Sophocles and KING OEDIPUS
description
Transcript of Sophocles and KING OEDIPUS
496 B.C.-406 B.C. Greek playwright Wrote tragedies Poet Wrote Theban plays (The Oedipus Cycle) Introduced third actor
Ancient city in Greece Setting for many tragedies, including
Sophocles’
Dionysus was god of wine and fertility Only male actors Playwrights competed against each other in
categories of comedy and tragedy Sophocles competed here
Unity of action- play has one main action it follows
Unity of time- play takes place within 24 hours
Unity of place- play takes place within one physical space, geography is not compressed
Hubris- can mean an exaggerated self-pride; in Ancient Greece Hubris referred to actions taken against a victim to shame and humiliate him, making the aggressor seem superior.
Catharsis- purification or cleansing; a cathartic experience
Hamartia- error in judgment; sin
Blindness vs. sight Self-knowledge Pride Truth Responsibility Fate/destiny vs. choice The Matrix, Stranger Than Fiction, Deja Vu,
any more?
Noble birth Hamartia- Tragic flaw leads to downfall-hero
dies Peripeteia-Reversal of fortune Self-awareness/self-knowledge-moment of
recognition Audience fears and pities character-
punishment does not fit crime Middling character-
Take a few guesses as to what he will do after you have read the introduction to the play.