Setting: This includes cultural as well as geographical and historical setting. What effect does the setting have on story, character, theme?
Sophocles, the author of Oedipus the King, set the play in the city-state of Thebes. Thebes is located north of the Cithaeron mountain range, the place where Oedipus was left to die. Sophocles' Oedipus the King took a stance on current Athenian issues. For example, the plague in Thebes was a reference to a recent plague in Athens. The distance between the Thebes and Athens, which was the hometown of many playwrights, was used to downplay the significance of events brought up in the play. However, Thebes' main rival was Athens, which influenced Sophocles' writing of Oedipus the King. According to Wikipedia, (yeah, I know) Thebes had a history of conflict with Athens because they sided with the Persians' Xerxes (yay 300). Greece was embroiled in this war and it definitely affect Sophocles' writing in a manner that made Sophocles portray the people of Thebes in a more negative manner.
The majority of the play takes place inside/near the king's castle in Thebes. This observation carries significance because it provides the notion that it is difficult for the audience to gain perspective into Oedipus' private life. Everything that the reader sees Oedipus doing is said by the chorus or the people of Thebes.
The effect of having only one main type of setting provides the audience no way to sympathize with Oedipus because he is always in the public spotlight; there is never a time where Oedipus is allowed to reflect on his internal emotions. The audience is not allowed to see Oedipus in a place he is more comfortable and more secluded from the people of Thebes. This makes the audience have a more harsh opinion towards Oedipus because of his arrogance and his inability to trust anyone that could be wrong, and because the reader cannot establish a direct, personal connection to him.
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