The Complete Greek Tragedies: Sophocles I: Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

Book Description

"These authoritative translations consign all other complete collections to the wastebasket."—Robert Brustein, The New Republic

"This is it. No qualifications. Go out and buy it everybody."—Kenneth Rexroth, The Nation

"The translations deliberately avoid the highly wrought and affectedly poetic; their idiom is contemporary....They have life and speed and suppleness of phrase."—Times Education Supplement

"These translations belong to our time. A keen poetic sensibility repeatedly quickens them; and without this inner fire the most academically flawless rendering is dead."—Warren D. Anderson, American Oxonian

"The critical commentaries and the versions themselves...are fresh, unpretentious, above all, functional."—Commonweal

"Grene is one of the great translators."—Conor Cruise O'Brien, London Sunday Times

"Richmond Lattimore is that rara avis in our age, the classical scholar who is at the same time an accomplished poet."—Dudley Fitts, New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

A GREAT greak dramatist but equal to the others.......2006-04-10

Sophocles is really one of the Greatest dramatists of all time, but equal to the others since he doesn't have the psychological penetration of Euripides

Translations.......2006-03-20

Researching translations is never an easy task, and in this case, where you'll have to search on Amazon for the title and the translator to find what you want, it's particularly difficult.

Here's what I've found by comparing several editions:

1. David Grene translation: Seems to be accurate, yet not unwieldy as such. My pick. Language is used precisely, but not to the point where it's barely in English.

2. Fitts/Fitzgerald translation: Excellent as well, though a little less smooth than the Grene one. Certainly not a bad pick.

3. Fagles translation: Beautiful. Not accurate. If you are looking for the smoothest English version, there's no doubt that this is it. That said, because he is looser with the translation, some ideas might be lost. For instance, in Antigone, in the beginning, Antigone discusses how law compels her to bury her brother despite Creon's edict. In Fagles, the "law" concept is lost in "military honors" when discussing the burial of Eteocles. This whole notion of obeying positive law or natural law is very important, but you wouldn't know it from Fagles. In Grene, for example, it is translated to "lawful rites."

4. Gibbons and Segal: Looks great, but right now the book has only Antigone (and not the rest of the trilogy) and costs almost 3x as much. I'll pass. But, from a cursory review, I'm impressed with their work.

5. MacDonald: This edition received some good write-ups, but I wasn't able to do a direct passage-to-passage comparison.

6. Woodruff: NO, NO, NO. Just NO. It's so colloquial it makes me gag. Very accessible, but the modernization of the language is just so extreme as to make it almost laughable. You don't get any sense of the power of language in the play. You just get the story. If you want this to be an easy read, then get Fagles, not this.

7. Kitto: Looks good, though not particularly compelling over either Grene or Fitzgerald (or Gibbons if I wanted to pay so much more).

8. Roche: Practically unreadable the English is so convoluted. Might be the most literal translation, but what's the point unless you are learning Greek and want such a direct translation.

9. Taylor: Way too wordy. Might be more literal, but again, why?

Hope this all helps. Translations can make or break the accessibility of literature. Pick wisely.

Unalterable Course.......2004-07-18

I read the story of Oedipus in high school and several times since. While I find the twists of the story, especially the riddle of the Sphinx fascinating. (A very original puzzle.) I also found it a litte disturbing. I've never cared for the idea that a person's destiny is fixed and unavoidable.
The fact that the steps Oedipus took to foil the prophecy, actually placed him on the direct path to fulfilling it was scary. It makes one wonder: Do we really have control over our lives, or are we, as Shakespear put it, actors in someone's grand play?
It is a very sad and tragic story. Oedipus was hopelessly caught in a terrible snare. Definitely NOT upbeat. However,in my opinion, any story that can create positive thought and conversation on the inner workings of life is worth reading.

