Welcome to today’s class
Presented by
Md. Munibur Rahman
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Jessore Govt City College, Jessore
Sophocles
(496 – 406 BC)
King Oedipus
King Oedipus
The cover of
the drama
shows
“Oedipus and
the Sphinx”
from a cup in
the Etruscan
Museum, the
Vatican (Photo:
Scala)
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex
• Probably it’s the most famous tragedy ever
written.
• It is known by a variety of titles (the most
common being Oedipus Rex), including Oedipus
the King and Oedipus Tyrannus.
• Sophocles first produced the play in Athens
around 430 B.C. at the Great Dionysia, a
religious and cultural festival held in honor of
the god Dionysus, where it won second prize.
Dionysus is the god of wine and fertility and
drama; the Greek name of Bacchus.
Translation of Oedipus Rex (1)
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Thomas Francklin, 1759 – verse
Edward H. Plumptre, 1865 – verse: full text
Richard C. Jebb, 1904 – prose: full text
Gilbert Murray, 1911 – verse
Francis Storr, 1912 – verse: full text
William Butler Yeats, 1928 – mixed prose and verse
David Grene, 1942 (revised ed. 1991) – verse
E.F. Watling, 1947 – verse
Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, 1949 – verse
Translation of Oedipus Rex (2)
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Theodore Howard Banks, 1956 – verse
Albert Cook, 1957 – verse
Bernard Knox, 1959 – prose
H. D. F. Kitto, 1962 – verse
Stephen Berg and Diskin Clay – verse
Robert Bagg, 1982 (revised ed. 2004) – verse
Robert Fagles, 1984 – verse
Nick Bartel, 1999 – verse: abridged text
Kenneth McLeish, 2001 - Verse
George Theodoridis, 2005 – prose: full text
Luci Berkowitz and Theodore F. Brunner, 1970 – prose
Ian Johnston, 2004 – verse: full text
Ancient Greek Tragedy
• video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmSbqfy5Df
0&feature=related
Sophocles
Aristotle
Ancient Greek Theatre.flv
• Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNAM3Pz
Gcow&feature=related
Three Theban plays: Not a trilogy
• Oedipus the King  Oedipus at Colonus 
Antigone.
• Antigone was first performed in 442 BCE.
• Oedipus the King was first performed c. 429 BCE.
• Oedipus at Colonus was written shortly before
Sophocles' death in 406 BC and produced by his
grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival
of Dionysus in 401 BCE.
People and places to know:
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Oedipus
Jocasta
Laius
Polybus
Merope
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Sphinx
Teiresias (Tiresias )
Apollo
Delphi
Cithaeron
Thebes (the House of
Cadamus)
The picture
shows Oedipus
explaining the
riddle of the
Sphinx.
Painted by:
Jean Auguste
Sphinx
a winged female
monster in Greek
mythology having
a woman's head
and a lion's body
and noted for
killing anyone
unable to answer
its riddle
Sphinx
an ancient Egyptian image in the
form of a recumbent lion having a
man's head, a ram's head, or a
hawk's head
Apollo
Apollo has been variously
recognized as a god of
light and the sun, truth and
prophecy, healing, plague,
music, poetry, and more.
Apollo is the son of Zeus
and Leto, and has a twin
sister, the chaste huntress
Artemis. Apollo is known in
Greek-influenced Etruscan
mythology as Apulu. Some
of his epithets: Phoebus,
Delian (as born in Delos
island), Pythian, Lycian,
etc.
Oracle: A prophecy (usually obscure or allegorical)
revealed by a priest or priestess; believed to be
infallible.
Pythia:
(Greek mytholo
gy) the
priestess of
Apollo at
Delphi who
transmitted the
oracles
Cithaeron / Kithairon
It is a mountain range about 10 mi long, in central
Greece, standing between Boeotia in the north and
Attica in the south. It is mainly composed of limestone
and rises to 4,623 ft. Its northeast side is formed by the
mountain Pastra
Cithaeron / Kithairon
It is a mountain range about 10 mi long, in central
Greece, standing between Boeotia in the north and
Attica in the south. It is mainly composed of
limestone and rises to 4,623 ft. Its northeast side is
formed by the mountain Pastra.
Cithaeron / Kithairon
It is a mountain range about 10 mi long, in central
Greece, standing between Boeotia in the north and
Attica in the south. It is mainly composed of limestone
and rises to 4,623 ft. Its northeast side is formed by the
mountain Pastra
Delphi
The Pythia was
the priestess at
the Temple of
Apollo at
Delphi, located
on the slopes of
Mount
Parnassus.
Teiresias (Tiresias )
A famous prophet of
Thebes. He accidentally
came across Athena while
she was bathing, so she
blinded him. At his
mother’s pleading, Athena
gave Teiresias the gift of
prophecy to compensate
for his blindness. He died
after drinking the water
from the spring Tilphussa,
where he was struck by an
arrow of Apollo.
