OEDIPUS REX
Sophocles
OBJECTIVES FOR TODAY
 To introduce/revisit origins of Greek theater with its beginning
in religious ritual of Ancient Greece
 To understand Greek theater within the context of its time
 To understand the basic problem of the play and the major
characters through an analysis of the Prologos, Parados, and
Scene I.
 To consider the use, contribution, and nature of dramatic
irony
THE GREEKS
 Golden Age of Greek culture – 5 th century BCE
 We owe debt to for development of Western thought and
culture.
 AKA the “Classic Age”
 genius in drama – our Greek heritage – we study it for its
 universality
 its extension into modern dramatic literature, including Shakespeare
 Western culture = northern hemisphere, excluding Asia
 Began in Ancient Greece, esp. Athens
 Almost everything we do, watch, appreciate, participate in as a
society had its foundation in the Athenian world.
DRAMA
 Oedipus Rex AKA Oedipus the King and Oedipus Tyrannous
 The people in the audience knew this legend.
 So what Sophocles does is not merely retell an old story, but he
transforms it from a tale of individual woe into an archetypal
chronicle of human frailty, pride, and punishment.
 Aristotle called it the most perfect tragedy available in his time
IN MEDIA RES
 In medias res or medias in res (into the middle of things) is a
Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative
technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the
midpoint or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning
 This play begins barely one hour before the destruction of
Oedipus, before he discovers the truth of his identity.
GREEK THEATER
 What do you know?
 Tied to religious ritual
 Celebrates the Olympian gods
 Gods often appear as characters in the play determining the fate of
humankind, reflecting religious beliefs of the day
 Legendary heroes and kings often become protagonists in Greek
tragedy.
 Important enough to shut down business and daily activities
for wee-long festivals.
 Citizens (men who were not slaves) were expected to attend, and
even to participate in the performances.
 Sometimes they were in the chorus, considered a civic duty of a
citizen.
 Or, they might be expected to give knowledgeable responses to direct
questions from major characters.
 Believed plays should be instructive as well as entertaining
 Audience should take have a take-home lesson
 Plays showed a pro-Athenian political bias
www.m-w.com
THE THEATER
 Was a temple
 Housed 15,000 people
 Acoustically perfect
 Lack of scenery
 Actors trained in oratory – as long as the audience could hear,
they can follow the play
 Lines in the play denote the setting, the passage of time, the
characters’ names, sometimes the emotions the actor was
feeling, and sometimes the stage movements.
SOPHOCLES
 Notable as he added a third actor.
 Started with just a chorus that did dances and songs as part
of the religious celebration
 to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and procreation
 Thespis became the 1 st actor – a character who stepped out from the
chorus to speak lines, often as a god
 Playwright Aeschylus added a second actor.
 Made each tragedy an entity unto itself, instead of 3 plays to
tell one story.
 Wrote Electra.
 Oedipus the King is considered a masterpiece
 Mystery, dramatic development, irony & characterization
 Aristotle considered it the most perfect tragedy
ACTORS
 An actor would play more than one role.
 Sometimes one role would be played by more than one actor,
all depending on logistics.
 Actors were highly respected, often exempt from military duty.
 Women couldn’t be actors, and if they were allowed to see the
play at all, they had to sit in the nosebleed seats.
MASKS AND MOUTHS
 Would clue the audience to what character was being played.
 Costumes were larger than life and made it easier to see the
actors, but they also gave elevated status to the roles.
 Actors wore platform shoes. Makes the actors quite immobile
 Oratory style is lengthy monologues and stichomythic dialogues, or
debates, a rhetorical style of the period.
www2.bc.edu
www.wikipedia.org
BIG G AND LITTLE G: WRITE IT RIGHT
From Grammar Girl:
Do You Ca pitalize t he Word " God"?
One of the m ost common questions people ask about religious words is
whether to capitalize t he word “god.” T he name of any specific deity is
capitalized just like any other name, so when “God” is used to refer to
“t he one God,” ( in other words, in any m onotheistic religion) it is
capitalized.
For example, you’d capitalize “God” in t his sentence:
Some Christians g ive t hanks to God before ever y m eal.
When referring to g ods in g eneral, however, or u sing t he word "g od"
descriptively, keep it lowercase:
The Romans believed a god named Jupiter ruled the heavens.
