C1
Discuss/Describe the role and function of Chorus in King Oedipus /
Oedipus Rex.
🔥 Asked 4 timesNU. 2015NU. 2018NU. 2020NU. 2023
Introduction
In Greek tragedy, the Chorus was a group of performers who sang and
danced between the scenes. In Oedipus Rex, the Chorus is made
up of the old elders of Thebes. Sophocles uses a small Chorus
of fifteen members, smaller than the old Greek custom. In this play,
the Chorus is not just a decoration between scenes. It acts in the
story, comments on the events, guides the audience, and teaches the
final lesson. It is like the heart of the play, which connects the
actors with the audience.
(বাংলায়: গ্রিক ট্র্যাজেডিতে Chorus গান ও নাচের মাধ্যমে দৃশ্যের মাঝে
সংযোগ তৈরি করত। Oedipus Rex-এ এরা Thebes-এর প্রবীণ নাগরিক,
যারা গল্পের অংশ, দর্শকের প্রতিনিধি এবং শেষ শিক্ষার বাহক।)
1️⃣ The Voice of the People of Thebes
The Chorus represents the ordinary citizens of Thebes. They are
the elders of the city, so they speak for the whole population. In
the opening song (the Parados), they pray to the gods to
save the city from the terrible plague. They describe the
suffering of the people, the dying crops, and the deadly disease.
Their fear and pain are the fear and pain of every citizen. When
Oedipus comes out to them, they speak for all Thebans who look to
their king for help. So through the Chorus, the audience hears the
voice of the whole city.
(বাংলায়: Chorus Thebes-এর সাধারণ মানুষের প্রতিনিধি। শুরুর গানে তারা
প্লেগের কষ্টের কথা বলে দেবতাদের কাছে প্রার্থনা করে — তাদের ভয়ই
শহরের সবার ভয়।)
2️⃣ A Real Actor in the Story
The Chorus in Oedipus Rex does not stay outside the story;
it takes part in the action. It begs Oedipus to save the city from
the plague. When Oedipus and Teiresias quarrel bitterly, the
Chorus respectfully begs the king to calm down. When Oedipus
becomes angry with Creon and wants to punish him, the Chorus stops
the king and saves Creon's life. It also advises Oedipus again and
again not to search further for the killer of Laius. These are not
small acts — the Chorus tries to change the course of events. So
it is a character in the drama, not just a singer.
(বাংলায়: Chorus শুধু গায়ক নয়, গল্পের চরিত্র — এটি Oedipus-কে
প্লেগ থেকে বাঁচাতে অনুরোধ করে, Teiresias-এর সঙ্গে ঝগড়ায় শান্ত হতে
বলে, এমনকি Creon-কে বাঁচায় এবং সত্য খোঁজা বন্ধ করতে বলে।)
3️⃣ The Ideal Spectator
The Chorus reacts to every event exactly as a thoughtful spectator
should. It hopes, fears, doubts and wonders with the audience.
After Teiresias makes his terrible charge, the Chorus is shocked
but refuses to believe without proof. When Oedipus accuses Creon
without evidence, the Chorus says the king has spoken in anger and
without judgement. When the truth begins to come out, it expresses
fear and pity step by step. In this way, the Chorus becomes the
ideal spectator — a model of how the audience should feel
while watching the play. Its feelings guide our feelings.
(বাংলায়: Chorus একজন "ideal spectator" — দর্শকের মতোই ঘটনায় আশা,
ভয় ও সন্দেহ প্রকাশ করে। প্রমাণ ছাড়া বিশ্বাস না করে, রাগের মাথায়
Oedipus-এর সিদ্ধান্তে প্রশ্ন তুলে এটি দর্শকের অনুভূতির পথ দেখায়।)
4️⃣ The Moral and Religious Guide
The Chorus carries the religious voice of the play. Its odes again
and again teach faith in the gods and warn against pride. When
Jocasta suggests that prophecies may fail, the Chorus is alarmed.
In one of its great odes, it sings that if such prophecies are
ignored, men should stop worshipping the gods. It declares that
only the gods — Zeus and Apollo — know the truth, and no man can
escape their will. It also warns that insolence and proud words
bring ruin. Through these songs, Sophocles places the religious
and moral teaching of the tragedy in the mouth of the Chorus.
(বাংলায়: Chorus নাটকের ধর্মীয় কণ্ঠস্বর — ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী মিথ্যা হলে
দেবতাদের পূজা বোকামী হয়ে যাবে বলে এটি সতর্ক করে এবং গর্ব ও অহংকার
ধ্বংস ডেকে আনে বলে শেখায়।)
5️⃣ Maker of Atmosphere and Suspense
The Chorus creates the mood of every scene and increases the
tension. Its opening song fills the stage with the dark atmosphere
of plague and death. Later, in the second stasimon, it wonders
about the birth of Oedipus — was his mother a nymph or a mountain
spirit? Was he born of Pan or Apollo? These beautiful, anxious
questions raise suspense just before the shepherd reveals the
terrible truth. After the recognition scene, its song of horror
makes the shock even deeper. So the Chorus works like the
background music of the play — it prepares our hearts for every
fall.
