...February 2013 Open to Interpretation: Plato’s Apology & Sophocles’ Oedipus the King Interpretation of human reality in many eyes can be viewed in numerous, if not countless number of ways. In Plato’s Apology and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King both text are intensely concerned with how human reality seems open to interpretation, and their concerns caused a threat to be overcome in both readings. In both readings their suggested responses is similar to the concerns of the threat of open to interpretation. The Apology, written by Plato, illustrates the argument Socrates gives at his trial in Athens. Socrates is giving his defense of not in favor of believing in the gods and corrupting the youth. In making his defense, Socrates will respond to two kinds of accusations. The first one is referred to as the older or more ancient accusation and the second one is the current charge being made by Meletus, and other civilians who are currently at the trial. They accused him of being a sophist, someone that provides wisdom for a fee. Socrates advises the jurors that the statement is false; he enlightens others for the sole purpose to make everyone aware of their lack of knowledge. Socrates informs the jurors how he achieved this reputation. He claims that his childhood friend, Chaerophon, went to an Oracle of Delphi and inquired if there was someone wiser than Socrates and the oracle said “there is no man wiser” (561). Socrates couldn't accept Wu 2 the Oracle's words since he knows for...
Words: 1912 - Pages: 8
...Jocasta represent something powerful to their society. In both Oedipus the King and Medea, the dominant female characters impacted upon men with authority and political power. It is an inescapable fate that one of these characters will fall. This is what leads to the inevitable tragedy. I believe that Medea has more power than Jocasta. She is an outsider, unlike Jocasta who is Greek. Both Medea and Jocasta try to control their fate. The reason Jason married Medea was because she helped him get what he wanted, which was, to win the Golden Fleece. She had just as much power as Jason did. Medea was married to Jason, until he decided that he wanted somebody with more power. Jocasta discovers that she is the mother and wife of Oedipus. Jocasta became part of the Theban dynasty when she married Oedipus’s father Laios. That then brought together a powerful strength. Shoemake 2 When the play Oedipus the King starts, the citizens had gathered outside the palace of their king Oedipus, asking him to take action because there was a plague that had stricken Thebes. Oedipus replies “I sent my wife’s brother, Kreon, to great Apollo’s shrine at Delphi, I sent him to learn what I must say or do to save Thebes (Sophocles 746).” Kreon returned with a message from Apollo. Kreon said that the plague will end when the murder of...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...the community is dark, gloomy and desperate for answers. Oedipus find himself out for questioning at the oracles domain, where he meets a man name Teiresias, a blind prophet teller. Oedipus vows to find the murder of the former king of Thebes. He will do whatever it takes, even if it means killing his friends or family. Upon searching for answers, Oedipus crosses a blind prophet teller Teiresias in request to unsolved answers. Teiresias pays no mind in telling Oedipus what he does not know. In the refusal of answers from the old geyser, Oedipus reflects his authority with ignorance. Teiresias replies to Oedipus to stop searching for the killer and the questions you do not want to know the answers too. Oedipus arrogantness set himself up for more adventure than he had in mind, with more questions that came along with so few answers. Kreon, brother of Iokaste, queen of Thebes, wife of Oedipus is swindled in the horrifying democracy. Kreon is sworn upon with questions from Oedipus, making him feel as if he is targeted. Kreon answers with fact and details, only for Oedipus to question his fate and if he shall live, and or if he is lying. Iokaste is mortified with such quick negative actions from her husband and brother fighting, it leaves her confused. Kreon and Oedipus resemble one another in how opposites attract. Kreon's knowledge of...
Words: 751 - Pages: 4
...29.09.2012 ‘Tragedy is an imitation of an action’ is what Aristotle said about the theater genre, tragedy. I have been curious about the ‘imitation of an action’ part and asked myself question such as what could the’ imitation of an action’ as a phrase in this context of tragedy mean so, under the light of the emphasis our instructor put on the chapter ‘the definiton of tragedy’ in ‘Aristotle’s Poetics’ reading that we were assigned to read and since I wanted my question to be cleared and I also wanted to understand the foundation of tragedy and prepare myself, base knowledge wise, for readings that were to come, I started my reading with that particular chapter. Through the chapter I partially understood, through my own reading without anyone’s help, the combination of artistic beauty of changing the places of the words, harmonious rhythms of songs that provide an emballishment to the ongoing play on the stage and the crucial components such as ‘the soul of tragedy’ and another component as important as the plot that I am not too confident about whether I absorbed its meaning and relation with other parts of a tragedy, that element is thought. I think through the chapter I found an answer to my question of what is imitation of an action, let me expand my question for beter understanding and my own answer through the information I gained through my reading . I think my question of what imitation of an action is pretty straightforward to understand, in literal base I know...