Good For an Introduction to Sophocles.......2002-11-25

The Lattimore/Grene translations of Sophocles balance ease of reading with closeness to the original Greek text nicely. Hugh-Lloyd Jones's translation, which can be found in the Loeb edition of Sophocles's tragedies, is unquestionably superior at rendering the original Greek text, but it can come across as archaic and confusing to high school students or those unversed in Greek literature. Lattimore and Grene, unlike many modern translators, DO feel that they owe more to their readers than the loosest gist of the original text, and they deliver it.
All that said, I would advise readers to be cautious of these translations for the following reasons. First, the plays are presented in the chronological order according to the myths they portray - not in the order in which Sophocles wrote them. In other words, even though Antigone was one of the first plays Sophocles produced and Oedipus at Colonus was produced posthumously, they are presented in order of their dramatic events. This means that they are very likely translated without regard for any evolution of Sophocles's thought or any implicit commentary the poet might have made upon the works of his own youth.
Second, in his introduction, Grene states that he sees in Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles's clumsy attempt to cover over the inconsistencies of his Theban Cycle. While this is certainly not all Grene sees in Oedipus at Colonus, the judgement of anyone who takes so irreverent and shallow a view of the last work of the most technically savvy tragedian of the classic age must be called into question.
In summary: Buy this book, read it, enjoy it, but if you're going to write an important paper on Sophocles, look at his work in the Greek, or at least in the Lloyd-Jones translation of the Loeb edition.

Too Many Words! Taylor's Translation of Sophocles' Antigone.......2002-07-03

In the movie, "Amadeus," the Austrian emperor avers that Mozart's new opera has "too many notes." The composer, on the contrary, thinks the number just right, as does even his envious rival, Salieri. The defect lay in the emperor's taste, not in the composer's art.

In Don Taylor's translation of "Antigone," published in the book, Sophocles, The Theban Plays, there are indeed too many notes, i.e., words. The defect does not lie in the art of Sophocles, nor in the requirements of translation. Taylor wrote with a contract for television performance already in hand. He fashions lines that are easy for actors to play and for audiences to understand. Having translated a character's thought, he often expands, supplements or restates the material. Thus, the audience is given a second and third bite at the apple of understanding. But this is more like a college lecturer who fears that his students won't get the point, than like Sophocles, who is famous for a clear, solid, succinct style.

Sophocles peppers his scenes, usually dialogues between two persons, with extended series of one-line "zingers," which the characters alternately thrust and counterthrust. The power and excitement of the exchanges lie in economy and pointedness of expression. To illustrate, here is a segment from the first scene between Creon and the soldier who tells him that Polynices' body has been partly buried. The first translation is by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, available in their book, The Oedipus Cycle, and also in Greek Plays in Modern Translation, both listed on Amazon.com. The second translation is Taylor's.

SENTRY: King, may I speak?
CREON: Your very voice distresses me.
SENTRY: Are you sure that it is my voice and not your conscience?
CREON: By God, he wants to analyse me now!
SENTRY: It is not what I say, but what has been done, that hurts you.
CREON: You talk too much.
SENTRY: Maybe, but I've done nothing.
CREON: Sold your soul for some silver: that's all you've done.
SENTRY: How dreadful it is when the right judge judges wrong.

SOLDIER: Am I allowed to speak, sir?
CREON: No!
Why should you speak? Every word you say
Is painful to me.
SOLDIER: Well, it can't be earache,
Can it sir, not what I said!
It must stick in your gullet. Or further down
Maybe, a sort of pain in your conscience.
CREON: Do you dare to answer me back: and make jokes
About my conscience?
SOLDIER: Me sir? No sir!
I might give you earache; I can see that.
I talk too much, always have done.
But the other pain, the heartburn as it were,
It's the criminal causing that sir, not me.
CREON: You're not short of a quick answer, either.
SOLDIER: Maybe not. But I didn't bury the body.
Not guilty to that sir.
CREON: But maybe guilty
Of selling your eyes for money, eh sentry,
Of looking the other way for cash?
SOLDIER: I think it's a shame sir, that an intelligent man
And as well educated as you are
Should miss the point so completely.

The Fitts/Fitzgerald translation has 9 lines and 86 words; compared to Taylor's 24 and 160. Sophocles had used 9 lines and only 69 words. All the one-liner segments, occurring in almost every scene, undergo a similar transformation at Taylor's hand. But they are not alone. The same translating style appears in the major speeches of the play. Listen to part of the condemnation of Creon by the prophet, Teiresias, from Taylor first this time, then from Fitts/Fitzgerald.

