Fluent Essays

just read the chapters answer the question, 300-500 wordsedipus the King is a *tragic* drama--a story of tragedy. Your task is to describe the tragedy that unfolds in the play: what happens? whos involved? what makes the situation tragic? In class this week we will discuss four contending theories of tragedy and consider their implications for politics. If you have space remaining in your answer, you may wish to reflect on how the two most common theories of tragedy--1. tragedy is predestined by fate; 2. tragedy is the result of human arrogance or hubris--lead us to think about political action. Note: this second part of the prompt is optional; you are not required to include it in order to receive full credit oped.pdf oped2.pdf oped3.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview OEDIPUS THE OrL forD still my KING uncan cf oice fth and is rant master age spirit THE CHA OEDIPUS, King A PRIEST of CREON, of Thebes Zeus brother CHORUS of Jocasta of Theban TIRESIAS, a blind JOCASTA, wife A MESSENGER An RACTERS elders prophet of Oedipus from Corinth old SHEPHERD A PALACE Palace OFFICIAL Attendants Citizens Antigone, and Servants and a Boy of Thebes Ismene, TIME Some fifteen man, was years told to murder by the brought never up to the of a city carriage the king, Thebes, he never returned, taken up her position strangling the inhabitants to her riddle. throws OEDIPUS widowed puss real road WaS parents of his ceeded_ a sham by Thebes for not it and citizens, marries old man do him and and the able Sphinx JOCASTA, their is OEDI killed know on that as a baby thought is in gratitude, he they and has being that JOCASTA Nor oracle), is struck priests OEDIPUS, them by plague. and elders, now once: the these (because they had suc he flock in the can The around prime save people of the city the great of life and them agan. and power. Here the begins It is midmorning Thebes and one tried to murder dreadful their saved play Sphinx he the uproar. There follow fifteen years of apparent prosperity The gods are dis Prosperity cloaking corruption successful He that an kills monster, knows his father. had gusted.Thebes led and mother man old journey The and and city in outside his eventually an the was are a fht of temper answers rock. one he thinks him he he a mysterious by OEDIPUS No LAIUS, of another one her mother the a rock their king queen finds a female herself from make in on on where bring and destined Shocked, his real father he brawls with of way gone and who a young was mother queen, the way has his to Corinth, where at then that he wanderings right LAIUS, answer marry His on at Delphi and over Arrived OEDIPUS, back Thebes, However, him. and by the king mother. in Oracle to go father and SETTING previously his father determines reugn. AND in the lamentation; of children, outside background. the youths, the palace There air is full and elders, of OEDIPUS, is the sourd of incense. all holding A with of prayer procession olive branches wreathed in the palace Zeus. silence white wool, steps and OEDIPUS comes are marshaled group themselves out of by a around He the palace. priest onto the altar of signals for IV. TRAGEDY AND/AT THE LIMITS OF ACTION May 26, 2020 Sophocles, Oedipus the King KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Tragedy = when things fall apart 2. What is tragedy? Four major theories 3. Every theory of tragedy has major implications for political action 4. Oedipus the King not really about incest; it’s a story about disorientation—about what happens when categories get scrambled 5. Strong emphasis on need to assign blame for tragedy often stifles (constructive) political action 2 SOPHOCLES 3 • ca. 497 - 406 BCE • Athens • tragedian - 120 plays, only 7 survive today HISTORICAL-POLITICAL CONTEXT Athens ravaged by plague Major defeat in war 4 Oedipus the King set in Thebes, performed in Athens 5 “Some fifteen years previously, Oedipus, then a young man, was told by the Oracle at Delphi that he was destined to murder his father and marry his mother.” 6 RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL CONTEXT 3 contending “voices” — Sophocles alert to all 3 when writing Oedipus plays what role(s) does human agency play in the events and evils that befall a culture? 7 1. GODS AS ACTUAL BEINGS Gods contend with one another One sect: if you are pious, your piety will be rewarded by the gods Another sect: the gods are indifferent to us (best to be pious anyway) 8 2. NOT GODS, BUT GOD No: not multiple gods, one God Plato and Aristotle promote this view Oligarchy embraces it, too 9 3. MULTIPLE, INTERACTING GOD-FORCES Much more naturalistic — gods akin to natural forces Gods (like humans) struggle against, ally with, deceive, help, and wage war upon one another More fluid relations between humans and divinities (exceptional humans sometimes elevated to status of gods) This view popular with young people — everyone else barely tolerates it Democritus takes this view and connects it to democracy Prodicus: not gods, but forces 10 POLITICS & THE TRAGIC TRAGEDY 1. Oedipus as carrier of “hubris” 2. Oedipus as victim of gods in their cruelty 3. Indifferent gods accidentally bring tragedy upon a people 4. Nonhuman forces intersect with human forces — sometimes come together in volatile, horrible ways 12 POLITICS & THE TRAGIC “SOVEREIGNTY” “Supremacy in respect of power, domination, or rank; supreme dominion, authority, or rule.” Source: Oxford English Dictionary this week: are human beings sovereign (ie responsible for everything that happens)? or are there (shifting) limits to human action? *note: 4th theory of tragedy most accepting—and respectful—of limits* 14 SOVEREIGNTY “King Oedipus, the sovereign of our land, […] “We know you are no god, omnipotent with gods. That is not why we throw ourselves before you here, these little suppliants and I. It is because on life’s unequal stage we see you as first of men and consummate atoner to the powers above.” (5, 6) 15 FAULT OF MALICIOUS GODS? CHORUS: “Oh the generations of man! His life is vanity and nothingness. Is there one, one Who more than tastes of, thinks of, happiness, Which in the thinking vanishes? Yours the text, yours the spell, I see it in you Oedipus: Mans pattern of unblessedness. (68) 16 FAULT OF DISINTERESTED GODS (CHANCE, FATE)? JOCASTA: How can a man have scruples when its only Chance thats king? Theres nothing certain, nothing preordained. We should live as carefree as we may. (52) 17 READING QUESTIONS 1. The received view of Oedipus the King is that it is a play about incest. But Sophocles writes this play in the immediate aftermath of not one but two major calamities: Athens is rocked by the plague, only to then suffer a humiliating military defeat. How does situating the play in its historical context encourage us to rethink the received view? Considering the notion of dramatization may be helpful to you here. (I encourage you to read up a bit on this period of Athenian history if you can find the time to do so.) 2. Explain the concept of fate in your own words. How important would you say that fate is to the central narrative of the play? 3. As we will discuss during class, Sophocles weaves three distinct philosophical voices into this play, which speak as and through the plays characters. The voices have differing views on such key political topics as human responsibility, the relationship of humanity to 1) the gods and 2) nature, the character of time, and the powers and limitations of reason. Listen for the voices when you read the text--what do they sound like? Out of whose characters mouths do they speak? 4. What do you make of the chorus? What sort of character is a chorus in a drama such as this? 18 ... Purchase answer to see full attachment