Question

Toward the end of Part I of Oedipus the King, Oedipus and Jocasta meet and have a long dialogue. Beginning in line 665, Jocasta explains why she does not believe prophets. When Oedipus next speaks, in line 684, he says, "A shadow crossed my mind as you spoke. And the / shadow chilled my mind." Reread lines 665–779, and explain why Jocasta's story causes Oedipus to say these words.

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

Jocasta explains that she does not trust the words of the prophets, because in the past, a prophet told her ex-husband that his son would kill him. In fear, her ex-husband drove the child out of the city and was killed years later, at a crossroads by a band of thieves, just before Oedipus arrived. This makes Oedipus very afraid, as it confirms the prophecy he received.

That's because Oedipus knows that he is not a legitimate child of the parents who raised him and that he was found as a baby. In addition, he killed a man near the crossroads to which Jocasta's ex-husband was killed. In that case, it is likely that he killed her husband and then married her, which proves the terrible prophecy he received that said he would kill his own father and lie with his own mother.