In this essay I will discuss three roles that of the chorus in the play Oedipus.
             First I will explain the use of the chorus as bystanders throughout the play. Second, I will explain the role of offering a sort of running narrative for the audience. Third, I will describe how the chorus is used to keep the continuity during the play.
             I will explain in this paragraph how the chorus was used as bystanders throughout the play. The chorus act as bystanders throughout the play, observing what goes on, reacting and offering opinions at regular intervals throughout the play (e.g. when Oedipus accuses Creon irrationally of conspiring against him, the Chorus says "To one who fears to fall, he speaketh well; O king, swift counsels are not always safe."- line 645) In this role they are important to the play as they often offer the voice of reason during moments of heated debate, the voice of fear and confusion during Oedipus' downfall, which seems to mirror the audience's reaction and emotion in many situations throughout the play. The Chorus are also used as a sort of receptive audience for passages of description over what has gone on behind closed doors (after Jocasta has realized the truth the second messenger describes the scene inside the palace to the Chorus: "Within the porch, made straightway for the couch, Her bridal bed, with both hands tore her hair" – Line 1294). These are the reasons why I believe the chorus was used as bystanders.
             I will explain in this paragraph why I think the Chorus role is to offer a sort of running narrative for the audience. This function is vital to the success of the play. The Chorus often speaks in this way at the end of a scene to clarify what has just gone on. (e.g. at the end of the first scene, the chorus clarifies the diseased state that the city of Thebes has descended into: "On the soil, plague-breeding, lie Infants unpitied, cast out ruthlessly; A...