Oedipus and Tiresias: im/politeness theory and the interpretation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus

The present paper analyses the dialogue between Oedipus and Tiresias in Sophocles' Oedipus the King (297–462) from three angles: politeness theory, theory of mind, and theory of possible worlds. The paper will argue that the approaches are compatible from a theoretical point of view and complement each other. Politeness theory helps us make sense of the dialogue at the micro-level; theory of mind and theory of possible worlds can be fruitfully combined with politeness theory to make sense of the whole dialogic sequence.