Stravinsky recalled that even in his initial conception of Oedipus Rex, the chorus was essential. Embedded in the community, they serve as a powerful indicator for how we, the audience, should react to the tragic events as they unfold. The chorus in Oedipus Rex comprises the male elders of Thebes. The denouement unravels quickly: Jocaste kills herself, and Oedipus, finding his wife (and mother) dead by her own hand, blinds himself with her pin. Fate closes in as Oedipus’s true lineage is revealed – He is the son of Laius and Jocaste. This reassurance backfires when Oedipus admits that he himself killed someone at a crossroads while on his way to Thebes years before. After all, oracles had predicted that Laius would be killed by his son, but he was instead killed by a stranger at the crossroads. Before Oedipus can begin his search for the killer, the prophet Tiresius proclaims that Oedipus himself killed Laius! Shaken, Oedipus accuses Tiresius of treason, but Jocaste tries to soothe her husband, reminding him that oracles and prophets don’t always tell the truth. Suddenly, his brother-in-law Créon appears with news: the oracle has decreed that the plague can only be eradicated once the murderer of Laius – the former King of Thebes, and former husband of Oedipus’s wife Jocaste – is found and banished. The elders cry out to King Oedipus for help, certain he can rid the city of the plague. The story begins with the city of Thebes in the throes of a plague.

The oedipus plays of sophocles