Okay so here I go free writing about the role of feet in Oedipus the King. I chose to do feet because I found it so interesting that there was a connection between his name Oedipus, and the fact that his feet are misshapen because of the wounds inflicted upon him as a child. It's also really interesting that most of the feet imagery comes in the beginning of the play, and there is hardly any at the end. Maybe because in the beginning of the play he is standing on his feet, that is to say, he's in control and still reigning king, but at the end of the play he is powerless, defeated, and deeply ashamed; thus he is metaphorically kneeling and his feet would be behind him, out of sight.
Regardless, the first instance of feet is when he helps the priest stand up. I interpretted this as Oedipus helping a person who was powerless, in despair, and looking for salvation. This is clearly ironic because at the end of the play Oedipus is in this exact situation. Only I'm not so sure he is looking for salvation, this distinguishes him from the priest. The next instance is a few lines down, when Oedipus says that he would have to be ignorant to ignore the people asking for help at his feet. Once again, feet = state of helplessness. This would probably be a good thesis; that kneeling at ones feet represent being helpless and desperate. It's also interesting that Oedipus' feet have been scarred, and at the end of the play he does NOT beg for salvation. This is a subtle clue that he cannot ask for help, almost as if he was destined to bear the pain.
The next instance is when the priest asks Oedipus to help the city off of its feet and return to its former glory. This speaks to my thesis, where I argued that kneeling at someone's feet represents your helplessness. However, if I were to make an anti-thesis, I would have to say that kneeling at someone's feet represents power and control. How can I argue that? I could say that in reality the people are in control, for even if they are at his feet, in reality they have more power than the king. Indeed, by the end of the play the roles have reversed, and Oedipus has been exiled and the people are metaphorically standing, once again, tall on their feet.
Finally we have the last instance of feet where Creon recounts the Sphinx saying to forget the murderer and "look at what lies at your feet." I love this line because it's so clever and ironic. On the surface, it looks like the Sphinx is saying to simply forget about what happened and move on. However, the clever Sphinx is saying just the opposite, and in fact is giving a clue to how to catch the murderer! At this time Oedipus, his father's killer, would have reached Thebes. Thus, if the people did "look at their feet" they would have found Oedipus, the killer! However, then the prophecy wouldn't have been fulfilled, and as we can see from this play, prophecies are always destined to come true. For a synthesis I could say that regardless of what the feet represent it is inconsequential, for what happens to our feet and how we stand on them is out of our control.
Your "zero draft" certainly helped to develop an effective synthesis. The role of feet seems to change as the play progresses, but I would argue that the role actually is consistant. The audience perspective may change based on the way Sophocles crafts the story and the way characters speak, but a second reading of the play reveals many examples of irony suggesting Oedipus never has power. This reading suggests the people certainly have more power than Oedipus, and it is truly tragic to watch his ignorant demise.
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