Oedipus (Dryden play) Oedipus (Dryden play) The heroic drama Oedipus: A Tragedy, is an adaption of Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex", written by John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee. After being licensed in 1678 and published in 1679, it became a huge success on stage during the Restoration period. "Oedipus, a Tragedy" may today have an unintended comic effect, given the bloodthirsty ending of the drama. In past centuries, however, there was a wide range of views, ranging from enthusiasm to condemnation. "Celebratur Oedipus…" In 1700, the journal "Acta eruditorum", published in Leipzig, celebrated Dryden and Lee's adaptation of Oedipus. Along with "All for Love", "Oedipus,
Oedipus Rex of the Delphic Oracle. He visits Delphi to find out who his real parents are and assumes that the Oracle refuses to answer that question, offering instead an unrelated prophecy which forecasts patricide and incest. Oedipus's assumption is incorrect, the Oracle does, in a way, answer his question: "On closer analysis the oracle contains essential information which Oedipus seems to neglect." The wording of the Oracle: I was doomed to be murderer of the father that begot me refers to Oedipus' real, biological father. Likewise the mother with polluted children is defined as the biological one. The wording of the