TEIRESIAS: Listen Creon. This is the truth!
Before many more days, before the sun has risen
- Well, shall we say a few more times -
You will have made your payment, corpse
For corpse, with a child of your own blood.
You have buried the one still living: the woman
Who moves and breathes, you have given to the grave:
And the dead man you have left, unwashed,
Unwept, and without the common courtesy
Of a decent covering of earth. So that both
Have been wronged, and the gods of the underworld,
To whom the body justly belongs,
Are denied it, and are insulted. Such matters
Are not for you to judge. You usurp
Ancient rights which even the gods
Themselves don't dare to question, powers
Which are not in the prerogative of kings.
Even now, implacable avengers
Are on their way, the Furies, who rise up
From Hell and swoop down from Heaven,
Fix their hooks into those who commit crimes,
And will not let go. The suffering
You inflicted upon others, will be inflicted
Upon you, you will suffer, as they did.
Have I been bribed, do you think? Am I speaking
For money now? Before very long,
Yes, it will be soon, there will be screaming
And bitter tears and hysterical crying
In this house. Men, as well as women.

TEIRESIAS: Then take this, and take it to heart!
The time is not far off when you shall pay back
Corpse for corpse, flesh of your own flesh.

You have thrust the child of this world into living night,
You have kept from the gods below the child that is theirs:
The one in a grave before her death, the other,
Dead, denied the grave. This is your crime:
And the Furies and the dark gods of Hell
Are swift with terrible punishment for you.
Do you want to buy me now, Creon? Not many days,
And your house will be full of men and women weeping.

Box score, lines and words. Taylor 29:223. Fitts/Fitzgerald 11:106. Sophocles 16:94.

Customer Reviews:

Essential reading for a classical education.......2006-12-16

I read Sophocles Antigone for graduate Humanities class. It is an essential reading to understand Greek Tragedy. It is also a foundation stone of literature in studying Western Civilization.

Antigone, daughter of Oedipus in 3-cycle play, faces capital punishment for burying her brother who rebelled against Thebes. Obeying instincts of loyalty of love and the divine law, she defies Creon, the King and her uncle. Creon says laws of states outweigh all other laws, and family loyalty, when he finally relents it's too late.

Over the centuries there has been a great deal made about the conflicts played out in the play, law of state vs. law of goods, personal vs. state duties. Loves knowledge vs. state knowledge. Greek understanding of tragedy- Aristotle lays down understanding of Greek tragedy. He based it on Sophocles. Tragedy- most important thing for tragedy is plot, it is all essential. Tragedy defined as- is imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude in language embellished with incidents arousing pity and fear ant to the audience it accomplishes catharsis of such emotions. Every tragedy must have six parts that determine its quality. 1. plot 2. character 3. diction 4. fault 5. spectacle and 6. melody.

According to Aristotle, tragedy is higher and more philosophical than history or poetry; it is one of the highest expressive forms because it dramatizes what may happen. History is a narrative that tells you what has happened tragedy shows what is possible. History deals with particulars, tragedy deals with the universal. Tragedy creates a cause and effect chain and shows how the world operates. It frames human experience in universal discourse, tragedy is central in this effort. Tragedy arouses pity and fear in audience because we can envision ourselves caught in this cause and effect chain. Plot most important feature, the arrangement of incidents, the way incidents, and action is structured. Tragedies outcome depends on the outcome of these cause and effect changes not on being character driven. Plot must be whole, beginning middle and end. Beginning must have a motivation that starts the cause and effect chain of events must be a center or climax that is caused by earlier incidents. There must be an end some kind of closure caused by earlier events in tragedy. This is all part of the complication of the tragedy all must be connected. You can't have a dues ex machnia in a superior tragedy.

In tragedy, the hero or heroine walks knowingly towards the fate that is written and can't be changed. Unity of action plot must be structurally self-contained, each action leading invariably to the next without outside intervention. The worst kinds of plots are episodic, like a Jerry Seinfeld sitcom, can't be something about nothing, must have unity of action. Magnitude, quantatively meaning length, and quality of action, it must be serious. Must be of universal significance, depth, and richness. Character- most important feature is the fatal flaw. Motivations of characters are important but character is there to support the plot. Character must be a prosperous renowned personage. Change of fortune from good to bad will really matter and bring fear and pity to the audience. In ideal tragedy, the hero will mistakenly bring about his own downfall. Because they make a mistake, because knowledge of our selves is always partial, we can't have complete knowledge of ourselves. Hall quotes Descartes in the article, "The limited error prone perspective of the individual. Subject is always imperfect and human and these limitations include our ability to know in any reliable way ourselves." The fact that we as subjects, as agents can never fully know ourselves means that we are always prone to error, error is the essence of the tragic hero, tragedy is the essential drama of human subjectivity.

