How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used Francis Storr's translation found on Project Gutenberg.
Quote #4
OEDIPUS
To Delphi, and Apollo sent me back
Baulked of the knowledge that I came to seek.
But other grievous things he prophesied,
Woes, lamentations, mourning, portents dire;
To wit I should defile my mother's bed
And raise up seed too loathsome to behold,
And slay the father from whose loins I sprang. (791-797)
Oedipus’s pursuit of knowledge leads him to the unfortunate realization of his fate. This is the cause of his downfall, not his fate itself.
Quote #5
JOCASTA
Ah mayst thou ne'er discover who thou art!
OEDIPUS
Go, fetch me here the herd, and leave yon woman
To glory in her pride of ancestry.
JOCASTA
O woe is thee, poor wretch! With that last word
I leave thee, henceforth silent evermore. (1068-1073)
Jocasta, aware that it will only hurt him, warns Oedipus to stop seeking knowledge. As the audience or reader, we wonder whether she would be willing to continue living as they are, if Oedipus were kept ignorant.