Carmen's review
Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus (Cambridge Translations from Greek Drama) by Sophocles
I don't know, how can one give Sophocles a rating? Although it is a classic and one of the pillars of the Western literary canon, I took off a star because it was too sad! I know that makes me a sap but poor King Oedipus, my goodness! Was he too proud? Too confident of his accomplishments? Or maybe that he had the gall to believe that one could escape his fate? And why that fate? Aristotle was certainly correct in referring to Sophocles as having mastered Tragedy. And the Chorus: "Oh, generations of men, When I add you together, You amount to nothing. For who, who wins more of happiness than the mere appearance, an appearance that fades away? With your example before me, Your fate, yours, O wretched Oedipus, I reckon no mortal happy." Yikes. Reminded me of the severity of Macbeth's famous lines "Out, out brief candle..." Maybe Plato was right, maybe we should get rid of Tragedy altogether. Or perhaps that is blasphemous.
I can't believe you're reading both Oedipus Tyrannus and Aristotle's Poetics. I just assigned both to my honors English class after sensing a need for some firmer foundation for criticism. This is my first time through Poetics.
What a coincidence, and obviously the two works do go hand in hand. I think your students will really appreciate it, it will prepare them for college level reading and analysis. Another story it reminded me of was Edgar Allen Poe's "Masque of the Red Death," in the sense that that story is also about a rich man trying to distance himself from his fate or avoiding the inevitable. I hope your class enjoys it, let me know how they respond.