What is Hegel's understanding of concept of tragedy? He revises Aristotelian principals and logic. Immensely influential German philosopher, he writes about; tragedy in the Aesthete 1820-29, he proposes, "the suffering of the tragic hero are merely the means of reconciling the opposing moral clients." According to Hegel's account of Greek tragedy, the conflict isn't between good and evil, but between competing goods, all is good. Between two entirely ethical worlds that clash and can't come together. Both characters have an ethical vision or belief that they have to follow it is there one-sidedness of their vision that clashes with the one-sidedness of the other character. Both sides of contradiction are justified. Conflict of irreconcilable justifiable ethical worlds, ethical visions. Just as his dialectic must lead to an ultimate synthesis, so to must tragedy lead to a synthesis. This is dramatized in the death of the tragic actor, which becomes the synthesis. Hegel says; "the characters are too good to live." They are too good to live in this world. What is interesting is that Hegel so wants to correct moral imbalances his emphasis is on moral balances.

Greek tragedy is great reading for people interested in aesthetics, history, psychology, and philosophy.

Oedipus at Colonus.......2005-12-16

Oedipus at Colonus was a fairly good sequel to Oedipus the King. In this book Oedipus and one of his daughters go to Colonus the Gods sent sickness because he killed his father and then married his mother.

This book was a lot easier to read than I was expecting. Usually I have a tough time reading these old kind of plays but this one was written in such a way that I was able to understand it which was a plus. The whole plot is really good; Oedipus's sons are fighting over who gets to be king. If you read any of the previous stories of Oedipus you should know about the oracle. This is a wonderful element to these stories. When you hear the oracle's prediction you know that you should believe it because of what happen in the first story. Recomended for ages 15 and older.

Between Meaning and Music.......2005-06-17

Most English translations of, say, the Greek New Testament are shepherded by a conviction that the original words had divine inspiration and so are best rendered verbatim wherever possible. At the same time, there generally is a concession (for good or ill) to the reality that if what results is not sufficiently lofty and reverential in tone, the faithful are unlikely to accept it. Attempts at classical Greek drama and poetry tend to be guided by rather different considerations: The translator's audience may consist of fellow scholars, reluctant undergraduate students, or an adventurous minority of the general public; and each of these groups will have particular demands. Too often work thus emerges which is precise but lifeless, or loosely interpreted to conform to the structures of 19th-century-style Anglo-American poetry, or so liberally seasoned with present-day colloquialisms as to jar the reader repeatedly out of the proper period and setting.

For the most part, Paul Roche navigates skilfully through these hazards in trying his hand at Sophocles's Oedipus trilogy, and has produced a rendition that is readable, yet preserves classical distinctiveness. Once or twice in the first play a turn of phrase does feel awkwardly modern, but such flashes are rare and soon either disappear or blend into the overall arc of the stories. That Roche is himself a poet clearly enriched the labour, and his reflections, in the Introduction, on the essence of poetry and the challenge of its transmission across lines of language, era, and culture border on the profound. '... Poetry lies somewhere between meaning and music, sense and sound ...,' he writes; and in this region he attempts to set Sophocles's work. He echoes the meter of the original without imitating it exactly, and preserves more of the Greek dramatic structure (complete with `strophes' and `antistrophes') than do many other translations available. Yet Roche remains mindful that this is also a PLAY, and manages the formalized dialogue with an eye (or ear) to the possibility of his version itself turning up on stage. He also provides an afterword outlining principles to guide such performance.

The reader of this translation whose only prior encounter with the Oedipus legend was some now-vaguely-remembered lesson in school, or perhaps Edith Hamilton's summary, may be surprised at how effectively one is drawn in. Roche, like Sophocles before him, succeeds in bringing the remote and legendary close enough to touch, while allowing it to remain sufficiently mysterious to stir the imagination.