Major gods and goddesses
Greek Name
Roman Name
god/goddess of
Aphrodite
Apollo
Artemis
Athene/
Athena
Eros
Hades
Hera
Zeus
Venus
Apollo
Diana
Minerva
Love (goddess)
Cupid
Pluto
Juno
Jupiter
love (god)
light, sun, prophecy, healing, music, poetry, etc. (god)
chastity, hunting, and wild animals (goddess)
war, wisdom and crafts (goddess)
Underworld (god)
Protector of women and marriage
King of all gods and goddess of Olympus
The structure of Greek Tragedy
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Prologue, 1-150
Parodos, 151-215
First Episode, 216-462
First Stasimon, 463-512
Second Episode, 513-862
Second Stasimon, 863-910
• Third Episode, 911-1085
• Third Stasimon, 10861109
• Fourth Episode, 1110-1185
• Fourth Stasimon, 11861222
• Exodos, 1223-1530
Prologue: An introduction to a play
Stasimon: (στάσιμον) is a
stationary/standing song, composed
of strophes and antistrophes and
performed by the chorus in the
orchestra. Ancient tragedy began as a
conversation between a single actor
and a chorus. A second and third actor
were added -- eventually.
Strophe & Antistrophe
Antistrophe (a turning back) is the
portion of an ode sung by the
chorus in its returning movement
from west to east, in response to
the strophe, which was sung from
east to west.
Peripeteia/Peripety
/ˌpɛrəpɨˈtaɪə/ (Greek: περιπέτεια)
A sudden turn of circumstances or
an unexpected reversal/turning
point. The English form of
peripeteia is peripety.
Anagnorisis
/ˌænəɡˈnɒrɨsɨs/; (Greek: ἀναγνώρισις):
It is a moment in a play or other work when a
character makes a critical discovery.
Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its
Greek context, not only of a person but also of
what that person stood for. Anagnorisis was the
hero's sudden awareness of a real situation, the
realisation of things as they stood, and finally,
the hero's insight into a relationship with an
often antagonistic character in Aristotelian
tragedy.
Introduction
• The setting of the Oedipus • http://able
media.com/
the King as in the case of
ctcweb/nets
most Greek tragedies, does
hots/oedipu
not require a change of scene. s.htm
Throughout the play the
scene with at least one door
represents the façade (face or
front of a building) of the
royal palace of Thebes.
Prologue (1-150) - Oedipus,
Priest and Creon
Read (1)
Prologue, 1-150. (Priest, Oedipus,
Creon)
• The priests of Thebes appear before
Oedipus as suppliants, entreating him
to find some end to the plague.
• Oedipus has already sent Creon to
Delphi, who arrives to report that the
killer of Laius must be sought out and
banished.
• Oedipus vows to find the killer and
summons the people of the city.
Prologue (1-150) - Oedipus, Priest and
Creon
• What is the dramatic purpose of
the prologue?
• How does Oedipus characterize
himself (8)?
• What is his attitude toward the
suppliants (13-14)?
Pollution/ miasma
• blood pollution that
infects the family,
and for a royal family
the city itself
• The Plague of Thebes, oil on
canvas,
Charles François Jalabeat
(French, 1819-1901)
Oedipus
• "Oidi-pous“ in Greek means "swollen footed”
• But we can also analyze Oedipus in at least
two other ways:
– oidi- to a Greek sounds like oida, oide = "I know,
he knows" (a central theme in the play)
– -dipous to a Greek means the "two-footed one,"
with obvious associations to the riddle of the
Sphinx (another central theme)
Oedipus
• Man of action, caring but haughty: 7ff, 71ff etc.
• Revealer of the truth: 150
• Solver of riddles: 443ff (e.g.)
Parodos , 151-215.
• The Chorus of Theban citizens offer prayers to
Zeus, Apollo,
Athena for release from the plague.
Parodos:
Parados (151-215)
• What is the reaction of the Chorus to the
advice of Apollo ('the Delian Healer') to
Thebes (154-157)?
• What conditions in Thebes does the Chorus
describe (170-182)?
• Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wcqRm_l
oB0&feature=related
Priestess of Delphi
(1891) by John
Collier
chorus is an "act-dividing song":
–allows for entrances and exits
–allows for the scene to change
–marks the passage of time
–chorus comments directly or indirectly
on what is going on
First Episode , 216-462.
Read (2): p.6, p.7-11
First Episode , 216-462.
• A group of Theban people lead urges Oedipus
to save them from the plague in the country.
• Oedipus appeals for information and
pronounces his curse on the murderer.
