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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
i read this for school and was really expecting it to be a chore but i actually ended up really liking it, though i was confused about time and stuff
spoilers ahead
can we just talk about how dramatic everything was? i love it
spoilers ahead
can we just talk about how dramatic everything was? i love it
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Technically I’ve only read Antigone but I really enjoyed it and it’s morals!
Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus The Tyrant, Oedipus at Colonus (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature) (Wordsworth Classics)… by Sophocles
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1968366.html
This is the Wordsworth Classics edition of Antigone / Ἀντιγόνη, Oedipus the Tyrant / Οιδίπους Τύραννος and Oedipus at Colonus / Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, all translated by Jamey Hecht. I took them fairly slowly, to let the blank verse translation sink gently into my mind.
I found Antigone / Ἀντιγόνη the most politically interesting of the three. The title character's brother has died as a rebel against Creon, the king of Thebes; she wishes to give him decent burial, contrary to royal command. It's quite a striking narrative of a woman demanding what we would now call human rights against the established political power (which claims moreover to have divine backing). Creon pushes his authority too far and suffers awful consequences.
I had read Oedipus the Tyrant / Οιδίπους Τύραννος previously in a different translation. I found it just as powerful here, with perhaps a better rendition of Oedipus' increasing consternation and horror as the truth becomes clear to him. I did wonder if Sophocles' audiences would have been in any suspense whatsoever as to what was going to happen; surely everyone going into the theatre would have been muttering "killed his father, married his mother" and just watching to see how well it was done?
Oedipus at Colonus / Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ seemed to me the weakest of the three, and I had to start it again after getting halfway through and realising I had missed most of the plot. Here the blind Oedipus has found refuge near Athens, but the factions in Thebes (his sons and Creon) have been told by an oracle that the resting place of his corpse will determine the victor in their struggle. Oedipus gets some good bitter speeches about how unfair life is in general, and his own in particular, but I found the play as a whole much more difficult to follow.
The decision to present the three plays in order of composition here did not work for me. For readers not passionately devoted to analysing how Sophocles' writing style evolved over the decades of his career, it surely makes much better sense to order them by internal chronology, ie Oedipus the Tyrant / Οιδίπους Τύραννος first, then Oedipus at Colonus / Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, then Antigone / Ἀντιγόνη last. This has the merit of explaining why Antigone's brother was fighting Creon, and also puts the strongest plays first and last, which makes for a more satisfying experience as a reader.
The almost complete lack of stage direction offers a blank slate, but also a challenge, to anyone wanting to direct the plays today.
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1968366.html
This is the Wordsworth Classics edition of Antigone / Ἀντιγόνη, Oedipus the Tyrant / Οιδίπους Τύραννος and Oedipus at Colonus / Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, all translated by Jamey Hecht. I took them fairly slowly, to let the blank verse translation sink gently into my mind.
I found Antigone / Ἀντιγόνη the most politically interesting of the three. The title character's brother has died as a rebel against Creon, the king of Thebes; she wishes to give him decent burial, contrary to royal command. It's quite a striking narrative of a woman demanding what we would now call human rights against the established political power (which claims moreover to have divine backing). Creon pushes his authority too far and suffers awful consequences.
I had read Oedipus the Tyrant / Οιδίπους Τύραννος previously in a different translation. I found it just as powerful here, with perhaps a better rendition of Oedipus' increasing consternation and horror as the truth becomes clear to him. I did wonder if Sophocles' audiences would have been in any suspense whatsoever as to what was going to happen; surely everyone going into the theatre would have been muttering "killed his father, married his mother" and just watching to see how well it was done?
Oedipus at Colonus / Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ seemed to me the weakest of the three, and I had to start it again after getting halfway through and realising I had missed most of the plot. Here the blind Oedipus has found refuge near Athens, but the factions in Thebes (his sons and Creon) have been told by an oracle that the resting place of his corpse will determine the victor in their struggle. Oedipus gets some good bitter speeches about how unfair life is in general, and his own in particular, but I found the play as a whole much more difficult to follow.
The decision to present the three plays in order of composition here did not work for me. For readers not passionately devoted to analysing how Sophocles' writing style evolved over the decades of his career, it surely makes much better sense to order them by internal chronology, ie Oedipus the Tyrant / Οιδίπους Τύραννος first, then Oedipus at Colonus / Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, then Antigone / Ἀντιγόνη last. This has the merit of explaining why Antigone's brother was fighting Creon, and also puts the strongest plays first and last, which makes for a more satisfying experience as a reader.
The almost complete lack of stage direction offers a blank slate, but also a challenge, to anyone wanting to direct the plays today.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have read Oedipus the King earlier this semester for my Literature class so I skipped it. Sorry Sophocles:(
Antigone is always the best.
“Another husband could be found and with
That husband another son.
But I have no mother now.
I have no father.
I cannot bring another brother to the world.”
Antigone is always the best.
“Another husband could be found and with
That husband another son.
But I have no mother now.
I have no father.
I cannot bring another brother to the world.”
It is difficult to give this specific book a rating because it is a collection of three plays plus analytical essays describing each play and the historical/mythological context. Essentially, there are so many facets to this book, it is difficult to provide one overarching rating.
I will say, however, that I think the book is overall very well put together. The translations allow for the drama and tragedy to shine through (but could we really expect anything less from Robert Fagles? I love him). Additionally, there is an ample amount of information about each of the plays and about Sophocles' life. That brings up another difficult aspect to reviewing this book: there are essentially two authors. Sophocles wrote the plays but Robert Fagles translated them and provided the contextual essays.
Moving on to the content of the plays, I can definitively say that Antigone was my favorite. It was short, concise, and extremely dramatic (so basically, a very fun reading experience). Oedipus Rex described the prophecy which cursed Oedipus and the effects of said prophecy on his family and on Thebes. I really loved watching each character unravel the story of Oedipus' prophecy and its consequences. Oedipus at Colonus, however, was my least favorite of the three plays. It was extremely long and full of frail, blind Oedipus suffering the repercussions of his curse (basically whining and fighting with Creon and Theseus).
I will say, however, that I think the book is overall very well put together. The translations allow for the drama and tragedy to shine through (but could we really expect anything less from Robert Fagles? I love him). Additionally, there is an ample amount of information about each of the plays and about Sophocles' life. That brings up another difficult aspect to reviewing this book: there are essentially two authors. Sophocles wrote the plays but Robert Fagles translated them and provided the contextual essays.
Moving on to the content of the plays, I can definitively say that Antigone was my favorite. It was short, concise, and extremely dramatic (so basically, a very fun reading experience). Oedipus Rex described the prophecy which cursed Oedipus and the effects of said prophecy on his family and on Thebes. I really loved watching each character unravel the story of Oedipus' prophecy and its consequences. Oedipus at Colonus, however, was my least favorite of the three plays. It was extremely long and full of frail, blind Oedipus suffering the repercussions of his curse (basically whining and fighting with Creon and Theseus).
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Only read Oedipus The King for uni, although I am intrigued to revisit for the other plays
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated