Oedipus Rex

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Oedipus Rex

• Sophocles

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Greek Drama Mythology
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Greek Drama and Mythology

• Greek tragedies were based on widely-known myths
  or famous historical events.
• The Audience knew the story.
• The surprises were not in the plot, but in the
  way the playwright used the familiar material.

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The Origins of Greek Drama

• 2 Most Important Influences on Athenian Drama-
• Homer
• Narrative Lyric Poetry with Choruses

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Homer and Epic Poems

• Homers two greatest works
• Work 1
• Narrates just a little of the Trojan War
• Considered by Aristotle to be the parent of
  tragedy
• Multiple tragedies take their characters from
  this work.
• Work 2
• Time after the Trojan War
• A long Journey by a VERY popular person
• Other Epic Poems

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Lyric Poetry

• Sung by large choruses
• Evolution of Chorus Leader
• Usually dedicated to the gods

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Of All the GreeksOnly Three Survive

• Aeschylus
• Sophocles
• Euripedes

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Conventions of Greek Drama

• Masks Wigs
• Costumes
• Limited Staging
• Action of a Greek Tragedy- 1 Day
• Chorus, three actors, and mute characters
• Orchestra- Dance
• Aulos- Double Wind

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The Greek Stage
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Structure

• Prologue----Entrance of Chorus----Several
  Episodes separated by choral odes
• Difference with our viewing and the original

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Aristotelian Tragedy

• Origin of the Tragic Hero
• Hamartia (Mistake or Tragic Flaw)
• Peripeteia (Reversal of Fortune)
• Fear and Pity in the Audience
• Catharsis (Cleansing of the Soul)

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A question

• What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs
  in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?

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Journal Entry 1

• Did someone ever make a prediction related to you
  or someone close to you? Did you ever question
  whether that would come true? Did it change the
  way you acted or behaved? Why?
• If you never have Do you believe some people are
  psychic and can make predictions about the
  future? Should those predictions guide an
  individuals actions?

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Mr. Kotts Horoscope for Today

• Daily Overview September 05, 2008
• TAURUS
• April 20-May 20
• It's hard to let go sometimes and you are
  finding it harder than ever right now. It's
  important for you to at least make the effort,
  though, because you need some kind of closure
  soon.

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Vocabulary

• Apollo
• Hermes
• Dionysus
• Hubris
• Oracles
• Sphinx
• Antistrophe
• Aulos
• Catharsis
• Chorus
• Demigod
• Epic
• Episode

• Hamartia
• Orchestra
• Paean
• Parodos
• Peripeteia
• Prologue

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A Summary of Oedipus Rex

• The Oedipus story is set a few generations before
  the Trojan War. King Laius of Thebes receives a
  prophesy that his son would kill him. To avoid
  the outcome of the prophecy, Laius had his baby
  exposed to the elements on a distant mountain,
  where his feet were nailed together (hence his
  name).
• Saved and raised as prince of Corinth, he tries
  to discover his true birth encounters a man on
  the road, killing him. Oedipus then meets a
  sphinx, solves its riddle, and saves Thebes.
• Thebes rejoices and named him king, and there you
  go

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While Reading Oedipus RexPay Attention to

• The Role of Dramatic Irony in the Play
• Emergence of Multiple themes, concepts, and
  questions
• Sin and Retribution
• Divine Justice
• Characteristics of a Good Ruler
• Search for Identity
• Fate?
• Suffering
• Truth
• Human Intellect

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Lets begin