Oedipus the King unfolds as a murder mystery, a political thriller, and a

psychological whodunit. Throughout this mythic story of patricide and incest,

Sophocles emphasizes the irony of a man determined to track down, expose,
and punish an assassin, who turns out to be himself.
As the play opens, the citizens of Thebes beg their king, Oedipus, to lift the
plague that threatens to destroy the city. Oedipus has already sent his
brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle to learn what to do.
On his return, Creon announces that the oracle instructs them to find the
murderer of Laius, the king who ruled Thebes before Oedipus. The discovery
and punishment of the murderer will end the plague. At once, Oedipus sets
about to solve the murder.
Summoned by the king, the blind prophet Tiresias at first refuses to speak,
but finally accuses Oedipus himself of killing Laius. Oedipus mocks and
rejects the prophet angrily, ordering him to leave, but not before Tiresias
hints darkly of an incestuous marriage and a future of blindness, infamy, and
wandering.
Oedipus attempts to gain advice from Jocasta, the queen; she encourages
him to ignore prophecies, explaining that a prophet once told her that Laius,
her husband, would die at the hands of their son. According to Jocasta, the
prophecy did not come true because the baby died, abandoned, and Laius
himself was killed by a band of robbers at a crossroads.
Oedipus becomes distressed by Jocasta's remarks because just before he
came to Thebes he killed a man who resembled Laius at a crossroads. To
learn the truth, Oedipus sends for the only living witness to the murder, a
shepherd.
Another worry haunts Oedipus. As a young man, he learned from an oracle
that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Fear of the prophecy
drove him from his home in Corinth and brought him ultimately to Thebes.
Again, Jocasta advises him not to worry about prophecies.
Oedipus finds out from a messenger that Polybus, king of Corinth, Oedipus'
father, has died of old age. Jocasta rejoices surely this is proof that the
prophecy Oedipus heard is worthless. Still, Oedipus worries about fulfilling the
prophecy with his mother, Merope, a concern Jocasta dismisses.
Overhearing, the messenger offers what he believes will be cheering news.
Polybus and Merope are not Oedipus' real parents. In fact, the messenger
himself gave Oedipus to the royal couple when a shepherd offered him an
abandoned baby from the house of Laius.
Oedipus becomes determined to track down the shepherd and learn the truth
of his birth. Suddenly terrified, Jocasta begs him to stop, and then runs off to
the palace, wild with grief.
Confident that the worst he can hear is a tale of his lowly birth, Oedipus
eagerly awaits the shepherd. At first the shepherd refuses to speak, but under
threat of death he tells what he knows Oedipus is actually the son of Laius
and Jocasta.

And so, despite his precautions, the prophecy that Oedipus dreaded has
actually come true. Realizing that he has killed his father and married his
mother, Oedipus is agonized by his fate.
Rushing into the palace, Oedipus finds that the queen has killed herself.
Tortured, frenzied, Oedipus takes the pins from her gown and rakes out his
eyes, so that he can no longer look upon the misery he has caused. Now
blinded and disgraced, Oedipus begs Creon to kill him, but as the play
concludes, he quietly submits to Creon's leadership, and humbly awaits the
oracle that will determine whether he will stay in Thebes or be cast out
forever.

Antigone
After the bloody siege of Thebes by Polynices and his allies, the city stands unconquered.
Polynices and his brother Eteocles, however, are both dead, killed by each other, according
to the curse of Oedipus, their father.
Outside the city gates, Antigone tells Ismene that Creon has ordered that Eteocles, who died
defending the city, is to be buried with full honors, while the body of Polynices, the invader, is
left to rot. Furthermore, Creon has declared that anyone attempting to bury Polynices shall
be publicly stoned to death. Outraged, Antigone reveals to Ismene a plan to bury Polynices
in secret, despite Creon's order. When Ismene timidly refuses to defy the king, Antigone
angrily rejects her and goes off alone to bury her brother.
Creon discovers that someone has attempted to offer a ritual burial to Polynices and
demands that the guilty one be found and brought before him. When he discovers that
Antigone, his niece, has defied his order, Creon is furious. Antigone makes an impassioned
argument, declaring Creon's order to be against the laws of the gods themselves. Enraged
by Antigone's refusal to submit to his authority, Creon declares that she and her sister will be
put to death.
Haemon, Creon's son who was to marry Antigone, advises his father to reconsider his
decision. The father and son argue, Haemon accusing Creon of arrogance, and Creon
accusing Haemon of unmanly weakness in siding with a woman. Haemon leaves in anger,
swearing never to return. Without admitting that Haemon may be right, Creon amends his
pronouncement on the sisters: Ismene shall live, and Antigone will be sealed in a tomb to
die of starvation, rather than stoned to death by the city.
The blind prophet Tiresias warns Creon that the gods disapprove of his leaving Polynices
unburied and will punish the king's impiety with the death of his own son. After rejecting
Tiresias angrily, Creon reconsiders and decides to bury Polynices and free Antigone.

