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A review by belouwe
The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Antigone: 5/5
Oedipus the King: 4.5/5
Oedipus at Colonus: 3/5
When I started Antigone, I had already read Oedipus the King a few years ago, and had it in my head that Oedipus the King could not be beat. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed Antigone. Maybe it’s because there was a clear hero and villain in Antigone, whereas in Oedipus the King, Oedipus often does things that make him unlikable, verging on tyrannical and villainous, yet is obviously meant to me the hero. Flawed heroes are great though, so I still loved Oedipus the King - he is hero and villain both. But still, Antigone, also flawed, was more appealing to me as a hero.
And, to defend my label of these plays as ‘funny’: the sentry in Antigone was hilarious (nobody can convince me otherwise) and the arguments in Oedipus the King between Oedipus and both Teiresias and Creon had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Oedipus at Colonus, though, just didn’t do it for me. Oedipus is more insufferable(though I stand by his hatred for his sons) . Theseus makes me uncomfortable, since I know his myths wherein he kidnaps a goddess and abandons an innocent woman on an island . So, all the praise of him being so kind and magnanimous is weird to me, even though I understand why Sophocles would have written him that way.
Ultimately, it’s a series of plays I would recommend, though maybe I’d suggest skipping Oedipus at Colonus if you aren’t too fussed about not having all the context for Antigone. Especially since your technically meant to read Antigone first, anyway.
Oedipus the King: 4.5/5
Oedipus at Colonus: 3/5
When I started Antigone, I had already read Oedipus the King a few years ago, and had it in my head that Oedipus the King could not be beat. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed Antigone. Maybe it’s because there was a clear hero and villain in Antigone, whereas in Oedipus the King, Oedipus often does things that make him unlikable, verging on tyrannical and villainous, yet is obviously meant to me the hero. Flawed heroes are great though, so I still loved Oedipus the King - he is hero and villain both. But still, Antigone, also flawed, was more appealing to me as a hero.
And, to defend my label of these plays as ‘funny’: the sentry in Antigone was hilarious (nobody can convince me otherwise) and the arguments in Oedipus the King between Oedipus and both Teiresias and Creon had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Oedipus at Colonus, though, just didn’t do it for me. Oedipus is more insufferable
Ultimately, it’s a series of plays I would recommend, though maybe I’d suggest skipping Oedipus at Colonus if you aren’t too fussed about not having all the context for Antigone. Especially since your technically meant to read Antigone first, anyway.