The structure of Greek tragedy is usually described as alternating portions of dialogue or monologue and choral song; principal characters enter, converse with each other, and exit, all framed by the commentary of a remote and isolated chorus. However, Oedipus Rex contains more in its 1530-odd lines of Greek than simply the base structure of episodes and odes. Within these metered exchanges and monologues are rich ecosystems of meter and music lurking right under the surface. Meters change depending on the emotional tenor of scenes, characters and choruses flowing from one to another and back again, either easily or in dissonant bursts depending on the circumstance.
One of the most rich and lively examples of this poetic wildlife is the kommos; the word originally refers to the beating of the breast involved in ritual lamentation (and literally means ‘striking’). Kommoi appear in tragedies in times of extreme distress or agitation and often feature the poetic meter associated with those emotions, an irregular and jagged meter well-designed to reflect inner turmoil known as dochmiac. more important than the meter for our purposes is this: the kommos is a shared song. Half call-and-response and half wild outburst, kommoi are marked by lyric exchanges between principal characters and the chorus, a mututal pouring-out of emotion in moments of extreme tension or strife.
Oedipus Rex is distinct (if not unique) in that it features two kommoi, both between the Chorus and Oedipus himself, the first from lines 619-667 (pages 40-42 in your scripts) and 1313-1348 (pages 87-89). The first is a metrically tangled back-and-forth between Oedipus and the Chorus, punctuated by dialogue from Creon and Jocasta as Oedipus grapples with his rage, the second a more pointed and painful sharing of trauma as the blinded Oedipus curses and despairs along with the Chorus.
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