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547 reviews for:
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone
Sophocles
3.86 AVERAGE
547 reviews for:
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone
Sophocles
3.86 AVERAGE
Great stuff. My sophomore daughter was reading it for class so I picked it up and read it on a rainy Saturday. History is wrong about this one: it's not about incest, patricide, or any of that business...rather, it's the first documented case of road rage.
oedipus rex: 3 stars
oedipus at colonus: 1.5 stars
antigone: 2.5 stars
oedipus at colonus: 1.5 stars
antigone: 2.5 stars
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's funny, the thing that surprised me most about reading the Theban plays, stories that have most certainly been consumed by everyone on at least some small part by pop-cultural osmosis, is just how short they are. For real, I think even an attention-seeking tik-tok user of our generation would find these plays move so quickly it's hard to keep up; especially when people start dying! I did enjoy how the sadness just compounds and compounds; messengers serving as a way to tease and bemuse our pro/antagonist with riddles before ultimately announcing the death of a loved one, only to leave the stage for about two lines and come back with more tragedy.
Beginning with Oedipus Tyurannis (⭐⭐⭐⭐), I was delighted to read the great prose that wasn't highlighted in my Greek Mythology course last year, but I knew everything that was about to accumulate and it's still a pleasure watching it unravel. I believe it does the play great help in pacing (and avoiding not even made-yet cliches) to not hear the prophecy of Oedipus at the get-go, like I assumed it would but instead only indulges us in the cosmic prophetic eventualities after Oedipus clues in 'Oh, that old man I killed? Could have been someone..." It's just such a nice complete puzzle box where it all ties nicely together at the end, and what are we all, If not wandering blindly around if we mess w/ the primal forces of nature? see also, incestuous murderers.
Sophocles In Colonus (⭐⭐⭐)
It hits the same drum that is constantly in the back of the other two plays, of a good leader and the difference between Thebes and Athens. I like that it serves as a more direct voice and vision from Sophocles of rewriting his own mythology with an aged voice, but beyond that; there's a man who needs a place to stay for a night...and that's all that happens? I mean, I guess they founded a religion off that...
Antigone (⭐⭐⭐⭐) My highlight
Speaking of nothing happening, Antigone features the main conflict stemming just from a woman TRYING to bury her brother. And it's fucking great. Cosmic fates come back in, Athens versus Thebes, Family over the law, law vs morality, and we get some hints of what makes a good leader, being strong enough to learn from others; imagine learning from YOUR SON! Especially with all the Odepieous connections that this entails. It has more death, some great melodrama and some reckoning. A great piece with great prose.
Beginning with Oedipus Tyurannis (⭐⭐⭐⭐), I was delighted to read the great prose that wasn't highlighted in my Greek Mythology course last year, but I knew everything that was about to accumulate and it's still a pleasure watching it unravel. I believe it does the play great help in pacing (and avoiding not even made-yet cliches) to not hear the prophecy of Oedipus at the get-go, like I assumed it would but instead only indulges us in the cosmic prophetic eventualities after Oedipus clues in 'Oh, that old man I killed? Could have been someone..." It's just such a nice complete puzzle box where it all ties nicely together at the end, and what are we all, If not wandering blindly around if we mess w/ the primal forces of nature? see also, incestuous murderers.
Sophocles In Colonus (⭐⭐⭐)
It hits the same drum that is constantly in the back of the other two plays, of a good leader and the difference between Thebes and Athens. I like that it serves as a more direct voice and vision from Sophocles of rewriting his own mythology with an aged voice, but beyond that; there's a man who needs a place to stay for a night...and that's all that happens? I mean, I guess they founded a religion off that...
Antigone (⭐⭐⭐⭐) My highlight
Speaking of nothing happening, Antigone features the main conflict stemming just from a woman TRYING to bury her brother. And it's fucking great. Cosmic fates come back in, Athens versus Thebes, Family over the law, law vs morality, and we get some hints of what makes a good leader, being strong enough to learn from others; imagine learning from YOUR SON! Especially with all the Odepieous connections that this entails. It has more death, some great melodrama and some reckoning. A great piece with great prose.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was surprised at how modern these plays seemed; to my untrained eye they read closer to Shakespeare than Aeschylus, who wrote a mere 50 years previously. My ranking:
Antigone
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus at Colonus
Fitts and Fitzgerald translation
Antigone
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus at Colonus
Fitts and Fitzgerald translation
dark
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a review of only Antigone.
3.5
This wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was fairly easy to follow and it was boring at some parts but almost gripping at others. I also really liked the Greek Mythology references.
3.5
This wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was fairly easy to follow and it was boring at some parts but almost gripping at others. I also really liked the Greek Mythology references.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very impressive.
I've read Oedipus Rex/Oedipus at Colonus before but had never read Antigone. So, since Kamila Shamie's Home Fire is in part a retelling of Antigone, I needed to do a read/re-read (and I had to read all three in this edition for SRC reasons). It is so interesting to see how Greek tragedy is structured with the Chorus relaying information because a lot of the major action occurs off stage. It was also interesting to see what changes Shamsie made with the characters (the sisters) vs what she chose to keep the same (Eamonn and his dad) from Antigone.