Words: 4388 - Pages: 18
...Christian Lescznske Professor Larkin ELIT2055-B 31 March 2014 The Hero’s Journey: Comparing and Contrasting Heroes Joseph Campbell was an American psychologist and mythological researcher. In his lifelong research, Campbell discovered many common patterns running through hero myths and stories from around the world. Years of research lead Campbell to discover several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through (no matter what culture the myth is a part of). He calls this common structure “the monomyth” (Hero’s Journey). The “hero’s journey” appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development. It describes the typical adventure of The Hero, who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the family, group, tribe, or civilization. There are twelve steps, or stages, of the typical “Hero’s Journey”. The twelve steps are: The ordinary world, the call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting with the mentor, crossing the threshold, a test, the approach, the ordeal, the reward, the road back, the resurrection, and the return with the elixir, or reward. As I previously stated, Campbell’s monomyth works best with the traditional form of the quest such as in folk and fairy tales, myths, legends, and other fantasies. However, it can be applied to many different genres or types of stories. A quest does not have to include swords and monsters. It can just as easily occur in the real world. The monomyth is ageless and universal...
Words: 1692 - Pages: 7
...typical ending for a Greek tragedy is death. Ancient Greek tragedy is developed on the reliance that in human relationships it is rule that reigns, not chance. Relationships are full of emotion just like tragedies. It is difficult to describe what a tragedy actually is, but it is apparent that a tragedy has something to do with thought and human choices. Oedipus the King by Sophocles fits the mold of an ancient Greek tragedy because it is a play that depicts the fall and death of a noble character in conflict with forces beyond his control. The tragedy begins by Oedipus becoming the King of Thebes. He has become the King of Thebes because he brought freedom to the people from the existence of the riddling Sphinx. Shortly before Oedipus became king, Laius, who was the previous King of Thebes, was killed. “Oedipus was further honored by the hand of Queen Jocasta.” Now a deadly disease is very strong and the people want Oedipus to rescue them just like before. Oedipus wants to meet their needs. Meanwhile, Creon, Jocasta’s brother returns from the oracle. The oracle has said that everything will be well again if Laius’s murderer be found and taken from Thebes. Oedipus states, “For the worst penalty that shall befall him/ Is banishment—unscathed he shall depart,” (pg.16). The worst penalty for Lauis’s murderer is banishment and he shall leave unharmed. Oedipus says, “But if an alien from a foreign land be known to any as the murderer/ Let him who speaks out, and he shall have/...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...previous sentence. The things he said, did, and the comments that were made by those around him show how a man with everything could lose it all due to his own behavior. To open, the things he said showed how he changed and became the tragic hero of the play. Many of his statements reveal his personality including his admirable parts and his flaws. When Creon says: "I call to God to witness that if I saw my country headed for ruin, I should not be afraid to speak out plainly," (Sophocles, scene 1,24-26), it shows his strong sense of nationalism and leadership which catches up with him in the end. "The inflexible heart breaks first, the toughest iron cracks first, and the wildest horses bend their necks at the pull of the smallest curb" (scene 2,76-79) is what Creon says to Antigone after finding out she is the one who buried Polynieces. He thinks that if Antigone wasn't so headstrong and arrogant then she could have avoided the consequence he was about to give her. I think Creon was being a hypocrite because he is just as stubborn as she is. The reason why Creon and Antigone come in to so much conflict is because their ways of thinking are almost exactly alike. "It is hard to deny the heart! But I will do it: I will not fight with destiny" (scene 5, 100), is a statement that shows Creon detecting his fault and how he needs to correct it. After talking to Teiresias, the blind prophet, he realizes in order for the higher powers to forgive him he needs...
Words: 737 - Pages: 3
...Introduction The story behind Antigone is well-known. Antigone’s father was Oedipus. When he was born, it was prophesied that he would kill his own father and marry his mother. To avoid this, his parents had him sent out to be killed. The servant tasked with this, however, could not kill him and left him on a hillside to die of natural causes. He was discovered and raised by a poor family, and then later he returned and unknowingly fulfilled the prophesy, becoming in the process the king of Thebes. When the truth of this became known to him, he blinded himself. This story is the subject of the first two plays by Sophocles in the Oedipus cycle, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Four children were born of that incestuous marriage–two boys, Eteocles and Polynices, and two girls, Antigone and Ismene. When we join the action here, Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, have died at each other’s hands, Eteocles while defending Thebes and its new king Creon, Polynices in the forces attacking Thebes to remove Creon. Creon issues a decree that Polynices’ body cannot be buried or mourned. Both Antigone and Creon act in headstrong ways, and each rejects any suggestion that the other side may have some validity to its argument. The Greeks had a concept known as hubris. Hubris is overweaning or excessive pride. As you read the selections provided here, please consider the following questions: Questions: 1. Is Antigone right to respect the established religious...
