Oedipus by Sophocles

Module Instructions

Please review all materials in this module. Most importantly, read Dudley Fitz and Robert Fitzgerald's translation of the play, Oedipus Rex. Complete the corresponding activities found on Blackboard to earn your Exit Ticket and prepare yourself to write your mid-term paper.

Our First Reading: 

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Background

Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Oedipus Rex is regarded by many scholars as the masterpiece of ancient Greek tragedy. Of Sophocles's three Theban plays Oedipus Rex was the second to be written. In terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone.

Summary

Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles's play concerns Oedipus's search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus horrified at his patricide and incest proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.

Understanding Drama

Before delving into the materials on our first reading, Oedipus Rex, review the module on Understanding Drama. Click HERE or access the module via the index on this Google site.

Sophocles

It's always wise to learn something about the author of a text before reading it. Sophocles (c. 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC), the author of Oedipus Rex, was one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. 

Familiarize yourself with the author of Oedipus Rex, Sophocles before reading the play itself by reviewing this brief biographical information.

If Greek tragedy is an all-new topic for you and you have not had any experience with Sophocles's works, I highly suggest reviewing John Green's wonderful mini-lecture on the subject.

Who was Oedipus?

John Green's Crash Course is a fantastic way to learn about a myriad of topics. In this video, John Green teaches you about one of the least family-friendly family dramas in the history of family drama, Oedipus Rex. Sophocles' most famous play sees its main character, who seems like he's got it all together, find out that he's killed his father, married his mother, had a bunch of incest children, and brought a plague down on his adopted hometown. He doesn't take this news well. John touches on all the classic Oedipus themes, including hamartia, fate, and the wrath of the gods, and even gets into some Freud, although Oedipus was notably not a sufferer of an Oedipus complex. In any case get ready for mystery, incest, bird entrails, and self-inflicted blindness. Very dramatic.

Text: Oedipus Rex 

Read Dudley Fitz and Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Oedipus Rex. This respected translation was completed in 1949 and has been praised for clarity and poetic equality. I've included a PDF copy of that version of the play as well as additional learning materials to help you understand and analyze the play.

Citation

Sophocles, et al. The Oedipus Cycle : an English Version. Translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1977.

Timeline of Events in Oedipus Rex

Confused? Check out this outline of the events that occurred in Oedipus's story.

Animated Story of Oedipus Rex

Still confused? A visual and audiological representation of the contents of Oedipus Rex in animated form might help.

Sir Tyrone Guthrie's Oedipus Rex Film

Plays are meant to be performed not read. Watch this scene from Oedipus Rex, 1957. Filmed by the famed British actor/director Sir Tyrone Guthrie, this elegant version of Sophocles' important play adds a brilliant stroke--the actors wear masks just as the Greeks did in the playwright's day. The story of Oedipus' gradual discovery of his primal crime--killing his father and marrying his mother--has influenced many of the great plays, films, and books of all time. When this landmark film production of one of the great dramas ever appeared, it was hailed from all corners: "Spectacular and awesome...this film is a jewel of great price!" raved The New York Times.

Rating: NR

Genre: Art House & International, Classics, Drama

Directed By: Sir Tyrone Guthrie

Featuring: Barbara Franklin, Donald Davis, Douglas Campbell, Douglas Rain, Naomi Cameron, Tyrone Guthrie, William Shatner

Written By: Sophocles

Adapted By: William Butler Yeats

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1957  

Runtime: 87 minutes

Ancient Greek Theatre

In order to increase your familiarity with the conventions of Ancient Greek theater, and its lasting emphasis, review the following optional materials on Ancient Greek theater.

The ancient Greeks were, without a doubt, a culture that has lent us many of the foundations upon which our modern civilization sits. Art, architecture, law, and science are but a few of the many things that have been passed on to us. And just like us, those distant cultural ancestors loved to be entertained with tales of woe and with belly laughs! 

• What is Greek theatre?

Greek theatre is a form of performance art where a limited number of actors and a chorus conduct a tragedy or comedy based on the works of ancient playwrights. Greek theatre typically has as its theme stories from Greek mythology or comedic situations where real ancient Greek politicians and others are made fun of.

• Who created Greek theatre?

Greek theatre evolved from religious ceremonies where participants wore masks and sang songs in honor of gods like Dionysos. The actor Thespis (c. 520 BCE) is credited with being the first actor to speak to the audience and change costumes during a performance. This is why actors are sometimes called 'thespians' even today.

• What are the two types of Greek plays?

Greek theatre was either tragedy or comedy. Tragedy plays saw three actors and a 15-person chorus perform stories from Greek mythology and religion. Greek comedy plays poked fun at Greek culture and personalities; they involved actors and the chorus wearing extravagant and amusing costumes.

• How has Greek theatre influenced modern entertainment?

Greek theatre has influenced modern entertainment in many areas. Actors with costumes, special effects, the use of satire, and even the shape of the theatre itself are all lasting influences.

• What is the structure of Greek Tragedies?

The Greek tragedies mostly began with a prologue, where a character or characters would set the stage for the play. The play itself would have at least three scenes. Between them, there would be a choral interlude that was used to explain or comment on the play.

