Closing Remarks

Hello, readers!!!

The end of The End of the Blog...
I've decided to put this site to bed. So alas another blog goes the way of the dodo. Perhaps ill create a new blog someday and maybe ill afford it more attention unlike the sporadic nature of posting here. Thanks to whoever stopped by and had a read and left a comment and thanks to those who didn't also...you really missed out guys! but as September 22, 2013 of  there shall be no more posts.


See you again somewhere on the internet. :)



The End of the Blog (September 20- September 22,2013 )

Goodbye!

Reflections

My reflections on Oedipus the King.

I'd say the most important lesson to be learned is, not committing incest or murdering someone, but being ignorant all together, or at least being as ignorant as Oedipus was. While there were plenty of warnings given by various oracles, the king did not act in any way to prevent his undoing. His refusal to listen to the blind man, ended up destroying a close friendship with Creon. Oedipus did not like the facts he was hearing, so he jumped to the conclusion that Creon was trying to overthrow his kingship. Before Oedipus realized he was the murder of Laios, he declared that the killer shall be found and put to death, or exiled. After he knew it was him, he was shamed by his pervious words and felt it was fitting to receive both punishments, by blinding himself, that way he could not enjoy life, nor could he participate.

Her relationship with her father, by the poem "Daddy," was unpleasant. She feels like his amputated foot, useless and distant from her father. Her father died when she was eight, by diabetes mellitus, which was curable back then, but he miss diagnosed himself with lung cancer. Plath had several mental breakdowns throughout her life, causing one attempted suicide and one successful suicide. She marred the famous poet Ted Hughes, again interpreted from the poem "Daddy," idolized as her father. After Hughes had an affair with some chick, they separated and Plath moved into a flat in London. A year later she killed herself via head in a gas oven. Some suppose that this was actually an attempted suicide which turned successful, since she left a letter to her downstairs neighbour telling to call the doctor.

Hope you all had the same reflections as I did!!! >.<

Other Works of Sophocles

Hi!! I will be posting other works of Sophocles. I did this to show you and appreciate his other works. I put also a little summary of each story so that you would know what the story is about. Make sure to give time to read them and enlighten yourself with his other works just like Oedipus Rex.



Sources tells us that Sophocles wrote 123 plays in his lifetime, of which we know the titles of 118. Of this huge output of plays (Shakespeare, in comparison, wrote somewhere between 36-39 plays in his lifetime) only seven survive: Antigone, Oedipus Rex (sometimes also called Oedipus Tyrannos, Oedipus at Colonos, Ajax, Electra, The Women of Trachis, and Philoctetes.

 Antigone

Oedipus at Colonos


Oedipus was eventually exiled from Thebes.  After years of wandering with his daughter Antigone, Oedipus arrived at a grove in Colonus, a village near Athens.
In the meantime, Oedipus' sons -- each claiming the right to the throne of Thebes -- prepared to go to war.  Eteocles, the younger son, supported by Creon, took over the throne.  He and his brother Polynices were supposed to share it six months at a time.  Once in power, he did not wish to give it up.  Polynices gathered an army to attack Thebes.
Interest was awakened in the former king when it was learned that a prophecy promised victory in battle to the city in which Oedipus was buried.  Suddently, the aged pariah became of great value to any city which proved his final resting place.

Both Polynices and Creon came to bring Oedipus away.  But Oedipus, defended by King Theseus of Athens, chose to stay at Colonus.  Creon attempted to kidnap Antigone in order to force Oedipus' hand, but she was rescued by Theseus.  Polynices admitted to Oedipus that he should have remained by his father's side, but Oedipus was unforgiving.  He foresaw that the brothers would slay themselves in battle.  Polynices knew that he would die in battle, but decided to fight anyway -- as an example to his supporters.  Antigone vowed to see that his body would receive a proper burial.

The gods themselves summoned Oedipus to his mysterious end in the grove, a scene witnessed only by the great Theseus, who swore never to reveal it.  Evidently, it was a victorious and exalted exit for one who had lived such a life of suffering.
Assisted by six chieftains, Polynices attempted to invade Thebes.  The seven men led attacks against each of the seven gates of Thebes; Eteocles defended the gate attacked by Polynices.  The two brothers, as Oedipus predicted, died at each other's hands.  Then, the Theban army finally beat back the attack.


Ajax

Sophocles's play recounts the tale of the ill-fated Ajax. The tale begins while Odysseus is searching for Ajax, whom he believes has killed a herd of cattle over the night. The Greek commander is soon approached by Athena, who tells him that his enemy, possessed, killed the herd, mistaking them for Greek soldiers. She calls Ajax from his tent, and reveals that he truly is possessed.

In the next scene, Tecmessa, Ajax's captive bride, informs the chorus that Ajax is possessed. Ajax emerges from the tent,sane this time, and expresses remorse for his actions. He decides he must die. Tecmessa pleads with him, but he appears to have made up his mind.

