Why do you think Sophocles begins his play near the climax of the Oedipus story?
I don’t know if I can answer exactly why, but many of the ancient authors, tragic and epic began their stories in a manner referred to in the Latin as “in media res” or “in the middle of things.” This is how Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey begin, when the major affairs have already taken place, the war has started in the Iliad and is actually almost over, while Odysseus has already been lost at sea in the Odyssey and the reader must be caught up on what has occurred before the point at which we are allowed to begin seeing the story unfold. This type of storytelling is often usurped in films, think of when you see the action packed ending scene in a movie and then must back track to see what has lead up to this climax, its the same thing. As to why someone would do this, I can only guess that it is a very effective way of getting the reader’s attention right off the bat, its gripping. For Sophocles however, the reason might be more geared towards the fact that Greek Tragedy so very often incl