But Creon's change of heart comes too late. Antigone has hanged herself and Haemon, in
desperate agony, kills himself as well. On hearing the news of her son's death, Eurydice, the
queen, also kills herself, cursing Creon.
Alone, in despair, Creon accepts responsibility for all the tragedy and prays for a quick
death. The play ends with a somber warning from the chorus that pride will be punished by
the blows of fate.

Antigone Summary
Polyneices and Eteocles, two brothers leading opposite sides in Thebes' civil war, have
both been killed in battle. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, has declared that Eteocles will
be honored and Polyneices disgraced. The rebel brother's body will not be sanctified by
holy rites, and will lay unburied to become the food of carrion
animals. Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the dead brothers, and they are now the
last children of the ill-fated Oedipus. In the opening of the play, Antigone brings Ismene
outside the city gates late at night for a secret meeting: Antigone wants to bury Polyneices'
body, in defiance of Creon's edict. Ismene refuses to help her, fearing the death penalty, but
she is unable to dissuade Antigone from going to do the deed by herself.
Creon enters, along with the Chorus of Theban Elders. He seeks their support in the days
to come, and in particular wants them to back his edict regarding the disposal of
Polyneices' body. The Chorus of Elders pledges their support. A Sentry enters, fearfully
reporting that the body has been buried. A furious Creon orders the Sentry to find the
culprit or face death himself. The Sentry leaves, but after a short absence he returns,
bringing Antigone with him. Creon questions her, and she does not deny what she has
done. She argues unflinchingly with Creon about the morality of the edict and the morality
of her actions. Creon grows angrier, and, thinking Ismene must have helped her, summons
the girl. Ismene tries to confess falsely to the crime, wishing to die alongside her sister, but
Antigone will have none of it. Creon orders that the two women be temporarily locked up.

Haemon, Creon's son and Antigone's fiance, enters to pledge allegiance to his father. He
initially seems willing to obey Creon, but when Haemon gently tries to persuade his father
to spare Antigone, the discussion deteriorates and the two men are soon bitterly insulting
each other. Haemon leaves, vowing never to see Creon again.
Creon decides to spare Ismene and to imprison Antigone in a cave. She is brought out of
the house, and she bewails her fate and defends her actions one last time. She is taken
away, with the Chorus expressing great sorrow for what is going to happen to her.
Teiresias, the blind prophet, enters. He warns Creon that the gods side with Antigone.
Creon accuses Teiresias of being corrupt, and Teiresias responds that because of Creon's
mistakes, he will lose one child for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting
Antigone into the earth. All of Greece will despise him, and the sacrificial offerings of
Thebes will not be accepted by the gods. The Chorus, terrified, asks Creon to take their
advice. He assents, and they tell him that he should bury Polyneices and free Antigone.
Creon, shaken, agrees to do it. He leaves with a retinue of men to help him right his
previous mistakes. The Chorus delivers a choral ode on/to the god Dionysis, and then a
Messenger enters to tell them that Haemon has killed himself. Eurydice, Creon's wife and
Haemon's mother, enters and asks the Messenger to tell her everything. The Messenger
reports that Haemon and Antigone have both taken their own lives. Eurydice disappears
into the palace.
Creon enters, carrying Haemon's body. He understands that his own actions have caused
these events. A Second Messenger arrives to tell Creon and the Chorus that Eurydice has
killed herself. With her last breath, she cursed her husband. Creon blames himself for
everything that has happened, and, a broken man, he asks his servants to help him inside.
The order he valued so much has been protected, and he is still the king, but he has acted
against the gods and lost his child and his wife as a result. The Chorus closes by saying
that although the gods punish the proud, punishment brings wisdom.
In the streets of Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the feuding noble
families of Capulet and Montague. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but is
himself embroiled when the rash Capulet, Tybalt, arrives on the scene. After citizens
outraged by the constant violence beat back the warring factions, Prince Escalus, the ruler
of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by decreeing

