Re: Oedipus and the bull -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 13:15:16 03/12/08 Wed
Author: CS Holden
Subject: Re: Oedipus and the bull
In reply to: Janelle 's message, "Oedipus and the bull" on 17:02:47 03/09/08 Sun

This is terrific--I don't know how I failed to see this when I went through the play! The Chorus is already preparing themselves for a sacrificial "hunt," and they use the language of wildness and "rage" to describe the murderer. They are gearing themselves up for violence. They have already established the murderer in their minds as a monster, "roaming" in the "shade," something that is both a threat and that is ashamed of itself. It's no wonder, then, that everyone in the play latches onto the incest instead of the murder; one monstrous thing must clearly be linked to another, yes? It also makes it easier to heap blame upon someone if something about them is bestial, or less than human.

I think it's also interesting that in the first line of your selection, the Chorus says that "ALL" shall hunt him down. This is an activity that has to involve everyone in Thebes, for the plague affects everyone. The stage is already set from the get-go for some conflictual mimesis. They just need to find a victim to play the part.

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