As a kind of collective character over itself, the chorus of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex assumes multiple functions and qualities which, together, effectively blur the lines. between the private and public spheres of the drama. Evidenced in the text by their roles as observers and instigators, as well as social commentators, then in the cinematographic version of the play by their strong physical omnipresence and their claustrophobic staging, the members of the Choir represent the proverbial " village” (or Thebes, the “city-state”), privileging not the sacred character of oneself, but the interest of the common good. Ultimately, by emphasizing the ritual and religious roots of the drama, it is this village/city-state role that legitimizes Oedipus's eventual exile, presenting it as a vital sacrifice for the preservation of the community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay One of the ways in which the members of the Oedipus Rex Choir assert the supremacy of the community over the self, thereby embodying the The notion of the “city-state” involves acting as both attentive spectators and active promoters of the events in the play. As the eyes, ears, and voices of the citizens, the Chorus as a city-state is a keen observational body that the main characters rely on to summarize recent plot developments. For example, in scene II, when does Queen Iocast? Learning for the first time of the heated exchange between Oedipus and Creon, she asks the Chorus: “First, tell me what happened” (The Oedipus Cycle, 36). In a somewhat less direct manner, the Chorus of Ode I also fulfills this important synthesizing function by reformulating the prophetic dilemma at the center of the play's emerging tragedy: "The Delphic stone of prophecies/Remembers the 'former regicide/And with a hand still bloody/This time has come for the killer to flee' (25). Thus, the fact that the main players and the audience rely on the Chorus to recapitulate important events reinforces the value of its spectatorship. Although this "collective eyewitness" position alone conveys a sense of the Chorus' strong importance to the play, its members effectively broaden the scope of their important "city-state" role by going beyond the mere role as a spectator, to actively complicate and shape the course. drama. For example, there are several moments in Oedipus Rex where the Chorus (or Choragos) make observations that advance the progression of the tragic story. For example, at the beginning of the play, while Oedipus wonders how to identify the murderer responsible for the plague that strikes Thebes, the Chorus quickly suggests consulting Tiresias: "A clairvoyant lord of the lord Apollo / As we all know, is the skillful Tiresias/We could learn many things on this subject from him/Oedipus” (15). Although Oedipus has already summoned Teiresias (that is, before hearing these comments), it is through the explanatory vehicle of the remarks and the first mention of the Chorus that the central figure of the seer is introduced in the room. However, the Chorus also provides information that advises or motivates the characters to take preferable and wiser courses of action. For example, in Scene III, Oedipus learns that he is not the biological son of his father, King Polybius, but in fact an orphaned baby discovered by a local Corinthian shepherd. In questioning the identity of the shepherd, demanding that these confusing questions finally be "brought to light" (56), the Chorus responds to Oedipus' challenge: "I think that the man of whom he speaks is this same shepherd /You have already asked to see.Iocast? maybe/could tell you something” (56). Because the Chorus' suggestion that Iocast? could have more information prompts the king to question his wife, the chorus serves here as an impetus for the character's behavior, provoking actions whose consequences will prove central to the climax and ultimate conclusion of the story.( i.e. disclosing the details of the story). Furthermore, this response recapitulates (and reinforces) the importance of the Chorus' observer status, presenting it as somehow distinct from and superior to the limited abilities of the main characters. Because Oedipus cannot connect the past and present points of history, nor recall the instructions he has just given ("I think he is talking about this man... You have already asked to see"), he is It is obvious that his abilities to see and think clearly have been compromised. , perhaps by the damaging confluence of his passions and his pride. In contrast, the Chorus succeeds in establishing the correlation, thereby demonstrating the kind of supernatural intuition, or logical reasoning ability, that King Oedipus lacks. An additional element of the Choir's complex spectator/instigator role, emphasizing the primary importance of community (and thus further confirming this overall representation of the "city-state"), is the uncanny ability of the Choir members to foreshadow the future events. For example, in scene III described above, Iocast? sees no advantage or positive purpose in Oedipus continuing his investigation into his birth. When her husband refuses to end his search, she angrily leaves the stage, prompting the chorus to reflect: “I fear this silence;/something terrible could result from it” (57). As the play's descending action confirms, this statement is significantly prophetic, foreseeing both