A good compromise between authenticity and accessibility.......2005-03-08

Roche has worked very hard at reproducing the feel of the original text by Sophocles, and by all accounts he has succeeded admirably. In his introduction, Roche goes on at length to explain why a strictly literal translation is not always the best course; he has done what he can to capture the essence of the original poetry, sometimes sacrificing a more literal translation.

That being said, this trilogy of tragedy remains inaccessible to the casual reader, with the verse, antiquated phrases, and lengthy unnatural monologues and speeches combining to obscure the beautiful and tragic story from the mind and heart of what might otherwise be an appreciative audience.

So where does this leave us? Did Roche waste his time by coming up with a version of the play that is neither authentic nor accessible? In my opinion, he did not. This book is an invaluable asset for intermediary scholars who are not ready (and may never be ready) to apply themselves to the actual text or a literal translation, and yet are willing to devote themselves to overcoming the obstacles that the non-traditional (by modern standards) format presents.

An english student, or an armchair literary enthusiast, will find this an excellent way to experience the power of Sophocles writing in english. The translation is beautiful, and powerful, and does indeed bring one of the most tragic and deeply resonating of stories to life; you just have to work a little to get there.

Fantastic!.......2004-11-08

I'm not one to pick up a book of plays with enthusiasm. In fact, I'm not one to pick up a book of plays in the first place. But when we were instructed to read The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles, my eyes were glued to its pages! Much like Homer's Odyssey, this book has all of the components of a good reading. It has suspense, romance, fear, and best of all, the tragedy that completes it all. I must say that I adored Oedipus in Colonus the most, and I thought it to be intriguing as well as heartwrenching.

Do not hesitate in your next trip to the library if you see this book lining its shelves! Take a look, and I assure you that you won't regret it.

Sophocles vol. 1: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Loeb Classical Library)

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Sophocles vol. 1: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Loeb Classical Library)
F. (transl.) Sophocles; Storr
Manufacturer: Harvard/Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LELCNE

Sophocles, 2 : King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Penn Greek Drama Series)

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from the layman
An excellent work, but a poor translation.

Sophocles, 2 : King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Penn Greek Drama Series)
Sophocles , David R. Slavitt , George Garrett , and Kelly Cherry
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

from the layman.......2005-03-17

I am very interested in studying ancient greek drama, but I have a dilema - I am NOT studying in school, but rather on my own. This Penn series is VERY readable for the average American and leaves absolutely no ambiguity. The other reviewer does make good points about the translation being too modern and not literal enough. (I recall one line where Creon asks his son if he has been "pussywhipped". I think that's taking it too far, but I also realize that the ancient greek authors were problably using untranslatable idioms in their texts anyway.) If you are totally new to greek drama and are learning on your own, I do recommend you start with this series so you know what's what, then when you are ready, move on to a more literal translation.

An excellent work, but a poor translation........2000-11-01

I do not mean, by giving this book a poor rating, to dissuade anyone from reading Sophocles' greatest works. Rather, I would instead urge everyone to avoid the Slavitt & Bovie translations specifically. Examples of the excessive liberties that they have taken with other Attic dramas include inserting puns and one liners into the Chorus of Agamemnon, adding references to Black American hymns to the Chorus of the Libation Bearers, as well as many smaller, but still significant translation crimes. Get the Grene & Lattimore or almost any other version of these works, but do not get the Slavitt & Bovie

Sophocles' Oedipus Trilogy: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, & Antigone (Bloom's Notes)

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Sophocles

Sophocles' Oedipus Trilogy: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, & Antigone (Bloom's Notes)

Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0791040992

Book Description

This edition of Bloom's Notes examines the three Oedipus plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. In his introduction Harold Bloom states, "All three plays abound in ambiguities, pragmatically in ironies, but the irony or ambiguous wordplay of any one of them is not at all that of the other two." Study the Oedipus plays with the numerous critical essays in this text.

This series is edited by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University; Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Professor of English, New York University Graduate School. These texts are the ideal aid for all students of literature, presenting concise, easy-to-understand biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on a specific literary work. Also provided are multiple sources for book reports and term papers with a wealth of information on literary works, authors, and major characters.

Customer Reviews:

Sophocles.......2000-07-20

This book review was very helpful as a substitute for reading the book Sophocles. I was required to read the book but very pushed for time so this worked great for me! would really reccomend it!

The Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (Penguin Classics)

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Insights of the Theban Plays
of course it's predictable
The pinnacle of Greek tragedy...
Oedipus a bit predictable
Read it!

The Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (Penguin Classics)
Sophocles
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140440038

Customer Reviews:

Insights of the Theban Plays.......2007-01-02

The Theban plays are extraordinarily rich in their observations on the human condition; let us consider lessons to be drawn from these.

The first tragedy, King Oedipus, begins with the city of Thebes suffering great afflictions. King Oedipus swears that he will find the cause of the evil and improve the lot of the Thebans. His uncle, Creon, found that the pestilence would be lifted when the murderer of the previous king, Laius, was brought to justice. Oedipus immediately ordered that the killer be found.

Laius, the old king, had been killed while on a trip. Oedipus came to Thebes from Corinth and married Laius' widow, Jocasta, and became king. This followed by some years a curse laid upon Laius and Jocasta, reported by an oracle of the god Apollo, in which it was said that their son would kill the father and marry the mother. To prevent this, the King and Queen had their son taken away. Instead of destroying the child, the person charged with preventing the curse from coming true gave the boy away. This child, of course, was Oedipus, who later returned to Thebes and, indeed, married Jocasta, his mother, after having unwittingly killed Laius, his father.

Not knowing these facts at the time, Oedipus railed against what he saw as Creon's lust for the throne. Oedipus gives Creon the choice of death or banishment; Creon chose the latter. As his mother/wife, Jocasta, related how his father had died, at a point in a road with three forks, it dawned upon Oedipus that he was the killer of Laius.

Oedipus blinds himself and goes into exile, to fulfill the terms that he had originally stated as the penalty for the guilty person confessing to the murder of Laius. In our modern sense, it is unfair what happened to Oedipus. He had been a good king, ruling well, loved by his people. When he killed his biological father, he was not aware of that relationship and, even more to the point from our contemporary perspective, it was very close to self-defense.

Thus, the powerful lesson--misfortune can sweep over the best of us, no matter our intentions (and Oedipus' were clearly good) or behavior. In short, we do not and cannot fully control our individual fates.

Antigone is the third of the Theban trilogy. Since Oedipus went into exile, much had happened. At the beginning of this play, Creon has become King of Thebes. Before, Oedipus' two sons had vied for power. Eteocles became the ruler of Thebes, after having pushed aside Creon. Polynices resolved to, in turn, replace his own brother. Polynices gathered together an army to seize Thebes. In the ensuing battle, both brothers died. Creon emerged as regent. He ordered that Eteocles, because he had defended the city, should be buried in an honorable fashion. Polynices, since he had tried to take the city by force, would be left in the open, unburied, where his body lay from battle. Any person, decreed Creon, who tried to bury the body in accord with the traditions of the time would be executed.

Antigone, youngest daughter of Oedipus, refused to obey the ruling; she argued that to adhere to human law violates ". . .the holiest laws of heaven." Which is higher and more compelling? Human law? The laws of the gods? Antigone chose the laws of the gods. Antigone hastens to bury her brother as well as she can. She is seized and taken before Creon.
To complicate matters, Creon's son, Haemon, is betrothed to Antigone, and he urged clemency upon his father, arguing that many Thebans felt that Antigone's adherence to traditional norms was the right position. Creon has a temper tantrum upon hearing this, whereupon Haemon argues that he is trying to save his father by urging him to consider lenience for Antigone, fearing that the people will be outraged and threaten Creon's rulership.

Finally, Creon realizes that he may lose all. But it is too late. Antigone has hung herself in the cave where she was condemned to starve to death; Haemon, upon her death, killed himself. When Creon's wife, Eurydice, heard the news, she committed suicide. Creon grieves and speaks of ". . .the curse of my stubborn will!"

And what is the right thing to do? To follow the sovereign's expression of law, as King Creon claims? To follow the traditional morality, as Antigone does? It is not clear. Humans may not always be able to know what is right, what the truth is, what the good is. Wisdom comes from modesty; hubris is a symptom of supreme foolishness.