(বাংলায়: Chorus প্রতিটি দৃশ্যের পরিবেশ তৈরি করে ও উত্তেজনা বাড়ায়
— Oedipus-এর জন্ম নিয়ে এর প্রশ্নগুলো ভয়ংকর সত্য প্রকাশের ঠিক আগে
কৌতূহল চরমে তোলে।)
6️⃣ The Chorus and the Structure of the Play
The Chorus also gives the play its shape. Greek tragedy moves in
episodes (dialogue scenes) and stasima (choral songs). In
Oedipus Rex, after every major episode, the Chorus sings an
ode that comments on what has just happened. The play opens with
the Parados and ends with the Exodos, both led by the
Chorus. These songs divide the action into clear parts, give the
audience time to think, and keep a steady rhythm from beginning to
end. Without the Chorus, the structure of the play would lose its
balance and its musical movement.
(বাংলায়: Chorus নাটকের কাঠামো তৈরি করে — প্রতিটি দৃশ্যের পরে এর গান
(stasimon) ঘটনার মন্তব্য করে, নাটককে ভাগ করে ও ছন্দ ধরে রাখে; নাটক
শুরু ও শেষ হয় এর হাতেই।)
7️⃣ Lyrical Beauty and Pathos
The songs of the Chorus are the most beautiful and emotional parts
of the play. They give the tragedy its poetry, music and deep
feeling. The saddest example is at the end, when the Chorus sees
the blinded Oedipus coming out of the palace. It breaks into a
song of pity and terror, mourning the fall of the great king. This
song, together with the whole story, creates the
catharsis — the purging of pity and fear — that Aristotle
praised. The suffering of Oedipus touches us more deeply because
the Chorus sings our sorrow for us.
(বাংলায়: Chorus-এর গানই নাটকের সবচেয়ে সুন্দর ও আবেগময় অংশ — অন্ধ
Oedipus-কে দেখে এর বিলাপ দর্শকের মনে করুণা ও ভয়ের বিশুদ্ধকরণ
(catharsis) ঘটায়।)
8️⃣ Speaker of the Final Lesson
At the end of the play, the Chorus speaks the universal moral of
the story. Its last words teach that no man should be called happy
before his death:
"Count no man happy till he dies,
free of pain at last."
With this one line, the Chorus lifts the story of one man from
Thebes to the level of all human life. The message is simple and
unforgettable: human fortune is uncertain, fate is stronger than
man, and the final judgement on a life comes only at the end.
(বাংলায়: শেষে Chorus নাটকের চিরন্তন শিক্ষা দেয় — "Count no man
happy till he dies..." — মৃত্যুর আগে কাউকে সুখী বলা যায় না; ভাগ্য
মানুষের চেয়ে শক্তিশালী।)
Conclusion
To conclude, the Chorus in Oedipus Rex is many things in one
body. It is the people of Thebes who suffer the plague; an actor who
tries to shape the events; an ideal spectator who feels with the
audience; a religious guide who teaches faith and warns against
pride; a maker of suspense; the source of the play's poetry; and
finally the voice of its universal lesson. Sophocles did not use the
Chorus as an old tradition — he made it a living, working part of
the tragedy. That is why the Chorus remains one of the finest
examples of its kind in Greek drama.
(বাংলায়: সবশেষে বলা যায়, Chorus একসঙ্গে জনগণের প্রতিনিধি, চরিত্র,
আদর্শ দর্শক, নৈতিক শিক্ষক, সাসপেন্স নির্মাতা ও কবিতার উৎস —
Sophocles এটিকে ট্র্যাজেডির জীবন্ত অঙ্গ করেছেন।)
🧠 🧠 Memory Trick — Remember: "People Pray, Spectators Think — A
Structured Poem Lives."
| P | People of Thebes (representative) | জনগণের প্রতিনিধি |
| P | Participant in the action | ঘটনায় অংশগ্রহণকারী |
| S | Spectator (ideal spectator) | আদর্শ দর্শক |
| T | Teacher of faith and morals | ধর্ম-নৈতিক শিক্ষক |
| A | Atmosphere and suspense | পরিবেশ ও উত্তেজনা |
| S | Structure of the play | নাটকের কাঠামো |
| P | Poetry and pathos | কবিতা ও করুণ রস |
| L | Lesson at the end | চূড়ান্ত শিক্ষা |
Most important points: representative of the people (1), participant in action (2), ideal spectator (3), final lesson (8) — these four carry the marks.
Must-mention scenes: the opening plague song (Parados), the Chorus saving Creon, the ode about Oedipus's birth, and the final lament over blinded Oedipus.
Useful quotation: "Count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last" — the closing words of the Chorus.
Use the terms: catharsis, ideal spectator, Parados, stasimon, Exodos — but explain each in one simple line.
To look strong: show the Chorus acting, feeling and teaching — not just singing between scenes.