Later, Ajax reappears and expresses a change of heart. He decides that rather than dying, he will devote himself to yielding to the gods and to Greek leaders. The chorus rejoices.
Next, a messenger arrives to the Greek headquarters and announces the return of Ajax's half-brother, Teucer. He also warns Ajax to remain inside his tent if he wants to stay alive.
In the next episode, Ajax is seen alone with Hector's sword in front of him. He makes his final speech and then kills himself with the sword. Tecmessa finds his body and laments. Teucer joins her mourning. Then Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon appears, and proclaims that Ajax's body should be left unburied. He and Teucer have an altercation that
escalates when Agamemnon joins. Finally, Odysseus arrives and makes peace, persuading Agamemnon to bury his enemy. The play ends as Teucer carries out Ajax's final burial rites.
Electra

is based around the character of Electra, and the vengeance that she and her brother Orestes take on their mother Clytemnestra and step father Aegisthus for the murder of their father, Agamemnon.

The Women of Trachis

Philoctetes

Before the Greeks go to war against the Trojans, the greatest of the Greek archers, Philoctetes, suffers a snakebite on his foot. While he is at sea on his way to Troy, his wound becomes infected and his cries of pain are so piercing that his shipmates abandon him on the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea.

The play begins in the ninth year of the Trojan War. At that time, the cunning Greek warrior Odysseus travels to Lemnos, a lonely island in the northern Aegean Sea, with Neoptolemus, the son of mighty Achilles, to find the greatest of the Greek archers, Philoctetes, and return with him to Troy. The Greeks desperately need Philoctetes, for a seer has warned that only his bow and poisoned arrows—weapons that once belonged to Heracles—can end the Trojan War.

After their arrival on the island, Neoptolemus and Odysseus discover the abode of Philoctetes, a cave in which he sleeps on leaves and eats from a crude wooden bowl. Philoctetes himself is not there. They believe that he his is out searching for food or for herbs to treat his wound. Odysseus realizes that Philoctetes will become angry at the sight of any of the Greeks who abandoned him and may draw his deadly bow against them. Odysseus then comes up with a plan: Neoptolemus will approach Philoctetes and pretend to be a Greek warrior ill-used by Odysseus, then offer to return with Philoctetes to Greece. Odysseus says that Neoptolemus will be revered for ages to come as a wise and courageous warrior if he sets in motion a course of action that results in a Greek victory. Therefore, Neoptolemus agrees to play the deceiver.

All goes well when Neoptolemus meets with Philoctetes. However, after a time, Neoptolemus, is deeply affected byPhiloctetes' misery..Consequently, Neoptolemus confesses the truth to him, telling everything, but nevertheless tries to persuade Philoctetes to accompany him to Troy. When Odysseus appears, Neoptolemus declares asks forgiveness for his trick and invites Philoctetes to come back with him to be healed and to contribute to the Greek cause in the war. Philoctetes agrees to return because of a mandate issued by Heracles, When he returns to Troy, Heracles says, his wound will heal.

Lessons and Insights

Hello!!! I posted the moral insights people can learn from reading this story even if it grosses all of us out. lol I found the story both intriguing and appalling at the same time but nevertheless it is still a masterpiece. :D

The moral of Oedipus Rex is not exactly that you can't outrun fate. This is oversimplifying things. Oedipus is the archetypal tragic hero who is helpless in the hands of Fate. Whatever he did, the outcome would always be the same. 

Every possible action would lead to him killing his father and sleeping with his mother. When he was first told about this in a prophecy, he decided to leave his city to avoid it (not knowing, of course that those were his adoptive parents). This action led him closer to his real parents, even though he was trying to avoid this. The moral of the story is that, you can't outrun Fate, and if you resist it it's a hubris (a sin and insult against the gods), but even though you may have a terrible Fate awaiting you, you always have to be strong and brave and honorable.

 It wasn't Oedipus' fault that he killed his father and slept with his mother. Sophocles doesn't want us to judge him for that, but pity him. This happened to Oedipus because of an ancient curse on his family for a crime committed by an ancestor. Oedipus actions, though show that he managed to remain honorable and brave through all of this. 

He was a brave man during his life, and a good king. When he found out the truth, he didn't commit suicide, like his mother did, but punished himself by plucking out his eyes. He left his kingdom and lived as a beggar in the mountain Cithaeron, so that his subjects wouldn't have to suffer because of his crimes and so that no one would be able to see his shame. 

He also left his children, because he didn't want them to live a cursed life in shame with him. In the sequel to Oedipus Rex, Oedipus in Colonus, Oedipus is absolved because of his honorable behaviour, his endurance and his stoicism during his ordeal.


The lesson is don't create bad karma by doing bad deeds. All the tragedy in Oedipus Rex is caused by Oedipus biological father, King Laius.

In his youth, Laius was a guest of King Pelops of Elis, and became the tutor of Chrysippus, youngest of the king's sons, in chariot racing. He then violated the sacred laws of hospitality by abducting and raping Chrysippus, who according to some versions killed himself in shame. This cast a doom over him and his descendants.

