Take a photo of a barcode or cover
analyticali 's review for:
I read Oedipus the King before seeing an opera called Greek (the Boston Lyric Opera suggested reading this as the primary text). It's an amazing play in that it takes a familiar story and creates a magnetic and dynamic scene as Oedipus discovers the horrors of his past in one terrifying reveal after another. The cocksure king begins so arrogantly only to finish in agony and with self-inflicted blindness. The brilliance of the play is not in surprises for the audience but in watching the surprises unfold for the king himself.
Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus are less powerful by contrast, but still stand up well considering their age. (While Antigone herself is almost painfully dutiful to her father in the latter, she is a sparkling rebel in the former as she claims to be fulfilling the will of the gods.) Few other works over two millennia old would be so compelling. The introductions and translations of this particular edition also make them more accessible to the modern reader.
Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus are less powerful by contrast, but still stand up well considering their age. (While Antigone herself is almost painfully dutiful to her father in the latter, she is a sparkling rebel in the former as she claims to be fulfilling the will of the gods.) Few other works over two millennia old would be so compelling. The introductions and translations of this particular edition also make them more accessible to the modern reader.