courted—for the sake of the blessing the gods have promised to the possessors of his body. Oedipus tells Creon that he has no desire to return to Thebes but only to enter into the peace of death. He tries to send Creon away, but Creon refuses to relent, and orders his guards to seize Antigone and Ismene. Although the Chorus condemns Creon, it is powerless to stop him.
Creon then threatens to seize Oedipus and carry him back to Thebes. Just as he lays his hands on Oedipus, however, Theseus enters and asks the cause of the commotion. Oedipus explains what has happened, and Theseus sends his soldiers to retrieve Antigone and Ismene. He curses Creon, saying that he has shamed Thebes with his bullying behavior, but Creon justifies his actions as recourse for the hideous crimes of Oedipus. Hearing this, Oedipus again argues that he is not responsible for his fate; the gods thrust it on him. Theseus orders his men to keep watch over Creon as he goes to find the Oedipus's daughters. Creon promises that although he may find himself overpowered now, he will have his revenge once he has amassed his troops back in Thebes. All but Oedipus and the Chorus leave the stage. As he exits, Theseus promises that Oedipus will get his daughters back.
Analysis
Compared to the other two Theban plays, relatively little tension or unresolved conflict exists on the surface of Oedipus at Colonus. The plot is straightforward: Theseus is the hero and Creon is the villain; Creon takes Oedipus's daughters, and Theseus gets them back again. With the gods finally on his side, Oedipus receives what he asks for.
We begin to perceive tension within Creon's character. He is no longer a simple rational foil for Oedipus, the villain to Oedipus's hero. Instead, he stands somewhere between the stern authority of Theseus and the limitless emotion of Oedipus, and he now emerges as a force that is both willful and subversive. When Creon is alone with Oedipus and his daughters, he has the upper hand and consequently behaves in a forceful and domineering manner, ordering Antigone and Ismene taken away and threatening to kidnap Oedipus as well. Once Theseus arrives on the scene, however, Creon realizes that he must behave more subtly. Thus, instead of commanding Theseus as he did Oedipus, in lines 1070–1094 Creon attempts to persuade Theseus that Oedipus is a blight upon Athens.
Again, the characters' actions can be viewed skeptically. Theseus's protection of Oedipus from Creon, for example, may be an act of nobility, but Theseus's motivation is probably more pragmatic—protecting Oedipus means security for his city. Oedipus, too, may not be as helpless as he tells himself he is. It seems that the blind man's refusal to return to his home is more an act of pride then one of piety, and that his insults are the cruel taunts of an embittered man. Both his refusal and his insults lead to the abduction of his daughters by Creon. Both Creon and Oedipus seem to have motives that are more complicated than they appear on the surface.

Oedipus at Colonus
Summary
The Chorus anticipates that a glorious battle between Colonus and Thebes will be fought in which Colonus, strong and blessed, will triumph. Theseus returns, leading Antigone and Ismene, whom Oedipus embraces. He thanks Theseus for rescuing his daughters, but Theseus demurs from describing his valiant struggle to save the girls, stating that he prefers to prove himself through actions rather than words. Yet he does report that a man has recently arrived from Argos. Theseus saw the stranger praying on the altar of Poseidon, and rumor has it that the stranger wishes to speak with Oedipus.
Oedipus pleads with Theseus to drive the stranger out of Athens, realizing that it is his son Polynices, but Theseus and Antigone convince Oedipus to hear what his son has to say. They insist that one should listen to reason rather than bear old grudges. Although Oedipus disagrees in principle, he consents to listen to Polynices if Theseus promises to protect Oedipus from possible abduction. Theseus gives Oedipus his word and exits. The Chorus gathers around Oedipus and sings that to never be born is best, but that if one must be born, a short life is preferable to a long one, for life is unbearable and only death brings peace. Polynices then enters the scene.
Polynices cries out in pity at the family's fate and swears that he regrets allowing Oedipus to be sent away from Thebes. He tells of how his brother, Eteocles, bribed the men of Thebes to turn against him, and how he now plans to regain his throne by force, sending seven armies against the seven doors of Thebes. Oedipus refuses to answer his son, but the Chorus pleads for him to speak. He responds that he wishes he had never set eyes upon Polynices, and that it is quite fitting that Polynices now suffers the same exile and sorrow to which he condemned his father. Eteocles and Polynices will each die by the other's hand, he says, for that is the curse Oedipus put on them when they exiled him from Thebes.