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus

Where the magic all happened: The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Peloponnese. The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is regarded as the best-preserved ancient theatre in Greece in terms of its perfect acoustics and fine structure. It was constructed in the late 4th century BC and it was finalized in two stages. For a more in-depth introduction to this amazing Unesco Heritage Site, check out the blog below.

To take a visual journey through the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, view the video below.

The Greek Chorus

A Greek Chorus is a theatrical device originating in ancient Greek theater involving a small group of performers—who are usually unrelated to the central action of a story—commenting on the central action of a play. The chorus speaks directly to the audience and may not interact with the main characters of a story at all. Their purpose is to underscore the moral themes, actions, character development, and messages of a story to the audience.

The Greek chorus was prevalent in classical Greek drama of the 5th century BCE. Classical tragedy originated in Ancient Greek theater, with the chorus acting as a guiding voice to the audience, cluing them in on shifts in the plot or a character’s inner state. The chorus also would typically pronounce judgment on the fate of the characters in the drama, heightening the tragic elements of the play. The Greek chorus appears in famous Greek tragedies and dramas such as Oedipus Rex, Electra, and The Eumenides.

Typically, the chorus enters after a principal character has explained part of the action. From there, the chorus appears after scenes in the play to perform choral odes commenting on the action, and imagining where the story might go. The chorus will also typically close out the action of a play with an epilogue reflecting its message.

The role of the chorus is to provide context, summary information, and commentary on the drama of the play for the audience. 

To recap, here is a general overview of some of the functions of a Greek chorus:

1. Provides commentary on the action of a play

2. Addresses the audience directly to let the audience in on privileged information

3. Expresses a character's inner thoughts 

4. Gives principal actors in a live performance a moment offstage

The students in the video below are performing as a Greek Chorus, sections of the messenger speech from Oedipus Rex.

Greek Theatrical Masks

Greek theatre masks were made of stiffened and painted linen so none have survived to the present day. We only know what they looked like because theatre was so popular in Greek and Roman times that models of actors and masks were made in other materials such as terracotta, stone and bronze and depicted on gems and in paintings and mosaics. With its exaggerated, grotesque features, this terracotta model shows the mask worn by the old man character in many comedies of the 300s BC and later. He has a wide grin, furrowed brow and bald head and wears a wreath with ivy leaves and clusters of berries. The masks worn in tragedies were different, with idealised features set in calm, serious, or sometimes pained expressions.

The masks of Greek theater played an incredibly important role in the development of the theater art form, and are today considered as one of the most iconic conventions of classical Greek art.

The earliest examples of masks being used in Greece stem from the ancient religious ceremonies of the celebration of various Greek gods, especially the deity Dionysus. The masks that were worn during those early ceremonies gained the meaning of “personas”, and the people who wore them were viewed as transformed into beings or people they tried to imitate. The masks were viewed as powerful tools that totally transformed actors into the desired role, with viewers not distinguishing actors from the theatrical character they were depicting (being that of men, female gods, or other mythical beings). In the instance of multiple actors of singers wearing identical masks, the viewers viewed all those actors as a singular character. 

All actors on the Greek stage were men, who had to adapt their appearance with acting postures, costumes, and masks heavily when they played the roles of women and children. The traditional full attire of Greek theater actor consisted of chiton (turnic or robe), chlamys (short cloak), chlaina (overgarment), kothurnus (short lace-up boots), himation (overgarment), peplos (cloak) and prosopon (mask, translated from Greek as “face”). Actors who played significant roles in Tragedy plays wore boots named cothurni that elevated them over other actors.

In addition to that, they were also very useful as disguises, enabling the single actor to switch several masks throughout the single play, thus presenting several distinct characters to the viewers. Most of those early masks had the forms of helmets with face masks, small openings for eyes, smaller mouths (so that actors' mouths could not be seen), and ears.

When Athenian engineers and architects started creating very large open-air theaters, the masks that actors wore got slightly altered designed. Masks got more profound, intense, and over-exaggerated facial features and expressions, which was done so that more distant viewers could more easily spot the full look of the characters, easily distinguish multiple actors on stage, and not spot changes when one actor changed one mask for another. While the famous happy mask of Comedy and sad mask of Tragedy (the muses of those two theater arts were goddesses Thalia and Melphomene) are best known today as the most popular theater masks in Ancient Greece, many custom masks were created for specific plays and for specific characters.

The Oedipal Complex

You've probably heard the term "Oedipal Complex" before. Maybe you heard someone use the term when speaking about a toddler boy who seemed overly attached to his mother. In classical psychoanalytic theory, the erotic feelings of the son toward the mother, accompanied by rivalry and hostility toward the father, during the phallic stage of psychosexual development is known as "The Oedipal Complex." Sigmund Freud derived the name from the Greek myth in which Oedipus unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Did Oedipus kill his father unconsciously to obtain his mother Jocasta? Familiarize yourself with the Oedipal Complex discussed in greater depth on the site and in the accompanying video below. We'll also be looking at the Electra Complex and the Westermarck Effect. When we examine our next reading, A View from the Bridge.