Words: 6419 - Pages: 26
...numbers in square brackets refer to the Greek text; the numbers without brackets refer to the English text. In the line numbering for the translated text a short indented line is normally included with the short line above it. The translator would like to acknowledge the valuable help provided by Sir Richard Jebb’s translation and commentary. Background Note Sophocles (495 BC-405 BC) was a famous and successful Athenian writer of tragedies in his own lifetime. Of his 120 plays, only 7 have survived. Oedipus the King, also called Oedipus Tyrannos or Oedipus Rex, written around 420 BC, has long been regarded not only as his finest play but also as the purest and most powerful expression of Greek tragic drama. Oedipus, a stranger to Thebes, became king of the city after the murder of king Laius, about fifteen or sixteen years before the start of the play. He was offered the throne because he was successful in saving the city from the Sphinx, an event referred to repeatedly in the text...
Words: 16865 - Pages: 68
...his crew, but unfortunately they all had died. “There is no hope for it; your best chance will be to get by her as fast as for fever you can, for if you dawdle about her rock while you are putting on your armour, she may catch you with a second cast of her six heads, and snap up another half of dozen of your men.” (Homer 79) When the Gods became so angry at Odysseus and the other Greek leaders, the storm and i did sent him off course. He was now completely separated from the world he knew. He was now beginning the journey that would change the way he thought. As you know, Odysseus had to come up with many ideas to accomplish the goals needed to be done. “We sailed hence always in much distress till we came to the land of the lawless and in human cyclopers.” (Homer 35) They sailed and came upon a land that had no laws and cyclops ruled their world. This is refusal of the return. Refusal of the return means holding the reward, the hero does not want to return to his or her old life. Refusal of the return does not apply to Odysseus as much. He does not stay with the Phaeacians much and has a desperate urge to get home. “And I answered, ‘Circle how can you expect me to be friendly with you when you have just been turning all my men into pigs? And now that you have got me here myself, you mean me mischief when you ask me to go to bed with you and will unman me and make me fit for nothing. I shall certainly not consent to go to bed with you unless you will first take your solemn oath...
Words: 918 - Pages: 4
...Antigone to be executed. Many urge Creon to rethink his decision and make a more reasonable choice as Antigone’s familial piety did play a part in her actions. Teiresias, a wise prophet, tries reason with Creon, “...all men make mistakes, But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong” (V.35-36). All the voices are to no avail. In the end, only after the death of his son does Creon realizes his “own blind heart has brought me from darkness to final darkness” (Exodus.95-96). Haimon, Creon’s son, kills himself out of grief of Antigone's death and his mother also kills herself out of grief of Haimon’s death. Creon loses his entire family because of his stubbornness to uphold his law. Sophocles emphasises this through the chorus that, “there is no happiness where there is no wisdom” (Exodus.147). In the modern world, the belief that logic is more powerful than emotions is still upheld . This belief is apparent in the many stories and actions of today. Take the popular fictional character, Harry Potter. Many times Harry acts on decisions based on a whim or outburst of emotions and these actions do not result in favorable consequences. Most notably is Harry’s decision to enter the Department of Mysteries in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry wants to enter this department to find the prophecy which became the catalyst for the happening of Harry’s entire life. Harry is ordered not to go but, led by his passion to find out the cause of his past, still decides to...
Words: 888 - Pages: 4
...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
Words: 4487 - Pages: 18
...Open Letter to a Young Negro (by Jesse Owens) All black men are insane…. Almost any living thing would quickly go mad under the unrelenting exposure to the climate created and reserved for black men in a white racist society…. I am secretly pleased about the riots. Nothing would please the tortured man inside me more than seeing bigger and better riots everyday. Those words were spoken by Bob Teague to his young son in Letters to a Black Boy. He wrote these letters to “alert” his son to “reality” so that the boy wouldn’t be caught off guard—unprepared and undone. Are his words true? Does a black man have to be just about insane to exist in America? Do all Negroes feel a deep twinge of pleasure every time we see a white man hurt and a part of white society destroyed? Is reality so stinking terrible that it’ll grab your heart out of your chest with one hand and your manhood with the other if you don’t meet it armed like a Nazi storm trooper? Bob Teague is no “militant.” He’s a constructive, accomplished journalist with a wife and child. If he feels hate and fear, can you ever avoid feeling it? Whether it’s Uncle Tom or ranting rioter doing the talking today, you’re told that you’ll have to be afraid and angry. The only difference is that one tells you to hold it in and the other tells you to let it out. Life is going to be torture because you’re a Negro, they all say. They only differ on whether you should grin and bear it...
Words: 7102 - Pages: 29
