Pitying Oedipus

Presenter: Dr Patrick Finglass (Nottingham), Leverhulme Fellow

This paper examines the place of pity within Sophocles' drama Oedipus the King. It pays particular attention both to Oedipus’ expressions of pity for the Theban people at the start of the play, and how such expressions differentiate him from other characters in tragedy who receive similar supplications; and to the pity felt by the Herdsman which, as the audience learns at the climactic moment of the drama, was responsible for setting in motion the entire catastrophe of Oedipus’ life.