The Major Roles of Minor Characters in Oedipus
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- Category: English: Plays
- Date Submitted: 12/28/2014 04:08 AM
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The Major Roles of Minor Characters
The play entitled “Oedipus Rex”, this story is about a man, named Oedipus, who is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. His parents tried to kill him right after he was born, fortunately, he was not really killed, and he was found by a shepherd and then raised by King Polybus and Queen Merone. The role of minor characters in literary works especially in this play is always marginalized, whereas they can change the story. In this paper, I will analyze the significance of the minor characters in the play and how they establish the roles that influence the play.
The first minor character is the shepherd, whether it is clear or not, he has a big role in this play, he was the one of important people who keeps Oedipus alive by sparring his life and bringing him to King Polybus and Queen Merone. His importance can be seen by asking question ‘how if the shepherd do not exist in this play?’ to answer this question there are two possibilities that can answer this question, the first possibility if the shepherd does not exist is that baby Oedipus will be killed on his parents’ hand. The second possibility is that Iocaste and Laios will keep him alive under their control so the prophecy will not be fulfilled. This idea is supported by this excerpt “Oedipus: A wandering shepherd? /Messenger: But your savior, son, that day” (Sophocles, 430B.C. lines 110). From the explanation above, the point is that the presence of the shepherd is substantial in the fulfillment of the prophecy because his absence will guarantee that the prophecy will not be fulfilled.
In the play, I found a symbolism that is implemented on being a shepherd, to find the meaning of the shepherd; we have to take a look at another text to foreshadow what it symbolizes. For instance, in christianity, the shepherd often refer to the person who guides people to the path of god. a shepherd literally mean a person whose the activity is guiding or tending a flock of...
The play entitled “Oedipus Rex”, this story is about a man, named Oedipus, who is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. His parents tried to kill him right after he was born, fortunately, he was not really killed, and he was found by a shepherd and then raised by King Polybus and Queen Merone. The role of minor characters in literary works especially in this play is always marginalized, whereas they can change the story. In this paper, I will analyze the significance of the minor characters in the play and how they establish the roles that influence the play.
The first minor character is the shepherd, whether it is clear or not, he has a big role in this play, he was the one of important people who keeps Oedipus alive by sparring his life and bringing him to King Polybus and Queen Merone. His importance can be seen by asking question ‘how if the shepherd do not exist in this play?’ to answer this question there are two possibilities that can answer this question, the first possibility if the shepherd does not exist is that baby Oedipus will be killed on his parents’ hand. The second possibility is that Iocaste and Laios will keep him alive under their control so the prophecy will not be fulfilled. This idea is supported by this excerpt “Oedipus: A wandering shepherd? /Messenger: But your savior, son, that day” (Sophocles, 430B.C. lines 110). From the explanation above, the point is that the presence of the shepherd is substantial in the fulfillment of the prophecy because his absence will guarantee that the prophecy will not be fulfilled.
In the play, I found a symbolism that is implemented on being a shepherd, to find the meaning of the shepherd; we have to take a look at another text to foreshadow what it symbolizes. For instance, in christianity, the shepherd often refer to the person who guides people to the path of god. a shepherd literally mean a person whose the activity is guiding or tending a flock of...