the full revelation of Oedipus' true birth origins and then the Queen's subsequent suicide. Therefore, the Choir's predictive ability underpins the idea that even an individual's most intimate revelations are first understood by the public and are therefore matters of communal rather than personal concern. The Choir thus defends the importance, the primacy of the city-state over the individual. This essential hierarchical division is also evident in the social commentary presented by the Chorus throughout the piece. Another way in which the Chorus of Oedipus Rex reinforces its representational role as a “city-state, reaffirming the preeminence of the public over the private, is by acting as the social conscience of the play. Frequently, the Chorus comments on the actions and decisions of the main characters, cultivating an air of constant judgment or critical ubiquity. However, more than simply highlighting the faults of the main characters, the Chorus abstracts away these faults, erasing their close association with the individual by placing them in a broader social context. In other words, the Chorus' commentary reflects a concern not with how these flaws affect each character, but rather with how they might affect the well-being of the city-state. For example, the members of the Chorus criticize Oedipus for the pride and anger he displays as the elements of the tragic story unfold. In the first scene, after Tiresias reveals that Oedipus is the "pollution" (19) or contagion responsible for the plague in Thebes, Oedipus refuses to accept this truth, calling Tiresias a "decrepit fortune teller" (19). 21). Instead, he extols his ability to solve the riddle of the Sphinx – a task in which all other men have failed – thus presenting himself as the savior of Thebes. Therefore, his pride is manifested not onlyin his disbelief in the gods (in whose name Tiresias speaks), but in the brazen celebration of his distinct and admirable qualities as grounds for invalidating Tiresias' words. Oedipus's anger surfaces when he accuses Tiresias of conspiring with Creon, suggesting that Tiresias' assertion is simply part of this grand conspiracy. In response to this impetuous display, the Chorus comments: "We cannot see that his words or yours/Were spoken except in anger, Oedipus/And anger we have no need." How can God's will best be accomplished? This is what concerns us most” (22). Therefore, as a sort of collective social consciousness, the Chorus does not meditate or focus on Oedipus' pride and anger as they relate specifically to him, nor do they view these emotions as objects. of his sole possession. Rather, Oedipus' pride belongs to the audience and takes on an importance worthy of the Chorus's attention, precisely because it threatens the possible salvation of the afflicted city-state. By contextualizing personal drama within issues of broader social concern, the Choral Ode is another method by which choir members act as social commentators who prioritize the greater community interest. Through the call-and-response interplay between its Stanza and Antistrophe, the Choral Ode dramatizes the moral and theoretical debates at the center of Oedipus Rex. As a sort of solo performance for the Choir, the Odes are the most meaningful, eloquent, and compelling expression of the concerns and questions the Choir wishes to consider. These, then, are the key channels through which the Chorus delivers its social commentary, allowing members to speak about the actions of the main characters in a way that relates not only to the common good, but also to the larger themes of the play. For example, Ode II presents the Chorus as once again reflecting on the question of pride, a quality that Oedipus has (fatally) demonstrated throughout the narrative. However, the Chorus seems to think about the notion of pride on a much more abstract level, separate from the specific character of the king. Specifically, in Antistrophe 2, the Chorus concludes: Zeus, if indeed you are lord of all Enthroned in light night and day, reflect this in your endless mind: Our masters call the oracle Words on the wind , and blind Delphic vision. (47) Here the Chorus worries that if the kind of pride that Oedipus (one of his "masters") personifies eventually prevails over Fate (making "the vision of Delphi blind") ), so maybe the gods don't rule or determine the course of things. humanity. In this case, life is not guided by a supervisory force, but rather is subject to the fickle whims and whims of a fallible humanity. Therefore, in Ode II, the Chorus does not simply speak of pride as a subject unique to or confined to the personal experience of King Oedipus. Rather, it addresses the problem of pride on a larger scale, as a basis for one of the play's broader investigations: the debate over the power of man over the power of the gods. In this way, the Odes devalue the concept of “self” and reinforce the “city-state” representation of the Choir. The fact that the Odes punctuate and interrupt the “main” narrative of the drama indicates the extent to which the structure of Oedipus Rex emphasizes the constant presence of the Chorus. This presence is further enhanced by the crowded and tight staging of the film version of the play. The omnipresence of the Chorus in Oedipus Rex is another narrative and theatrical vehicle by which the drama undermines the self and privileges the community (or the city-state). As,.