The Greek gods were always causing trouble for humans.
T he same rule holds t rue for Yahweh, A llah, Z eus, and the names of g ods
in other religions. T hey are capitalized .

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/do-you-capitalize-god.aspx
HAMILTON’S MY THOLOGY
 Everyone would have known the Oedipus legend
 Not about how it turns out; IS about how Sophocles plays it out
 Creates dramatic irony
 occurs when readers know more about a situation or a character than
the characters do
 Effect
 suspense, drama
 Words or acts of characters carry a meaning unperceived by the character but
understood by the audience
 Usually, character’s own interests are involved in a way that he/she cannot
understand
 Irony resides in contrast between what character intends and the different
significance seen by others
 In tragedy, known as tragic irony – when character uses words that mean one
thing to the speaker and another to those better acquainted with the real
situation, esp. when the character is about to become a tragic victim of fate.
LET’S READ
 P. 194, Prologue – opening scene of exposition; sets time,
place, and situation of the drama; creates tone
 Need Oedipus, Priest, Creon
 Read with dramatic gusto!
 Discuss:
1. What does the priest say to Oedipus?
2. What qualities do we immediately see in Oepidus?
3. What ironies are introduced in the prologue?
4. What news does Creon bring from Delphi?
PARADOS
 Parade of entry; entrnace ode by chorus
 Chorus – 12- 15 men
 A group of actors in Greek tragedy who commented on the action of
the play, giving insights into the themes. They represented the voice
of public opinion responding to the tragic events unfolding in the
drama. Between scenes the chorus sang and danced to musical
accompaniment.
 Choragus – leader of chorus who participates in dialogue with
the actors; only member of chorus who does so
 Read stanza by stanza, popcorn -style, with dramatic gusto!
DISCUSS
 What is the mood of the chorus upon its entrance?
 What appeals do they make?
SCENE 1
New people: Need Oedipus, Choragos, Tiresias
With dramatic gusto!
Discuss:
What initial signs of rashness do we see in Oepidus?
What seems to be Tiresias’ philosophical attitude?
What ironies arise in the scene?
What false conclusion does Oedipus reach as a result of his
quarrel with Tiresias? What ef fect will this conclusion have on
him?
 What role does the Choragos (sometimes called the first
senator) play in the quarrel?







ASSIGNMENT FOR TOMORROW
 Read the Ode I through Scene II, pages 207-217 - answer the
questions in pink packet, page 3 for tomorrow. (Ignore the
handwritten stuff in parentheses. That was for another edition
of text.)
 Please bring your Oedipus text and pink packet to class EVERY
DAY until further notice.
 Reminder: V3 quiz tomorrow.
 Extra Credit opportunity: Look online for details.
TODAY
 Vocab 3 quiz.
 Objectives:
 To emphasize the importance of enquiry, rational thinking, and
debate in Greek life
 To understand and experiment with stichomythia, a poetic device
originating in classical Greek tragedy
DISCUSSION: ODE I, SCENE II
 Answers to pink packet questions.
STICHOMY THIA
 Define – see page 7.
 Examples
ASSIGNMENTS FOR MONDAY:
 Finish reading the play. Make notes and be prepared to discuss at least 4-5
specific examples of the use of dramatic irony. There may be a reading
quiz .
 A: Stic homythic dialogue: (Study handout page on Stic homythic Dialogue in
pic k pac ket)
 With one other partner (from any class period*) or on your own, create an example of
stichomythic dialogue between two people with opposing points of view on any topic
(school appropriate please).
 Consider the characteristics of stichomythia we discussed and mimic those in your
dialogue. (Avoid name-calling or personal insults. Instead, create intelligent
arguments on both sides of the issue.)
 Be prepared to per form the dialogue for the class. *Print or make two copies so each
per former has one; print four if you choose a student from another class period to
work with because singles or those with partners from another class will use a stand in from your class period to read in place of your writing partner if you are selected to
per form.
 You may speak as yourselves, or you may create characters.
 Create a minimum of 8 exchanges (each character speaks 8 times).
 Dialogues must be typed or handwriting must be ver y legible.
 Due Monday, 10-22. No late work accepted; these will be shared in class Monday.
 Please bring your vocab books M onday.