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Ugh. Hgrghm. Rghh. I feel nauseous. I mean, like, duh, I know what this is about. And I did have a fried egg and cheese and fried sausage sandwich this morning that has been sitting RIGHTHERE all day, but - ugghhhhh. The bit where he gouges out his eyes. Ghgrhrg.
So I listened to a modern English translation of this, performed by Michael Sheen and "a full cast" (poor nameless cast!). Michael Sheen I like a lot, and feel like he's been lately typecast in "geeky British second banana" roles in second-rate scifi movies, whereas I think his Welsh talents are best used in big-bearded, armor-and-sword roles like Lancelot or a Roman commander on the Welsh border in the first century CE. Actually, this all started - I started listening to this today - after finishing the wonderful SPQR by Mary Beard. One of the final chapters is about Boudica, this badass rebel Celtic queen from Britain, who tried and failed to fight off the Romans in the first century CE, and obviously a big-bearded Michael Sheen would play the weary Roman commander who's never actually been to Rome and has to reluctantly destroy her forces, even while he admires them. GOOD MOVIE, RIGHT?!
HEEENYYYWAYYY. So should there be spoilers to Oedipus? What is the state of America's schools? It doesn't really matter; ancient Greek narrative arcs are apparently differently shaped because Oedipus is TOLD he's the murderer of his father and the husband-son of his mom-wife in basically the second scene. We then spend about ~50% of the story waiting for Oedipus to stop having anxious tantrums, while more people confirm the story ("no, dude, it was you, sorry, terrible news I know"), and then - UGHHH - the CLIMACTIC, CATHARTIC, THIS-IS-WHAT-I-PAID-FOR ANCIENT GREEK SCENE OF GORE AND TRAGEDY.
I liked this translation, since it retained the unfamiliar "the past is a foreign country" quality of ancient Greek stuff (the Chorus? the places? the cultural norms?) while using familiar language. I liked the performances, if only because they were affecting. Which is the point, I guess? I liked the Fisher King quality of the City of Thebes being covered in plague sores because someone (a special someone) is an incestuous murderer, and - of course, duh - I loved the ancient Greek irony of Oedipus flailing and cursing the murderer in scene 1. Ugh, and his PRIDE! And such a humbling. Very cathartic. I also enjoyed the off-stage Apollo, via the Oracle at Delphi (?), being regularly visited for consultation. Oh yes, and I liked the brother-in-law Crayon (I looked it up, it's CREON). But all I heard was, "Oh the gads, my eyes! CRAYON, what of a wretch like me?!" It cut the tragedy nicely.
Now I see that Kenneth Branagh performed a BBC Anthony and Cleopatra drama, so I guess it's gonna be ancient Greek and Rome time in Angelasville for a little longer!
OH GODS TAKE PITY ON A HUBRIS-FILLED WRETCH LIKE MEEEEEEE
AAAAAHHGHGHGHGHGHHGHHG
*extreme gore*
CRAYONNNNNN
the end.
So I listened to a modern English translation of this, performed by Michael Sheen and "a full cast" (poor nameless cast!). Michael Sheen I like a lot, and feel like he's been lately typecast in "geeky British second banana" roles in second-rate scifi movies, whereas I think his Welsh talents are best used in big-bearded, armor-and-sword roles like Lancelot or a Roman commander on the Welsh border in the first century CE. Actually, this all started - I started listening to this today - after finishing the wonderful SPQR by Mary Beard. One of the final chapters is about Boudica, this badass rebel Celtic queen from Britain, who tried and failed to fight off the Romans in the first century CE, and obviously a big-bearded Michael Sheen would play the weary Roman commander who's never actually been to Rome and has to reluctantly destroy her forces, even while he admires them. GOOD MOVIE, RIGHT?!
HEEENYYYWAYYY. So should there be spoilers to Oedipus? What is the state of America's schools? It doesn't really matter; ancient Greek narrative arcs are apparently differently shaped because Oedipus is TOLD he's the murderer of his father and the husband-son of his mom-wife in basically the second scene. We then spend about ~50% of the story waiting for Oedipus to stop having anxious tantrums, while more people confirm the story ("no, dude, it was you, sorry, terrible news I know"), and then - UGHHH - the CLIMACTIC, CATHARTIC, THIS-IS-WHAT-I-PAID-FOR ANCIENT GREEK SCENE OF GORE AND TRAGEDY.
I liked this translation, since it retained the unfamiliar "the past is a foreign country" quality of ancient Greek stuff (the Chorus? the places? the cultural norms?) while using familiar language. I liked the performances, if only because they were affecting. Which is the point, I guess? I liked the Fisher King quality of the City of Thebes being covered in plague sores because someone (a special someone) is an incestuous murderer, and - of course, duh - I loved the ancient Greek irony of Oedipus flailing and cursing the murderer in scene 1. Ugh, and his PRIDE! And such a humbling. Very cathartic. I also enjoyed the off-stage Apollo, via the Oracle at Delphi (?), being regularly visited for consultation. Oh yes, and I liked the brother-in-law Crayon (I looked it up, it's CREON). But all I heard was, "Oh the gads, my eyes! CRAYON, what of a wretch like me?!" It cut the tragedy nicely.
Now I see that Kenneth Branagh performed a BBC Anthony and Cleopatra drama, so I guess it's gonna be ancient Greek and Rome time in Angelasville for a little longer!
OH GODS TAKE PITY ON A HUBRIS-FILLED WRETCH LIKE MEEEEEEE
AAAAAHHGHGHGHGHGHHGHHG
*extreme gore*
CRAYONNNNNN
the end.
I'm pretty sure I read this in high school and I certainly knew the story, but wanted to explore it again as a sort of proto-gothic story. It has a similar theme to Vathek, which is also about a ruler brought to ruin, but Vathek's fall is due to his own vices while Oedipus' tragedy is because of happenstance.
Read with modern eyes, the play starts strongly with a mystery (who killed the previous king?) and there's a cool procedural for a bit as Oedipus tries to uncover the truth. But he's ultimately stupid and bull-headed and the audience figures out what's going on long before the king does. None of that though is as important as the characters' reactions to it and that's where the play shines. Oedipus the King is a tragedy and Sophocles pours so much suffering into the final words of the main characters. It's better poetry than murder mystery, but even the mystery is pretty cool.
Read with modern eyes, the play starts strongly with a mystery (who killed the previous king?) and there's a cool procedural for a bit as Oedipus tries to uncover the truth. But he's ultimately stupid and bull-headed and the audience figures out what's going on long before the king does. None of that though is as important as the characters' reactions to it and that's where the play shines. Oedipus the King is a tragedy and Sophocles pours so much suffering into the final words of the main characters. It's better poetry than murder mystery, but even the mystery is pretty cool.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Un classique à lire ! C’est court et le rythme est plutôt rapide. La traduction de Paul Mazon est très facile à comprendre.
Il est aussi intéressant de lire l’anthologie, pour bien comprendre toutes les versions du mythe.
Je ne dirais pas que c’était un livre mémorable mais je le recommanderais.
Il est aussi intéressant de lire l’anthologie, pour bien comprendre toutes les versions du mythe.
Je ne dirais pas que c’était un livre mémorable mais je le recommanderais.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Death, Incest, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