So do you agree?? 

Other Literary Tools used in Story

Sophocles included many literary devices that helped tell the story. I hoped you would take time to read through this and use this to refer to your own research on Oedipus Rex. :)

The most used literary device in the play is dramatic irony. 

 It is frequently used throughout most of the play.
 For example, when Creon tells Oedipus about the god's curse on Thebes, Oedipus puts his own curse on the murderer of Laius, not knowing it was he who killed Laius (Sophocles,14.) Throughout the book, Oedipus learns things that the audience would have already known, such as when Oedipus discovers who his parents really are. Those were just some examples of dramatic irony in the play. 

Another literary device used by Sopocles is characterization. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles used characterization to portray Oedipus as the tragic hero. 
A third literary device used in the play is flashback, which is where the story switches from the present to an event that occurred in the past.

A tragedy is where many troubling events happen to the characters during the story. The one who has the worst things happen to them is called the tragic hero. Oedipus is told he has to find out who killed Laius, the ruler of Thebes before Oedipus. Oedipus later learns that he has no idea who he really is, and that he was the one who killed Laius. When Oedipus' mother and wife Jocasta realized she had married her son, she kills herself. Finally, Oedipus stabs out his eyes, and begs to be exiled from Thebes. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is known as the tragic hero, the one who suffers through all of the horrific events.

The final major literary device used in Oedipus the King is flashback. The first example of this is when Oedipus and Jocasta are talking about what happened to Laius the day he was killed. Jocasta tells Oedipus who Laius was with at the time, and where he was killed. When Oedipus hears this information, he describes a time in his past when he left Corinth (Sophocles, 53.) Later, Oedipus is talking to the shepherd who took the baby from Jocasta. They talk about what happened, and what the shepherd did with the baby (Sophocles, 83.)

Relation of Story to Modern Society

Hello there!! I posted these (with some help) for the readers who thinks it may be possible to link the story to modern day events or can be use in today's times. Guess what?? it's possible!! XD

Sophocles' Oedipus Rex is a complex piece of literature and there are many themes that are applicable to our modern world. The theme that is most applicable is human pride or what the Greeks call "hubris." Oedipus all throughout the play believed that he could solve the problem of the plague of Thebes. He failed to realize that he was the problem. In short, he overestimated himself and did not know himself at the same time.

The financial crisis is an example. All the "experts" out there believe that they could solve the problem, but they fail to realize that many of them are part of the problem. For example, if it is bad that the banks are too big to fail, then why did they make the banks bigger? If overspending is the problem, why do they want consumers to spend even more?

The dynamics here are a universal formula for disaster. People overreach and hence they are the problem. The message of Oedipus Rex will always resonate with humanity, because there is a tragic flaw in all of us.

 One aspect of the contemporary relevance of Oedipus Rex involves the play's lessons about the need for leaders to question facile assumptions, doubt their first impulses, and seek the fullest possible information before making decisions with enormous consequences.

If we look at some of the central moral interests and thematic interests of Oedipus Rex, we can pull out a number of relevant ideas:

• Ignoring or hiding problems doesn't fix anything. You can't just hide your head in the sand...
• Guilt stems from one's regret, not necessarily from one'sactions. Context defines justice and injustice, crime and legality.
• Secrets can do harm and so can the truth.
• Each of these ideas can be applied in various ways to today's world and tomorrow's.

The story may be old, and from a culture that no longer exists, but it has entered our popular culture. Oedipus was already well known when Freud picked him up and used him to develop his famous Oediplus Complex theory, which is so disturbing that most people know about it.

Criticizing Oedipus Rex

First Critic: 

That the play is strong in character study and dramatic structure but weak in its beginning are the literary criticisms of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.). 

Specifically, a literary criticism involves a very close look at a piece of literature in terms of its strengths and weaknesses. The play is strong in its study of character. Another strength is its dramatic alternating of choral odes of entertainment and explanation with dramatic episodes of character dialogue and revelation. 

But at the same time, the play is weak in its prologue. The prologue is supposed to set the grounds for the story and to bring the chorus onto the stage quickly thereafter. Instead, it somewhat overwhelms the audience with the sheer numbers of characters on the stage. It also includes lengthy speeches by Theban Kings Creon and Oedipus, and the priest of Zeus. It therefore has the feel more of an episode than of the prologue.

Second Critic: 

The main criticism of 'Oedipus Rex' is the prologue. Its length gives it the feel and function of the longer episodes. It delays the important, first appearance of the chorus in the parados. It brings together a lot of people in a small space. So it adds an overwhelming, confusing note to the play's beginnings.

Third Critic:

Oedipus Rex is a classical Greek play about a guy fated to kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent this, his father orders him exposed at birth. The child is found and adopted. As an adult, he meets and kills his biological father without realizing who he is. Oedipus, still ignorant of his true identity, marries his mother. The moral: you can't escape your fate.

So What do you think?? Do you also agree with them??