Study Like a Boss
Achilles, Apollo, Hercules, Iliad, Odysseus, Perseus, Ring of Gyges, Sophocles, Trojan War, 1984, A Raisin in The Sun, Animal Farm, Beowulf, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein, George Orwell, Hamlet, Into The Wild, Lord of The Flies, Macbeth, A Modest Proposal, All Quiet on The Western Front, Allegory, Antigone, Between The World and Me.
The Greek rationalists’ search for the meaning of life through rational thought instead of the traditional legends marked the first radical shift from mythos to logos. While there was no clean break with either traditional religion or belief in the supernatural, Greek thought as a whole during the 7th- through 5th-centuries increasingly trended towards a … Read more
In describing the characters of Odysseus and Oedipus, Homer and Sophocles both avoid defining these men by typical physical characteristics such as stature or distinctive facial features. Instead, these authors focus on detailing specific bodily wounds that function as embodiments of each character’s identity. Parallel plotlines in The Odyssey and Oedipus the King reveal the … Read more
Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood is a powerfully unsettling novel concerning a lost man in the grotesque, dark world of the American South. Published in 1949, Wise Blood’s protagonist Hazel Motes serves as a reflection of the power of mythology that continues to assert itself in O’Connor’s text. Throughout the course of the novel, Hazel Motes’s … Read more
As a kind of collective character onto itself, the Chorus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex assumes multiple functions and qualities that, together, effectively blur the lines between the private and public spheres of the drama. Evidenced in the text by their roles as observers and instigators, as well as social commentators, and then in the film-version … Read more
Consider how conflict is an essential element in two of the short stories you have studied. Conflict is of huge significance to every story, whether it be a scuffle among teammates or a full-scale war. The stories chosen to be discussed in this essay are The Sniper and My Oedipus Complex. These stories have been … Read more
Frank Kermode writes in his book The Genesis of Secrecy “We are most unwilling to accept mystery, what cannot be reduced to other and more intelligible forms. Yet that is what we find here: something irreducible, therefore perpetually to be interpreted; not secrets to be found out one by one, but Secrecy” (143). Sophocles’ play … Read more
Guilt and Innocence: A paradox in Oedipus at Colonus A common theme throughout the Oedipus Cycle is that of guilt coinciding with innocence. In Oedipus at Colonus however in separate instances Oedipus claims to be innocent of his wrong doings as in his fight against Laius he acted in self-defense, and he also insists he … Read more
We face moral dilemmas every day of our lives—whether it’s giving money to a homeless man or taking a peek at a peer’s chemistry test. Fortunately, the stakes aren’t high. The tragic figures of Hamlet, The Once and Future King, and Oedipus experience moral quandaries, too; only these characters struggle instead with violence, murder, and … Read more
Opening scenes of plays or any piece of performance work allows the audience to enter into the world seamlessly; the world of the play can be built through the dynamic between the actors and the audience and the exposition itself. In the original script of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, there is no opening exposition of … Read more
Fate and Free Will The elements of fate and free will are not black and white. Humans have an unconscious free will while making everyday decisions: what we want to wear, where we want to go, and when we want to sleep. Sometimes, however, we make large-scale mistakes, so large they haunt us our entire … Read more
Aristotle’s favorite tragedy was Oedipus the King by Sophocles. The play begins with the Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes. Upon the birth of their son, Oedipus, an oracle proclaims that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Petrified the king and queen abandon their son to die in the … Read more
Oedipus is a self-confident, intelligent, strong willed man and a great king. Ironically these are the very traits that bring about his tragic discovery. There are many themes in the play that add to his character, which ultimately instigates his own undoing. Going through the play the audience recognises the reasons why Oedipus ends up … Read more
Translations of Sophocles’ play are generally interpreted in one of two ways, ‘Oedipus Rex’, meaning Oedipus the King, or ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’, meaning Oedipus the Tyrant. The exact distinction between the two titles is undefined, though through the lens of Socrates’ five characterizations of the soul, the readers can identify what type of man he is. … Read more
Types of Blindness Life is full of things that humans wish to forget. Using blindness as a buffer from reality is a natural response to dangerous stimuli. The types of blindness are easily classified into many categories. These classifications make understanding stories and characters much better. The characters in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and The … Read more
“Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light,which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he … Read more
The City Walls of Thebes: An Analysis of Greek Society In Oedipus The King, Sophocles tells the tale of a man from a foreign land that champions his way to the throne of the city Thebes. As the play progresses, the audience learns that this foreign man, Oedipus, is in actuality, a native Theban. Oedipus, … Read more
Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” (lit. “Oedipus the King”) has proven to be without a doubt one of the most acclaimed tragedies of all time, having maintained relevance in the literary canon ever since its composition and debut performance around 429 BCE. Like most high-profile works of literature, this Ancient Athenian tale exists no longer as a … Read more
Oedipus the King is one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles’ plays. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment. Dramatic irony is a much-used literary device in this play and its unusual structure serves as an explanation for its enduring popularity. Oedipus is portrayed as … Read more
Thebes is struck by a plague; the citizens are dying, and no one knows how to put an end to it. The people look to their great king, Oedipus to save the city. Oedipus, being a great king takes responsibility for saving the people and the great city of Thebes. As the play progresses, Oedipus … Read more
Oedipus the King is widely regarded as a tragedy of fate. Briefly stated, it begins with a terrible plague that destroys the city. King Oedipus sends a messenger to the oracle at Delphi to find a cure. The answer that is received suggests to find out who the killer of King Laios was. Oedipus sends … Read more
Oedipus is a very interesting character in Greek mythology. He encounters many episodes on his journey, escaping the dangers of the prophecy he was told. Oedipus the King us the is quite exciting to the readers because of the dramatic irony Sophocles uses throughout the trilogy. Dramatic irony is when the audience is aware of … Read more
Oedipus is rather impressive as a leader. He wants to take everything on himself. When it’s suggested he send for a prophet, he’s already done it, for example. Ironically, he doesn’t follow through with how all this applies to him, how he really is responsible for it all. Notice how he uses the personal pronoun … Read more
No matter what anyone tries, no matter what anyone does, no matter what anyone believes they have accomplished, they have not controlled fate. Fate is uncontrollable. Much like betting on a sure thing and knowing in the back of your mind that there are infinite factors in the outcome–anything could happen. Its unfortunate that the … Read more
Helen is in love with Powers; Powers is in love with C. ; C. only wants to forget about Powers. This may sound like a soap opera, but in fact it is the love triangle present in Galatea 2. 2. This love triangle mirrors Freud’s Oedipal Complex almost perfectly. According to this theory, Richard Powers … Read more
” A man who is highly renowned and prosperous, but one who is not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice and/or depravity, but by some error of judgment or frailty. ” – Aristotle In Sophocles Oedipus The King, Oedipus, the main character who kills his father and … Read more
Unity of Action: Each of the incidents in this play is part of a tightly constructed cause-and-effect chain. The plague in Thebes prompts Oedipus to send Creon to consult the oracle of Delphi; the oracle’s reply that the murderer of Laius must be banished from Thebes prompts Oedipus pronounce a solemn curse on the murderer … Read more