Transcript No Slide Title

Sophocles
and
OEDIPUS
the KING
p.468
SOPHOCLES
(496-406 BC)
• Concentrated on timeless problems of
men and women striving against fate for
happiness
• Gave a sympathetic vision of the plight of
mankind- people are responsible for
finding out who they are and where they
belong; must take moral responsibility
for own life
Sophocles
• Introduced a 3rd actor (Aeschylus 2nd)
• Included more plot and action & chorus
members
• Crafted plays to build to skillful climax
• Wrote at least 120 plays of which only 7
survived
• Introduced technical innovation- used a
crane to lower actors on stage for a
‘miraculous’ appearance –it symbolized a
Sophocles wrote of the history of
the house of Laius, King of
Thebes, in three plays:
• Oedipus Rex(the king) *
• Oedipus at Colonnus
• Antigone *
*high points of ancient Greek theatre
Oedipus The King
p. 468
Follows Aristotle’s Classical
Unities
• Unity of time
– The play occurs within 24
hours.
• Unity of place
– The setting is in one locale
• Unity of action
– There are no sub-plots
going on simultaneously
PLOT
• Identify types of conflict that occur:
– Person vs. Person
– Person vs. god(fate)
– Person vs. Self- a bold king risks everything in his pursuit
of a terrible truth
– Person vs. Nature
For your final, you can write about this particular
element. If you like what you are reading,
complete a close reading with conflicts….
Definition of Tragedy
• A dramatic performance which depicts the
downfall of a hero through a combination of
hubris, fate, and the will of the gods.
• Must have a flaw- ( impatience & erroneous
judgment) which leads to his own
destruction
• Of noble birth
• Does NOT need to die at the end but goes
through a catharsis (purification)
(sometimes audience does as well)
Plot: Sequence of Events
• Exposition: Part I
– Readers are assumed to know the
background of Oedipus’s birth and the story
of the riddle of the Sphinx- (these plots were
drawn from well known myths)
– GREEN DOT- What then kept the interest for the audience?
When and how the tragic hero would work out his destiny.
– conflict involves the danger and destruction posed by the
plague
• Rising Action
– Creon comes back from Delphi
– Things escalate from there
Begin reading text pg. 471
• Riddle of the sphinx- What goes on four legs in the
morning, two at midday and three in the evening?
• When Oedipus first arrived in Thebes, he solved the
riddle of the sphinx and saved Thebes from the
terrifying monster. Yet a plague is causing destruction.
What is causing the plague? They are waiting for Creon
to return w/an answer from Apollo.
• GREEN DOT -What is the tone set right from the
beginning of the play? anxious
Pg. 474/475
• What 2 distinct reasons does Oedipus
express for his commitment to finding and
punishing Laius’ murderer?
–
–
–
–
Action will end the plague
Protect Oedipus from the murderer
GREEN DOT- Kind of irony and how so?
CHORUS: remember, dialogue is the main
form of dramatic expression not physical action
CHORUS
• The Chorus is roughly like the peanut-gallery (it’s even occasionally
told to shut up). Sophocles uses this group of Thebans to comment on
the play's action and to foreshadow future events. He also uses it to
comment on the larger impact of the characters' actions and to expound
upon the play's central themes. In Oedipus the King we get choral odes
on everything from tyranny to the dangers of blasphemy.
• beginning of the play to help tell the audience the given
circumstances .We hear all about the terrible havoc that the plague is
wreaking on Thebes. By describing the devastation in such gruesome
detail, Sophocles raises the stakes for his protagonist, Oedipus. The
people of Thebes are in serious trouble; Oedipus has to figure out who
killed Laius fast, or he won't have any subjects left to rule.
• Chorus constantly advising Oedipus to keep his cool. Most of the time
in ancient tragedies choruses do a lot of lamenting of terrible events,
but do little to stop them. Amazingly, though, the Chorus in Oedipus
the King manages to convince Oedipus not to banish or execute Creon.
