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550 reviews for:
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone
Sophocles
3.87 AVERAGE
550 reviews for:
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone
Sophocles
3.87 AVERAGE
fast-paced
I read Ruby Blondell's translation and they are my new favorite classisict! I enjoyed the hell out of this. The introduction was an excellent overview of Greek tragedy and relevant historical, political, and social context, the translations were enjoyable to read, and the notes were interesting and informative. It should be noted that a decent portion of the introductory sections overlap with those of Women on the Edge, which Blondell co-authored. Also worth mentioning, there are footnotes instead of endnotes!!! This is very important to me. Also the author is nonbinary - it seems like they came out after publication of this book, but their current webpage lists they/them pronouns. The book is intended for students of Greek lit so it probably won't float the layman's boat quite like it did mine, but personally I found it to be a super rewarding read.
emotional
fast-paced
antigone:
read it twice (once in class and once to prepare for my paper 2). the second read and additional time to recover from the traumatizing play that we watched in class made me appreciate the characters and plot so much more. i like the dynamic between haimon and antigone and how it feels reversed from other stereotypes. i have a lot more about this from my study guide but i just rlly like this play in general. however i will never ever ever be able to forget that goddamned horrible grating sound of the cages turning.
oedipus the king:
i love the idea that while to escape your fate, you cause it. idk why but it is just so poetic and i feel like tells a lot about how to live life. this is a general trope in greek mythology i think but it was just done so well. the blueprint fr. i kind of wish i read the plays chronologically bc i was confused but it was interesting to see what creon was like before-there are quite a few hypocritical lines
oedipus at colonus:
im ngl i gave up on this one
read it twice (once in class and once to prepare for my paper 2). the second read and additional time to recover from the traumatizing play that we watched in class made me appreciate the characters and plot so much more. i like the dynamic between haimon and antigone and how it feels reversed from other stereotypes. i have a lot more about this from my study guide but i just rlly like this play in general. however i will never ever ever be able to forget that goddamned horrible grating sound of the cages turning.
oedipus the king:
i love the idea that while to escape your fate, you cause it. idk why but it is just so poetic and i feel like tells a lot about how to live life. this is a general trope in greek mythology i think but it was just done so well. the blueprint fr. i kind of wish i read the plays chronologically bc i was confused but it was interesting to see what creon was like before-there are quite a few hypocritical lines
oedipus at colonus:
im ngl i gave up on this one
oedipus and one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
یک ستاره رو به خاطر رودهدرازی مترجم کم کردم
و میشد هم که ترجمه قشنگتر باشه.
وگرنه که خود داستان واسه من پنج ستارهست.
ریویوی اصلی رو هم اینجا گذاشتم :)
و میشد هم که ترجمه قشنگتر باشه.
وگرنه که خود داستان واسه من پنج ستارهست.
ریویوی اصلی رو هم اینجا گذاشتم :)
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
enjoyed these greatly! Read the Storr translation for all three and also read the Woodruff translation of Antigone because it was my favourite.
dark
reflective
This is yet again another out of my comfort zone reading, but I’m liking it. So far, I’ve read the first play - Antigone and thought it was really good. I like how persistent and unwavering Antigone was in her beliefs that her brother should be buried and wept over, despite what her uncle and society told her was right. Then that plot twist at the end! I didn’t see that coming. She was so strong in her convictions that she went as far as death, I don’t know if I’d call that brave, but it was some serious dedication that if she’d only known what the reader knew, could have been avoided. But then that wouldn’t have made for much of a dramatic play nor would there have been any stakes, and you can tell that this has changed Creon and I wonder if that will come through in the other 2 plays. I guess I’ll find out soon!
I’ve just finished reading the second play, Oedipus the King, and wow. So I didn’t know anything going into these plays and what a turn this play takes halfway through. I wasn’t prepared for where this story was going to go. It was gruesome at points, but the way Oedipus decides to handle things made sense to me. I now understand the whole “Oedipus complex” better because what a complex it is. I also learned that this one takes place before the first play, so that slightly changes how I see the characters in Antigone. I didn’t hate this, but I don’t think I’d see myself reading this play again.
I’m now done with reading the last play, Oedipus at Colonus and what great tragedy and dramatics it was, but that’s what kept it entertaining. I was never quite sure where this story was going to go and I couldn’t have predicted its end. We learn so much more about these characters that we didn’t before; this play felt a lot more exposition heavy in the fact that we’re told everything now. The order of these plays are all over the place because this one takes place after Oedipus the King but not too long before Antigone and it really gave us context to those two plays so in a way, the order of them was kinda genius in fully understanding them all. There are some notes at the end I want to read before I make my final thoughts, but so far I’ve been impressed.
I’ve now finished all three plays and their notes and I have to say the notes did provide some additional context, some more interesting and valuable than others, but I still enjoyed reading it. It helped relate other Greek stories, like the Iliad, to these plays and I liked seeing the connection and references. It didn’t change how I feel about the plays, in which I thoroughly enjoyed them and would recommend them, but just helped to understand them a bit better.
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated