Structural Analysis of Oedipus the King

Bruce MacLennan

The following is a structural analysis of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, which should help you to understand the the structure of the play in a concrete context. The numbers refer to the lines of the Greek text (e.g. from the Loeb edition). They are only approximately correct for English translations, so observe the divisions in the printed text.

Prologue: 1-150
Parode: 151-215
- Str. 1: 151-
- Ant. 1: 159-
- Str. 2: 169-
- Ant. 2: 179-
- Str. 3: 190-
- Ant. 3: 204-215
First Episode: 216-462
First Stasimon: 462-411
- Str. 1: 462-
- Ant. 1: 473-
- Str. 2: 483-
- Ant. 2: 494-
Second Episode: 512-862
- Str. 1: 649-
- Str. 2: 660-
- Ant. 1: 679-
- Ant. 2: 690-706
Second Stasimon: 863-910
- Str. 1: 863-
- Ant. 1: 872-
- Str. 2: 883-
- Ant. 2: 899-910
Third Episode: 911-1085
Third Stasimon: 1088-1109
- Str.: 1088-
- Ant.: 1099-1109
Fourth Episode: 1110-1186
Fourth Stasimon: 1187-1221
- Str. 1: 1187-
- Ant. 1: 1197-
- Str. 2: 1205-
- Ant. 2: 1212-1221
Exode: 1222-1530 (end)
- Str. 1: 1313-
- Ant. 1: 1321-
- Str. 2: 1329-
- Ant. 2: 1349-1363

This analysis is based on those in the Loeb edition (Harvard Univ. Press 1912) and the Heritage Press edition (tr. F. Storr).

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Last updated: Wed Aug 25 17:47:53 EDT 1999