Romeo and Juliet Summary

Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy, where there is an ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet
families. The play opens with servants from both houses engaged in a street brawl that eventually draws in the
family patriarchs and the city officials, including Prince Escalus. The Prince ends the conflict by issuing a decree
that prohibits any further fighting at the risk of great punishment.
Meanwhile, Romeo, a young man from the Montague house, laments his unrequited love for a woman named
Rosaline, who has vowed to remain chaste for the rest of her life. Romeo and his friend Benvolio happen to stumble
across a Capulet servant, Peter, who is trying to read a list of invitees to a masked party at the Capulet house that
evening. Romeo helps Peter read the list and decides to attend the party because Rosaline will be there. He plans to
wear a mask so that he will nobody will recognize him as a Montague.
Romeo arrives at the Capulets' party in costume. He falls in love with young Juliet Capulet from the moment he
sees her. However, Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognizes Romeo and wants to kill him on the spot. Lord
Capulet intervenes, insisting that Tybalt not disturb the party because it will anger the Prince. Undeterred, Romeo
quietly approaches Juliet and confesses his love for her. After exchanging loving words, they kiss.
Afterwards, Juliet's Nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is a Capulet, which upsets the smitten youngster. Meanwhile,
Juliet is similarly distraught when she finds out that Romeo is a Montague. Later that night, Romeo climbs the
garden wall into Juliet's garden. Juliet emerges on her balcony and speaks her private thoughts out loud. She wishes
Romeo could shed his name and marry her. Upon hearing her confession, Romeo appears and tells Juliet that he

loves her. She warns him to be true in his love, and he swears by his own self that he will be. Before they part, they
agree that Juliet will send her Nurse to meet Romeo at nine o'clock the next day, at which point he will set a place
for them to be married.
The Nurse carries out her duty, and tells Juliet to meet Romeo at the chapel where Friar Laurence lives and works.
Juliet meets Romeo there, and the Friar marries them in secret.
Benvolio and Mercutio (another one of Romeo's friends) are waiting on the street later that day when Tybalt arrives.
Tybalt demands to know where Romeo is so that he can challenge him to a duel, in order to punish him for
sneaking into the party. Mercutio is eloquently vague, but Romeo happens to arrive in the middle of the verbal
sparring. Tybalt challenges him, but Romeo passively resists fighting, at which point Mercutio jumps in and draws
his sword on Tybalt. Romeo tries to block the two men, but Tybalt cuts Mercutio and runs away, only to return after
he hears that Mercutio has died. Angry over his friend's death, Romeo fights with Tybalt and kills him. Then, he
decides to flee. When Prince Escalus arrives at the murder scene, he banishes Romeo from Verona forever.
The Nurse tells Juliet the sad news about what has happened to Tybalt and Romeo. Juliet is heart-broken, but she
realizes that Romeo would have been killed if he had not fought Tybalt. She sends her Nurse to find Romeo and
give him her ring.
That night, Romeo sneaks into Juliet's room, and they consummate their marriage. The next morning, he is forced
to leave when Juliet's mother arrives. Romeo travels to Mantua, where he waits for someone to send news about
Juliet or his banishment.
During Romeo and Juliet's only night together, however, Lord Capulet decides that Juliet should marry a young
man namedParis, who has been asking for her hand. Lord and Lady Capulet tell Juliet of their plan, but she refuses,
infuriating her father. When both Lady Capulet and the Nurse refuse to intercede for the girl, she insists that they
leave her side.
Juliet then visits Friar Laurence, and together they concoct a plan to reunite her with Romeo. The Friar gives Juliet
a potion that will make her seem dead for at least two days, during which time Romeo will come to meet her in the
Capulet vault. The Friar promises to send word of the plan to Romeo.
Juliet drinks the Friar's potion that night. The next morning, the day of Juliet and Paris' wedding, her Nurse finds
her "dead" in bed. The whole house decries her suicide, and Friar Laurence insists they quickly place her into the
family vault.
Unfortunately, Friar John has been unable to deliver the letter to Romeo informing him of the plan, so when
Romeo's servant brings him news in Mantua that Juliet has died, Romeo is heart-broken. He hurries back to Verona,
but first, buys poison from an Apothecary and writes a suicide note detailing the tragic course of events. As soon as
Friar Laurence realizes that his letter never made it to Romeo's hands, he rushes to the Capulet tomb, hoping to
arrive before Romeo does.
Romeo arrives at the Capulet vault and finds it guarded by Paris, who is there to mourn the loss of his betrothed.
Paris challenges Romeo to a duel, and Romeo kills him quickly. Romeo then carries Paris' body into the grave and
sets it down. Upon seeing Juliet's "dead" body lying in the tomb, Romeo drinks the poison, gives her a last kiss and dies.
Friar Laurence arrives to the vault just as Juliet wakes up. He tries to convince her to flee, but upon seeing Romeo's
dead body, she takes her own life as well.
The rest of the town starts to arrive at the tomb, including Lord Capulet and Lord Montague. Friar Laurence
explains the whole story, and Romeo's letter confirms it. The two families agree to settle their feud and form an
alliance despite the tragic circumstances.