The Oedipus Plays

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IV. Special Area: Literary Social Criticism

2. Primary Texts: Drama

Sophocles. The Oedipus Plays.

Supporting References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Theban_plays#The_Theban_plays
2. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14484/14484-h/14484-h.htm
3. http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/oedipus/

4. Brown, Andrew L. "Oedipus." The Oxford Classical Dictionary. : Oxford University Press, 2005. Oxford Reference. 2005. Date Accessed 3 Sep. 2013 .

5. Leeming, David. "Oedipus." The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. : Oxford University Press, 2005. Oxford Reference. 2006. Date Accessed 3 Sep. 2013 .

“Oedipus. An ancient and tragic Greek hero associated closely with the city of Thebes, Oedipus is best known as the protagonist in Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonnus, and as a remembered presence in Antigone, all plays by the fifth-century b.c.e. playwright Sophocles. The philosopher Aristotle used Oedipus Rex as an example of the high art of tragedy. Many scholars have used the play to illustrate their theories about the mythic origins of tragedy. In the Greek myth, as essentially followed by Sophocles, Oedipus was born to Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes. Having heard from an oracle that their child would kill his father, Laius had his newborn son abandoned on Mt. Cithaeron with his feet pierced and tied together. The child did not die, however; he was rescued by a shepherd, who handed him over to Polybus and Merope, the king and queen there. Polybus and Merope were childless and proceeded to raise the boy, now named Oedipus (“Swollen Feet”), as their own son. Years later, confused by comments by a stranger at a feast, Oedipus went to Delphi to consult the oracle there. The oracle told him he would kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified, and still believing Polybus and Merope to be his parents, Oedipus decided never to return to Corinth and headed toward Thebes. At a major crossroads between Delphi and Thebes he met up with and got into a fight with a stranger who insulted him. In the struggle Oedipus killed the man, who, unbeknownst to him, was his real father, King Laius of Thebes. Arriving at the outskirts of Thebes, Oedipus was confronted by a Sphinx who had been plaguing the city and defeated her by successfully answering her mysterious riddle. The Thebans hailed him as their savior and installed him on the now-vacant throne, arranging for him to marry the king's widow, Jocasta, who, of course, he did not realize was his own mother. Years passed, and Oedipus and Jocasta produced two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who would later fight for control of the city, and two daughters, Esmene and Antigone. Antigone would later die in a struggle with Oedipus's successor, Creon, over his refusal to allow her to bury her brother.

“In time a great plague threatened the very life of Thebes, and Oedipus sent his brother-in-law Creon to Delphi to seek understanding and help. Creon returned and informed the king that the oracle had said that the former king Laius's murderer was in the city and would have to be removed in order for the plague to end. It is here, at the beginning of Oedipus's inevitable march toward self-discovery, that Sophocles begins his play—his underlying plot, called the mythos by Aristotle. Within a day the Dionysian mythos of death and renewal is complete. The blind prophet Tiresias reluctantly reveals the truth of the situation, and Creon tries to be reasonable. Both are treated arrogantly with hubris (excessive pride) by the king. The shepherd who had originally saved Oedipus as a child appears and informs the city of the death of Polybus. Other elements of the real story become clear. Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus blinds himself. The scapegoat cleansing is nearly complete. Life can return to Thebes. Creon becomes king and Oedipus will be exiled. Later he will die at Colonnus, blind and guided by his daughter Antigone.”

6. Birch, Dinah. "Sophocles." The Oxford Companion to English Literature. : Oxford University Press, 2009. Oxford Reference. 2009. Date Accessed 21 Aug. 2013 .

The article offers an overview of the author and less a discussion on the above-cited text.

“Sophocles (496/5–406 bc) Greek tragedian who wrote c.120 plays, of which seven survive, including Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra, and Philoctetes. The group known as the Theban plays, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, have long been influential in English literature, either directly or in versions by Seneca. Thomas *Watson's 16th‐century translation of the Antigone into Latin was widely read, and both John Milton's Samson Agonistes and John *Dryden and Nathaniel *Lee's Oedipus draw on Sophocles. Many translations and adaptations into verse and prose have been made from the 18th to the 21st century. In the 19th century Edward *Bulwer‐Lytton adapted Oedipus the King; Matthew *Arnold produced his Sophoclean play Merope and two Sophoclean fragments, Antigone and Dejaneira; A. C. *Swinburne introduced Sophoclean touches into his Erechtheus. In the early 20th century Sigmund *Freud coined the phrase ‘Oedipus complex’, but it has little to do with the play. W. B. *Yeats produced a version of Oedipus, and Ezra *Pound adapted Women of Trachis. Recent adaptations include Seamus *Heaney's Cure at Troy, Steven *Berkoff's Greek, and Derek *Mahon's Oedipus. See Edith Hall and Fiona Macintosh, Greek Tragedy and the British Theatre 1660–1914 (2005); Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk.libproxy.cc.stonybrook.edu.”

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