Oedipus Journal 1

Pg. 159: Oedipus is at the royal house of Thebes and is absorbing the terrible sights he sees after a plague has hit his city and many people are dying. A priest has come to talk to him.
Pg. 160: The priest talks of all the city of Thebes plights and reveals how the crops are bad, many people are dying, as well as their cattle.
Pg. 161: The priest asks Oedipus to help and call on the gods as well to help out the people of Thebes.
Pg. 162: Oedipus tells the priest that he too is suffering. He has sent Creon to Delphi to try and see what they can do to save the city.
Pg. 163: Creon has arrived, crowned, and with supposedly good news. Oedipus tells him to share his findings with all the priests as well.
Pg. 164: To recieve the Apollo's mercy, the city of Thebes must find the ones who killed the former king, Laius and seek revenge.
Pg. 165: Creon and Oedipus wonder where they could find their killer and how to track him down.
Pg. 166: Creon talks of how the one witness said that King Laius was cut down by thieves, but they believe the witness was paid off by conspirators. The Sphinx called the search for the thieves off.
Pg. 167: Oedipus decides to help in the search to find the thieves.
Pg. 168: The chorus talks of the different gods and ask for help from them.
Pg. 169: The chorus speaks of how Thebes is falling and the terrible things happening to it. They want the gods to help.
Pg. 170: The chorus portrais death as a god which all other gods hate, and in so calls all the other gods to help Thebes by destroying this god of death.

Literary Techniques:

Metaphor
-"Here are boys, still too weak to fly from the nest,..."(Sophocles 16-17)
-Compares the people of Thebes to helpless baby birds which cannot fly. This shows how weak the city is and needs Oedipus' leadership to help them.

Metaphor
-"[...]our ship pitches wildly, cannot lift her head from the depths, the red waves of death...Thebes is dying." (Sophocles 29-31)
-Portrays the city of Thebes as a ship which is struggling to keep afloat. The "waves of death" are engulfing the city.

Personification
-"And black Death luxuriates in the raw, wailing miseries of Thebes." (Sophocles 37-38)
-Death is seen as an evil person who loves suffering. While Thebes is in shambles and people are dying, Death enjoys watching everything unfold in the city.

Simile
-"Thebes like a great army dying and there is no sword of thought to save us, no and the fruits of our famous earth, they will not ripen[...]" (Sophocles 194-196)
-Shows how Thebes is defenseless against death and cannot use their minds to overcome the plague. Shows their dependence on god. Also talks of the plague's strife on people and their food.