The Theban plays, in the end, make us think about the extent to which people, in reality, can actually control their destiny. Or the extent to which their fates are controlled by other forces. . . . The translation is serviceable; the introduction is readable and useful.

of course it's predictable.......2003-06-04

The previous reviewers who denigrate Oedipus as "predictable" only reveal their own ignorance. Any member of an Ancient Greek audience already knew the story of Oedipus, it'd be like complaining that upon going to Easter Mass, you found the story of the Crucifixion to be predictable; the point was never to have a twist, but to create a relationship between the characters and members of the audience, placing the viewers in direct relation to the mystery of life. The language is gorgeous besides.

The pinnacle of Greek tragedy..........2002-02-12

These three plays stand as the best of the Greek tragedies, superior to the works of Sophocles' rivals Euripides and Aeschylus, mainly because these plays hold more depth and allow for more cultural analysis.
They may seem long-winded at times, even repetitive, but I assure potential readers that there is a point to the speeches, and that many 'extraneous' phrases divulge the author's meaning or bias.
Highly recommended.

Oedipus a bit predictable.......2001-12-05

Set in ancient Greece, Oedipus the King is a classic play about the fall of a great leader. This particular type of theater can be classified as a tragedy due to the fact that the main character has a positive view by his people and leads with great pride. The story begins with a plague throughout the land and its only stopper is told through a prophecy. The prophecy describes the murder of a king from a far off land; to stop the plague the killer must be discovered and punished accordingly. Oedipus boasts his ruling ways a he vows to discover the murderer and banish him, family, and future generations from his country. King Oedipus receives opinions and assistance from his wife Jocasta, brother-in-law Creon, and the Chorus whom reacts the decision making of Oedipus and takes the place of the people. Oedipus uses his power to summon those who might know anything about the murder. Accusations are first pointed to a group of robbers who attacked and robbed the king while he was traveling. The blind prophet Tiresias from Thebes is then sent for. Tiresias points the finger at Oedipus and blames him for the murder. The tale starts to unravel as the prophecy of Oedipus's life is told. In summary the prophet tells how Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. This very prophecy is the reason that Oedipus moved away from his alleged parents whom in actuality acquired Oedipus as a baby before he was killed in hopes to prevent the very prophecy. Oedipus discards the prophet's words and continues his search. Signs continually point towards Oedipus for an unexpected ending.
The play is full of long speeches that derive a simple point. Foreshadowing makes up a majority of the play and gives way the play far before it is over. Great detail is put into each speech and put into a quite violent ending. I personally rate the play as poor for it is far too predictable and drawn out. The only real entertaining part of the play is the ending though predictable it is quite graphic and creative.

Read it!.......1999-03-02

I absolutely loved Oedipus The King. It was exciting, even though I already knew the myth, and brought about catharsis. There is a wonderful use of imagery in it. Antigone, on the other hand, was not as moving to me. I had trouble identifying with Creon and did not pity Antigone. Still, I would recommend reading it. If anything you will at least have broadened your knowledge of Greek tragedy. Plus, the Oedipus plays will make up for Antigone's weaknesses. Also, keep in mind that most people like Antigone. What I've written is just my personal view.

The plays of Sophocles : Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra, Oedipus at Colonus / William Walter (Monarch notes)

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The plays of Sophocles : Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra, Oedipus at Colonus / William Walter (Monarch notes)
William Walter
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0760710597

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A Guide to Understanding the World's Great Writing

Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus At Colonus

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Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus At Colonus
Sophocles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000W1WUM8

Product Description

Penguin, Book of the Month Club, 1994. Paperback.

Complete Plays of Sophocles - Ajax - Antigone - Oedipus the King - Oedipus at Colonus - Trachinian Women - Philoctetes - Electra

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Complete Plays of Sophocles - Ajax - Antigone - Oedipus the King - Oedipus at Colonus - Trachinian Women - Philoctetes - Electra
Moses - Editor Sophocles ; Hadas
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000VJSJT4

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Complete Plays of Sophocles - Ajax - Antigone - Oedipus the King - Oedipus at Colonus - Trachinian Women - Philoctetes - Electra
Moses Sophocles ; Hadas
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000N31710

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