The Noble King Arises

No,

 I'll start again--

I'll bring it all to light myself!

Apollo is right, and so are you, Creon, to turn our attention back to the murdered man 

Now you have me to fight for you, you’ll see: I am the lands avenger by all rights, and Apollo’s champion too. (149-155)

 

This quote shows Oedipus's determination and willingness to help his kingdom. As stated in line 150, Oedipus is willing to "start again" meaning start his search for the murderer of Laius The dramatic irony of the situation is that although the audiences knows the crime he committed; Oedipus is oblivious to the fact that he is the man who killed Laius. Additionally, Oedipus takes full responsibility in capturing the killer. This is seen on line 151, when he says "I'll bring it all to light myself!". Here, Oedipus is saying that he will find who ever killed Laius on his own thus showing his devotion in keeping Thebes safe. Also, noted that this is one of the many times that the motif "light" is mentioned throughout the play. Oedipus is the type of king who listens to what others have to say. More specifically, in this quote Oedipus is taking into consideration of what Apollo and Creon are saying about the death of Laius and agrees that it is essential to find this killer. Also, keep in mind that Oedipus is talking to the people of Thebes. Therefore, when he says "I am the lands avenger by all rights" he is expressing what he thinks his rights are as king. To top it off he calls himself "Apollo's champion". This shows  how highly Oedipus' thinks of himself as the king of Thebes. After all, he did earn his spot by solving the Sphinx's riddle.

*because this is the beginning of the play I created a word collage of all the things that popped into my head when I read this quote. Light is super big because it is an important motif that appears throughout Oedipus the King