INTRODUCTION
MY OEDIPUS COMPLEX
SOPHOCLES
C. 497/6 BC – WINTER 406/5 BC
WHO WAS SOPHOCLES?
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The father of drama.
WHAT IS DRAMA?
Anything written to be performed on a stage.
Theatrefolk:
https://www.theatrefolk.com/spotlights/the-greek-theatre
GREEK THEATRES
DESIGN OF A GREEK THEATRE
PERFORMANCES OF GREEK DRAMA
THE CHORUS:
HINDU PERFORMANCE OF OEDIPUS REX
THE GALLOWAY THEATRE
OEDIPUS REX
• A famous play
by Sophocles.
• Based on an ancient
Greek legend.
• A king and queen
sent their child away
because of a
prediction:
• “The boy would one
day kill his father and
marry his mother”.
OEDIPUS TAKEN AWAY
SELF-PUNISHMENT
SIGMUND FREUD
1856-1939
Neurologist
Austria
WHICH WAS HIS MAIN CONTRIBUTION TO
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY?
The discovery of the
unconscious part of
our mind.
WHICH FAMOUS PHRASE DID HE COIN?
The Oedipus Complex
• An excessive emotional attachment of
a boy to his mother, together with an
opposition to the father.
WHERE IS IRELAND? WEST OF ENGLAND.
FRANK
O’CONNOR
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1903 - 1966
Irish
Grew up during World War I, 1914 – 1918.
Michael O’Donovan
Mother, worked as a maid. Encouraged his
schooling.
Drunk, deriding, violent father.
Married several times.
Taught in Stanford University in California, USA
His works have an autobiographical inspiration.
FROM IRELAND TO CALIFORNIA.
MY OEDIPUS COMPLEX
By Frank O’Connor
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Setting: Early 20th C. Irish town. Around the end of WW1.
Characters: Larry, mother and father.
Conflict: Larry vs Father
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Plot
Theme:
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Larry could not accept the arrival of his father. Father
could not tolerate Larry’s childish behavior.
The pains of growing up
Oedipus complex
Silly criteria for raising children
Can you find more?
Tone: Gently humorous, ironic. (Child’s innocent point of
view on life)
Mood: How will you feel at the end of the story?