Just imagine how much worse Oedipus would have felt if he'd killed
his uncle/brother-in-law on top of his other atrocities.
The Chorus begins by being supportive of Oedipus, believing, based
on his past successes, that he's the right man to fix their woes. As
Oedipus's behavior becomes more erratic, they become uncertain and
question his motives. In the end, the Chorus is on Oedipus's side again
and laments his horrific fate.
chorus
• Like most all ancient Greek tragedians, Sophocles
divides his choral odes into strophe and antistrophe.
Both sections had the same number of lines and metrical
pattern. In Greek, strophe means "turn," and antistrophe
means "turn back." This makes sense when you consider
the fact that, during the strophe choruses danced from
right to left and during the antistrophe they did the
opposite. Sophocles may have split them into two
groups, so that it was as if one part of the Chorus was
conversing with the other. Perhaps the dualities created
by strophe and antistrophe, represent the endless,
irresolvable debates for which Greek tragedy is famous.
CHORAL Test
• Triple Entry Journal. divide a page of paper
into three columns. In the first column, they
should paste the choral section. In the
second, translate the line into a modern
version. The last column is for you to
comment on the function of the line.
Sequence of Events
• Climax
– The truth is fully
revealed
– Oedipus blinds
himself
– Jocasta kills herself
• Denouement
(resolution)
– Oedipus bids farewell
to Antigone and
Ismene
– The chorus offers a
closing reflection
Oedipus Rex at the Roman
Coliseum, July 2000, BBC News
Setting
• Where is the action set? In front of the
royal palace at Thebes
• Is the setting hostile or friendly? Thebes
is undergoing a crisis
Oedipus’ Character
Find evidence of these traits in the text
• Wise and courageous
• Virtuous and
conscientious
• Loving husband,
father, and son
• Pious and proud
•
•
•
•
Quick tempered
Insistent upon truth
Suspicious
Strong in the face of
disaster
• Just
Oedipus’ Character
Two Flaws in Oedipus’ Character:
• Impatience and erroneous judgment
–
–
–
–
Regarding his father Laius
Regarding Teiresias
Regarding Creon
3 SHORT ANSWERS for writing
assignment…keep track of this
Oedipus is a dynamic character
• The tragedy lies in • He pushes on to
his knowledge of
find the truth
guilt rather than
in the guilt itself
Is he a better man at the end of
the play?
Oedipus at the end of the play
• Has shown strength of
character
• Has shown courage
• Has gained insight into his
own nature
• Has learned who he is
Oedipus’ Tragic Flaw
• He insists on knowing the truth
• He presses on in spite of characters
who try to dissuade him: Teiresias,
Jocasta, the shepherd, Chorus
Symbols
• Blindness
– Spiritual
– Physical
• Oedipus himself
• Others?
Symbol:
Oedipus’s Blinding of
Himself
• He once believed
his insight to be
superior to that
of the priest
Tiresias
• He “Has nothing
beautiful left to
see in this world.”
Dramatic Irony
The audience knows something that the
character(s) on stage do not know:
• Whoever killed King Laios might—who
knows—Lay violent hands on me—and
soon.
• If any man knows by whose hand Laios,
son of Labdakos, Met his death, I direct
that man to tell me everything, No matter
what he fears…
Dramatic Irony
• I solemnly forbid the people of this
country, Where power and throne
are mine, ever to receive that man
Or speak to him, no matter who he
is…
Dramatic Irony
• Now I, Having the power that he held
before me, Having his bed, begetting
children there Upon his wife, as he would
have, had he lived—Their son would have
been my children’s brother, If Laios had
had luck in fatherhood!...I say I take the
son’s part, just as though I were his son.
•
•
•
•
Theme: Can be any or a
combination of these:
No one can escape fate
The gods are in control
Even the best humans are ruled by fate
Do not count yourself happy until you
know the end of your story
• True happiness is rooted in virtue rather
than circumstances
• What you don’t know can’t hurt you
• Other ideas?