O E D I P U S    A P O C Y R Y P H A

I write this to the brother of King Oedipus, Creon I am utterly horrified to hear the news of what happened to your dear brother Oedipus. Upon my arrival from delivering the message of the King's death by natural causes, I presumed that Oedipus would be able to return to the kingdom of Corinth. I told the queen “King Polybus is dead. The people there want Oedipus to be their king.” The queen questioned how the king died, I replied “A small thing will put old bodies to rest. He died of old age.” Oedipus and The Queen would be happy I thought, his fate was avoided! But when the Queen heard my news she did not respond with happiness, there was a look of concern embroidered across her face.  It would appear her fear was not misplaced. I recently received news of Oedipus’s utterly grotesque actions against himself.

Even though I am nothing more than a messenger to you I have a strong relationship with your king, I was the one that found him all those years ago, “On the slopes outside of town you were found. I was shepherd then, and the man that saved your life, son.”  After I found him I went to the kingdom to offer the child to the king. I know not why, but I felt he could do great things. I still wonder whether it would’ve been better to just leave him there, perhaps Oedipus could have avoided his fanatic quest and I could be at peace, neither of us the wiser . But that was what feels like endless days ago.  While you may believe his fate was inevitable, I know you tried to help him avoid it and lead him down the path of happiness. Perhaps if your brother never heard my words he would still be alive, even if he never knew the truth. Perhaps if I never took him in he would’ve had a better life. When I found his that was all I wanted, a happy life for the boy I found, I wanted to see him live a wonderful life, but I regret everything. I sent him in a downward spiral of self destruction and sorrow. If I could take it all back I would. But I can’t. I am responsible, even if your brother found out his fate he may not have resorted to the extremes that he went to. I know this is true, my news must’ve been the catalyst that caused this colossal tragedy.

The King was happy before I arrived he loved his citizens and was loved. He was happy until I barged into his life once again and forced information no one should’ve known unto him. I am responsible for the king’s sorrow. I am responsible for his regret. I am responsible for his tragic end. I must be, his fate was not the fault of his but mine, I know this is true. I thought myself a savior, I thought myself a hero, but I am full of regret. In a cruel twist of fate, the blind prophet saw more than the starry eyed fool, who ultimately became blind himself. My mistakes are many and I could go on and on about them  but that would take far too long, and would be far to painful. I leave you with these final words.. I know this will change nothing and what happened is changeless I hope it can provide both you and I with some form of closure. After the results of Oedipus’s actions I feel the only honorable thing to do is make right with Oedipus by taking my own life. After delivering this letter I will throw myself into the largest chasm I can find. I know this will change nothing and while I may be nothing but a messenger to you, I hope it will provide you with closure. I regret telling Oedipus of the king’s death, I regret telling him that Polybius was not his true father, and I regret finding him and taking him back to Corinth. I only ever wanted a happy life for that child, but I believe I have created the opposite. Oedipus should’ve never known the truth, I am so sorry. Goodbye.

With high apologies,
A Regretful Savior

Writer’s Memo
I wrote this because I thought the messenger/herdsman character could be expanded upon, mainly pertaining to his relationship with Oedipus, the effect of Oedipus’s actions and how in grief one can blame himself for the actions of the unrelated. I wanted to reader to feel confliction in seeing a character that only wished to bring Oedipus excitement and return the boy he found, blame himself for Oedipus’s self destruction and see the consequences of Oedipus recklessness have effect on other people. When Oedipus got angry he often became reckless, this is what causes him to pursue his quest for truth carelessly. It destroys others, his family, his life, and his perception of himself.  I did this by having the messenger write in a sorrowful and regretful tone. I also progressively inserted the messenger’s self blame throughout the letter and created a build up to the his declaration of suicide after he lists his sorrows and regrets. I tried to emphasize the relationship he had with Oedipus in a pseudo-father son relationship. He also goes into a descent of sorrow as his initial happiness plummets into the depths self-loathing.  Oedipus’s recklessness caused a bystander to collapse into emotional despair and take his own life. I am going to expand upon the relation between Oedipus and the Messenger to try to make the reader get attached to the messenger before his death, while simultaneously making the reader resent Oedipus for making the Messenger do this. I also am trying to make the messenger seem more innocent yet still self blaming to add the feeling of needless sacrifice. I would also like to make it flow better and remove repeating phrases. I would love feedback on what you felt while reading this as well as ways to make you feel more of things I am trying to convey. General writing structure critique would also be appreciated. My mentor text was Oedipus the king as well as the pieces of the common greek tragedy, with a good person making one fatal error (or thinking he did), the ironies where the audience knows what happened but the characters don’t, and having their unknowing make them make decisions in direct conflict with the truth. I tried to keep the theme of Oedipus with ignorance vs knowledge and fate vs free will. As Well as the motives and over the top yet still conceivable and understandable “in the moment” reactions common in greek tragedy. I tried to write in a similar manner to that of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe. Using semi-complex words in a way that sounds professional but not eccentric. I changed the name to Regretful Savior foreshadowing the messengers opinion on his choices. I also added a paragraph talking about how the messenger felt happiness when delivering the message to show hi innocence and obliviousness to how things turned out. I deleted a few things to improve the flow. Lastly I added one big chunk of text where he reflects on everything with his warped perspective and transitioning and justifying his final actions.