The role and function of Chorus in King Oedipus

The chorus was an essential feature of the ancient Greek tragedy. Aristotle says in his poetics- “The chorus too should be regarded as one of actors; it should be an integral part of the whole and take a share in the action that which it has in Sophocles rather than Euripides.” The chorus was a group personality consisting of twelve or fifteen elder citizens. They used to dance round the alter of Dinonysus, the god of plants, fertility, wine, music and poetry.

In this way the Chorus came into being as an essential part of the Greek life. The chorus served as a link between the actors and the audience. It also gave description of the play and the actors so that the audience may fully realize the significance.

The functions of chorus in Oedipus Rex are to entertain the audience, to enhance the workings of the plot and to explain the characters and events. These are the functions of chorus in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

Unlike his contemporary Euripides, Sophocles was known to integrate his choruses into the action of the play. In Oedipus the King we see the Chorus constantly advising Oedipus to keep his cool. Most of the time in ancient tragedies choruses do a lot of lamenting of terrible events, but do little to stop them. Amazingly, though, the Chorus in Oedipus the King manages to convince Oedipus not to banish or execute Creon. Just imagine how much worse Oedipus would have felt if he had killed his uncle/brother-in-law on top of his other atrocities.

The Chorus is roughly like the peanut-gallery. Sophocles uses this group of Thebans to comment on the play’s action and to foreshadow future events. He also uses it to comment on the larger impact of the characters’ actions and to expound upon the play’s central themes. In Oedipus the King we get choral odes on everything from tyranny to the dangers of blasphemy.

          The contribution of the Chorus in Oedipus Rex is considerable. They link the play with common humanity. In some sense they are often in the position of the ideal spectator. They fill in the gaps in the action when no other character is there on the stage. They add to it the element of melody which must have been one of the attractions of Greek tragedy. They provide an appropriate shift between the heroic figure of Oedipus and the mass of common humanity represented by the two shepherds in Oedipus Res. The tragedy of Oedipus and its relevance to common life is very well stressed by the Chorus in its exit ode or ex-ode.

In musicals, the chorus, a group of players whose song and dance routines usually reflect and enhance the development of the plot, became increasingly more prominent during the 20th century. During the late Victorian era, musical comedy was characterized by thin plot, characters, and setting, the main attraction being the song and dance routines, comedy, and a line of scantily clad chorus girls.

In conclusion, we can say that the functions of the Chorus are very well performed in Oedipus Rex. In the very first ode the Chorus depicts the horror of the plague and expresses an apprehension about the message from the oracle of Delphi. Other odes comment on the action that has taken place after the last ode and build an atmosphere appropriate to that stage of the play. It plays the role of a peace-maker between the king and Creon and succeeds in getting the king’s pardon for the latter.