• Teiresias is summoned: at first he refuses to
tell what he knows, but aroused by Oedipus'
taunts he declares Oedipus the murderer.
• Oedipus declares a conspiracy by Creon.
Teiresias declares that the murderer is present,
and will be found son and husband to his
mother.
First Episode (216-462) - Oedipus, Chorus
and Teiresias
• Explain the following ironies in
Oedipus's speech (218-220; 236-248;
249-251; 259-265).
• Why does Oedipus summon Teiresias
(278-287)? What is Teiresias's
reaction to Oedipus's request for help
(316-344)?
I must know. Know thyself!
• But knowing is itself problematized in
the Oedipus the King: central to the
text is not only what is known and by
whom, but what it means to "know"-what is "true" knowing.
• Insight and blindness
Apollo versus Oedipus:
• divine versus human knowledge
• Apollo
– sun, day, clear, blazing, burning
– fever, blazing, burning: sender of plague and
the Healer
– intelligence, clear, seeing
– brilliance, poetry
– truth (knowledge), clear, seeing
– divine prophecy, clear, seeing
Prophet/ Tiresias
• Teiresias, the seer of
Oedipus the King:
Sophocles’ and Seneca’s
versions
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/lics
/2003/200305.pdf
• South Italian Red-figure
bowl. Detail: Tiresias
seated holding sacrificial
knife as Odysseus (left)
stands by him
First Stasimon (463-512)
• What is the Chorus's view of Teiresias's
accusations against Oedipus (483-495; 504511)?
Suffering= pathos
• What has Oedipus done to deserve
such awful suffering? Why must he
suffer?
Tragedy=an aesthetic question mark
• The dramatic expression of an enquiry into
suffering, an aesthetic question mark
performed in enacted pain.
• While representing an instance of suffering in
dramatic form, always asks why it has
occurred.
• Pathology= the study of diseases
• Etiology= the causes of diseases or a study of
causes
hubris
• "ungodly pride" (hubris) or "tragic flaw"
(hamartia)
First Stasimon , 463-512.
• The Chorus are fearful of the pronouncement
of the seer, but declare their loyalty to their
king.
Second Episode , 513-862. (Creon,
Oedipus, Chorus; Jocasta)
Read (3): p.17-18
Second Episode , 513-862. (Creon,
Oedipus, Chorus; Jocasta)
• Creon is indignant at Oedipus' accusations.
• They argue over the charge. Jocasta tries to intervene.
Kommos , 649-697.
• The Chorus advise restraint and Oedipus lets Creon
go, though he declares him an enemy. Oedipus tells
Jocasta the source of the dispute.
• Jocasta tells the story of Laius' death, and Oedipus
recognizes many details: but he was a lone killer,
whereas a band of killers was reported.
• Oedipus worries about the oracle; Jocasta denounces
its veracity, adducing the prophesy about her son.
Second Stasimon , 863-910.
(Chorus)
Read (4): p.20-21
Second Stasimon , 863-910. (Chorus)
• Ode to the sanctity of divine law.
• The tyrant who ignores justice and reverence
for the gods will fall.
• The oracles must be true.
Third Episode , 911-1085. (Jocasta,
Messenger, Chorus; Oedipus)
• A messenger arrives from Corinth announcing
the death of Polybus and Oedipus' ascension.
• He allays Oedipus' fear of the oracle (that he
will marry his mother) by telling him of his
true birth.
• Over Jocasta's objections Oedipus vows to
continue his search for the truth. Jocasta runs
into the palace.
Third Stasimon , 1086-1109. (Chorus)
• Ode to Mt. Cithaeron: we will soon know the
parentage of Oedipus.
Fourth Episode , 1110-1185. (Oedipus,
Shepherd, Chorus)
• The shepherd arrives who exposed the infant
of Laius and escaped when Laius was killed.
Oedipus' parentage becomes clear. Oedipus
rushes into the palace.
Fourth Stasimon , 1186-1222. (Chorus)
• No man is blest: happiness is but an illusion,
for even the great power and blessings of
Oedipus have come to a fall.
Exodos , 1223-1530.
Read (5): p.27-32
Exodos , 1223-1530. (Messenger,
Chorus; Oedipus, Creon)
• A messenger announces the suicide of Jocasta
and the self-inflicted blinding of Oedipus.
Oedipus appears to lament his fate. Creon
appears.
• Oedipus begs him to take care of his children;
Antigone and Ismene (mute) arrive to comfort
their father. Creon persuades Oedipus to
return to the palace, and assumes the
kingship.
Recommended
• Greek Tragedy
http://classics.uc.edu/~johnson/tragedy/
• http://memo.cgu.edu.tw/yu-yen/oedipus.htm
• http://classics.uc.edu/~johnson/tragedy/sum
maries/oedipusrex.html
Thank you!