Polynices, realizing that he'll never win his father's support, turns to his sisters, whom he asks only for a proper burial if he is killed in battle. Antigone asks her brother to call off the war, but Polynices argues that his sense of honor prevents him from such a gesture. Antigone embraces Polynices, saying that he is condemning himself to death, but he declares that his life rests in the hands of the gods. He prays for the safety of his sisters, then departs for Thebes.
Analysis
The Chorus gives what can be likened to a "summary" of the central theme of Oedipus at Colonus: "Not to be born is best / when all is reckoned in, but once a man has seen the light / the next best thing, by far, is to go back / where he came from" (1388–1391). Of course, to treat this statement as a Sophoclean "motto" would be overly simplistic: to do so would be to ignore the poetry of the passage—the way it ranges from the joys of ceremony to the horrors of war to the invincible strength of nature. Furthermore, within the context of a play about Oedipus, this passage is colored with irony, because, all too literally, Oedipus went "back" precisely "where he came from"—Jocasta's womb.
The clash between father and son is all we see of Polynices in the trilogy, though his name will be brandished repeatedly in the play. Our fleeting glimpse of him here suggests a man driven by honor and duty but lacking Theseus's good judgment and pragmatism—a man who, it seems, greatly resembles Oedipus before his fall. His crusade is motivated by pride and self-interest, although he is not without regard for the gods. He embraces his fate with absolute forthrightness.
Oedipus's response to his son's plight is a startling invective that reaches its height when he shouts, "You—die! Die and be damned! I spit on you! Out!" (1567). Oedipus's entire speech is so powerful and bitter that we cannot help but sympathize with the curser rather than the cursed. Broken from his years of wandering, Oedipus now abhors all worldly violence and at the same time wishes only for death. Yet, it is unclear whether or not we should approve of Oedipus's absolute condemnation of his son—it seems that the play's moral lines are too crudely drawn. In the second encounter between Oedipus and Polynices, father and son will stand absolutely opposed to each other, and we are in a position to empathize with both.

Oedipus at Colonus
Summary

[T]here is no room for grieving here—
it might bring down the anger of the gods.

Terrible thunder crashes, and the Chorus cries out in horror. Oedipus declares that his time of death has come and sends for Theseus. Awed by the blackening heavens, the Chorus murmurs in confusion. When Theseus appears, Oedipus informs him that the thunder signals his death, and that Theseus must carry out certain rites to assure divine protection of his city. Oedipus will lead Theseus to the place where he will die. No one but the king shall ever know that location—upon his death, each king will pass the information on to his son. In this way, Theseus's heirs will always rule over a blessed city. Oedipus then strides off with a sudden strength, bringing his daughters and Theseus offstage, to his grave.
The Chorus comes forward to pray for peace and an honorable burial for Oedipus. A messenger then enters to tell the Chorus what has happened. Oedipus led his friend and daughters to the edge of a steep descent, and then sent Antigone and Ismene to perform his final libations. When they returned, they dressed Oedipus in linen, the proper clothing for the dead. The daughters began weeping, and Oedipus swore that his infinite love would repay all the hardship they had suffered for him. Oedipus and his daughters embraced, sobbing, until a voice called out from the skies, ordering Oedipus to proceed in his task. Oedipus made Theseus promise that he would look after his daughters. He then sent the girls away, taking Theseus with him to the place where he was meant to die. When Antigone and Ismene returned, Theseus stood shielding his eyes, and Oedipus had disappeared. Theseus then bent down to kiss the ground and pray to the gods.
Just as the messenger finishes his story, Antigone and Ismene come onstage, chanting a dirge. Antigone wails that they will cry for Oedipus for as long as they live. Not knowing where to turn, Antigone says the girls will have to wander alone forever. Theseus enters, asking the daughters to stop their weeping. They beg to see their father's tomb, but the king insists that Oedipus has forbidden it. They cease their pleas, but ask for safe passage back to Thebes so that they may prevent a war between their brothers. Theseus grants them this, and the Chorus tells the girls to desist from crying, for all events in life occur according to the will of the gods. Theseus and the Chorus exit toward Athens; Antigone and Ismene head for Thebes.
