Is it stupidity on the part of Oedipus or a defect in Sophocles's play that it takes the king so long to admit guilt?

In
by , it is neither stupidity on the 's part nor defect on the author's
that causesto take so long to admit guilt (by this, I assume you are speaking of his ability to
learn that he both killed his father and wed his mother). Rather, the reason for this has to do
with two separate propheciesone told to Oedipus, the other to . It is only once he possesses
knowledge of bothas well as learning of his true parentagethat he is able to comprehend exactly
who and what he is.

Oedipus is shown early on to be a dedicated and caring
ruler. When he discovers that the previous king's murderer was never found, he takes it upon
himself to uncover the truth for the sake of his people. Were he not so insistent upon finding
this out, he might never have learned the truth about his past. However, after being told by the
prophetthat he is the murderer, everything begins to unravel. While
speaking with Jocasta, she reveals to him a prophecy told to her long ago:

JOCASTA: An oracle came once to Laius. I do not say
From
Phoebus himself, but from his ministers
That his fate would be at his son's hand to die
-
A child, who would be born from him and me.

Though he has not yet discovered the truth, learning of this prophecy makes him believe
in the power of oracles. When he figures out that one of the men he killed just prior to
arriving at Thebes was Laius, Oedipus realizes that Jocasta's prophecy came true, at least
partially. Just as Jocasta did for him, he now reveals a prophecy told to him when he was
younger:

OEDIPUS: A man at a banquet overdrunk with
wine
Said in drink I was a false son to my father.
. . .
In secret
from mother and father I set out
Toward Delphi. Phoebus sent me away
ungraced
In what I came for, but other wretched things
Terrible and grievous,
he revealed in answer;
That I must wed my mother and produce
An unendurable
race for men to see,
That I should kill the father who begot me.

Though it becomes clear to the audience at this point that Oedipus
is Laius and Jocasta's son and that he did, indeed, kill his true father, he has not yet reached
the same conclusion. He has not yet put all the pieces togethermostly because he still believes
Polybus is his father. After acomes to tell him that Polybus has died, Oedipus is given a brief
reprieve from the weight of his prophecy. However, he soon finds out that the man
"overdrunk with wine" was telling the truth. Only once he has all this information
does he realize Jocasta and Laius are his parents. Additionally, though unbeknownst to him at
the time, by killing Laius in a chance encounter he ended up fulfilling the prophecy that said
he would murder his father and wed his mother.

To recap, it was not stupidity
or defect that caused Oedipus to take so long in learning the truth. Sophocles crafted the play
in such a way that allowed the audience to put the pieces together before the . Because of this,
it highlights thethat befalls both Oedipus and Jocasta once they learn the truth.

Note: For this response, the above quotations come from Ten Greek Plays in
Contemporary Translations, edited by L.R. Lind and published by the Houghton Mifflin
Company.