Though he grants himself the power to utter a curse, Oidipous is in fact a wretch condemned by his own words “poorly [to] wear away his sorry life.” This will prompt the audience to recognize that the god is already at work, contriving for Oidipous to expose himself as the evildoer. This discrepancy prompts the audience to correct his error: the curse does not originate with Oidipous’s present utterance but somewhere in the past. This makes a mockery of Oidipous’s belief in his own agency, a belief that arrogates to himself the powers and privileges belonging to the god. [Apcmu] [P] [Mpea] [P]