Analysis
Like that of Oedipus the King, the central theme of Oedipus at Colonus is self-knowledge, but in the latter play, Oedipus's self-knowledge may be too great rather than too scant. In Oedipus the King, the distance between Oedipus and the audience was an ironic one—we knew the truth about Oedipus, but he didn't understand it himself. In Oedipus at Colonus, the Oedipus's actions are all sanctified by his divine knowledge, and Oedipus has knowledge and understanding of his own plight that the rest of the characters do not have. Throughout the Theban plays, the audience is distanced from real events, especially violent ones. Since many of the play's events are reported after they occur, in narrative, the distance between the reader and Oedipus in this final play is doubled. Not only do we not see Oedipus die, no one but Theseus does.
Again, it is not an action or object that will guard Colonus, but rather language, transmitted over time. Oedipus states that his death and body are not important to the well-being of Colonus; the secret passed from son to son will be the city's true guardian. It is puzzling, though, that Sophocles built his play around a secret that is never revealed to the audience. In Oedipus the King, it was the audience's superior knowledge that gave it delight and sorrow. What do we feel when such knowledge is denied to us? The moment of Oedipus's secretive death is unceremonious, marked by nothing but a few prosaic lines from the Chorus, which knows as little as we do.
A modern audience is also liable to be unexpectedly unmoved by the final speeches of Antigone and Ismene. We cannot truly share in their extreme sorrow, which feels unmotivated by the events of the play, but neither do we have any reason to disapprove of it. As with the conflict between Oedipus and Polynices, there is no single way for the audience to react to feelings outside of our own categories of feeling and thought; we can only regard them with a certain emotional and moral detachment, utterly unlike what we would feel in a tragedy. Oedipus at Colonus is not a tragedy but rather a text that embraces its own inscrutable secrecy.
1. Stop, my children, weep no more. Here where the dark forces store up kindness both for living and the dead, there is no room for grieving here— it might bring down the anger of the gods. (Oedipus at Colonus, 1970–1974) [Explanation]
Explanation for Quotation 5
Theseus's short speech from the end of Oedipus at Colonus argues that grieving might not be a good thing—a sentiment unusual in the Theban plays. Sophocles' audience would have seen, before this speech, the most extreme consequences of excessive grief: Antigone's death, Haemon's death, Eurydice's death, Jocasta's death, Oedipus's blinding, Oedipus's self-exile. The rash actions of the grief-stricken possess both a horror and a sense of inevitability or rightness. Jocasta kills herself because she cannot go on living as both wife and mother to her son; Oedipus blinds himself in order to punish himself for his blindness to his identity; Eurydice can no longer live as the wife of the man who killed her children. Theseus's speech calls attention to the fact that the violence that arises from this grieving only leads to the perpetuation of violence.
1. What is the difference between Oedipus's relationship with Antigone and his relationship with Ismene in Oedipus at Colonus?
Answer for Question 2
In Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus is almost utterly dependent on his two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. Antigone acts as Oedipus's eyes and Ismene as his ears. When they arrive at the sacred grove at Colonus, Oedipus asks Antigone to leave him and find out if anyone lives nearby, and she says that she can see a man approaching. Oedipus cannot tell that the citizen has exited until Antigone tells him so. Antigone also first perceives the approach of the Chorus, Ismene, Creon, and Polynices, and she repeatedly helps Oedipus move around the stage. Oedipus's reliance on his daughter for her sight emphasizes both his blindness and his impotence, as well as the strength of his relationship with Antigone. Given Oedipus's faltering and lack of self-reliance in these early scenes, the messenger's description of Oedipus proceeding unaided to the spot where he dies seems miraculous.
Ismene is not nearly so close with her father, as the fact that she is not so helpful with respect to Oedipus's most terrible loss—his sight—indicates. Ismene's first lines are about her not being able to see her father and sister through her tears. Immediately thereafter, she exclaims that she can hardly bear to look at her father because of the cruel fate that he has suffered. Ismene is distracted by pity and shame in a way that Antigone is not. Nevertheless, Ismene does offer practical help to her father, and it is from her that Antigone and Oedipus learn that Creon and Polynices, separately and on the advice of the oracles, seek Oedipus's blessing and body to aid them in their battles for control of Thebes. It is also Ismene who goes to perform the rites of atonement to appease the spirits on whose ground Oedipus and Antigone trespassed at the beginning of the play.