Essays on Sophocles

Dear Sophocles,

I must begin by congratulating you for writing such an interesting play with many twists and turns. As the play unraveled, I could not help but wonder how long it took you to prepare the whole plot. What stood out for me was the nice interplay between characterization and themes. The use of stylistic devices was also crucial in developing the plot of the play. However, I was a little worried why you used a blind man to unravel a mystery (the killing of Laius) that no one else could understand. Was it your way of explicating sarcasm? Probably, ...

Introduction and Thesis

First published in 1922, Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room was her first novel to use modernist and impressionistic techniques. This paper will show that Woolf’s methodology (the way she wrote the novel) is intimately connected with the thematic preoccupations of the author: the method mirrors the message. Jacob’s Room is commonly seen as an indictment of the sterility and emptiness of modern civilization at the start of the twentieth century and it is true that at its heart is an existential angst that is presented vividly by Woolf. However, this paper will argue that Woolf uses ...

Company Overview

The Harley Davidson, Inc is a manufacturer of motorcycles in heavy weight category. The parent company consists of Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) and Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) . It offers a range of 30 models through a network of 1,600 dealers spread across six continents. It also provides retail and whole financing through its HDFS, primarily to dealer and customers. Recently, the company has reported an increase in its revenue to $5,311.71 million for the fiscal year ending Dec 2011. This is an increase of 9.31% over the previous year, which is 2010. Its operating profit has also increased to $ ...

Tragedy had a narrower and more specific meaning in ancient Greek society compared to the modern world, where it can refer to a wide variety of circumstances. For that matter, the structure and purpose drama in the ancient world was not simply for mass entertainment like contemporary films, plays and television programs, nor was it produced by private companies in expectation of making a profit. Just the opposite, it had a distinctly religious and educational purpose, particularly in demonstrating to the audience the fate of those who offended the gods. In these ancient tragedies, the hero or protagonist had a certain character flaw that ...

Economidoy, Electra, Klimi, Amalia, and Vivilaki, Victoria G. Caring for Substance Abuse Pregnant Women: The Role of the Midwife. Health Science Journal, 2012; 6(1): 161- 169.

This article explores evidence-based practices that can be used for caring for substance abuse pregnant women by midwife. The article is based on a through literature research based on the premise that proper approaches, support and health provision are critical in addressing drug abuse in pregnancy. The article also outlines the effects of substance abuse in pregnancy and postnatal period, provides ways of managing women who abuse drugs during pregnancy and provides a model care. The role of the midwife is described as being very important since she is the first professional a pregnant woman encounters when seeking maternity care. The article ...

Reflection Paper on Antigone

In the movie, Antigone the character Dionysus plays a pivotal role in shaping up the plot. This paper seeks to expound of this character by explains who this characters was. Dionysus unlike other characters in the movie was not human. Dionysus was a supernatural being who was treated as being a god in ancient Greek. However, it was believed in ancient Greece that Dionysus had human parents (Daly 26). Dionysus was the son of two Greek parents named Zeus and Semele. Dionysus was famous in the ancient Greek society because of the festival of Dionysus that was named after him. It was ...

1) Discuss some of the mythic and ritual elements, and the logical, rhetorical, and ethical aspects of Oedipus the King. Think about how Oedipus proposes to purge the city of the murder-pollution, the key arguments between Oedipus, Tiresius, and Creon, and the arguments Oedipus made to himself and acted upon to defeat the prophecy, the rhetorical device of irony that permeates the play, and the ethics of everyone's actions, the family members and others involved in the tragedy.

According to the traditional interpretations of classical drama, Oedipus the King was brought down by the gods or fate because ...

Fiction explores nature in a way that sometimes is more truthful than science. Even though for many years people believed that one was naturally inclined to love and cherish one’s parents, two thinkers two millennia apart expressed their opinions otherwise. The first of these was the artist, Sophocles in Oedipus Rex; the second, the scientists, Sigmund Freud, with his postulation of the notorious Oedipus complex. He saw a pattern in children, and himself, to go through a process in their infancy that was characterized by feeling attraction for one’s mother and the desire to kill one’s father. Freud remembered ...

Concept of justice

If there is one thing that deserves credit in the existence of mankind is the presence of a woman. Though they are neglected, abused and discriminated, they are the ones who hold the earth together. In Greek for example; antigone, Lysistrata and Odyssey were well nurtured and they stand out above their heads to be noticed as women of high integrity, determined to do their duties and uphold the moral principles of ancient woman. They always fight for there rights and demand justice in every action (Sophocles 665). Justice is an act of bringing people together in a community where there ...

In the book, Creon as Antigone’s uncle is a powerfully built strong man. He is, however, a weary and wrinkled old man suffering from the burdens of the rule. He portrays several character traits as portrayed in the book. He is seen as a person bound only to ideas making a good sense. This is portrayed as he only agrees with the things and other character’s ideas that make good sense. This is seen as he practically distances himself from the termed tragic aspirations of Oedipus and his entire line. He is dedicated to upholding only the righteous and important matters that ...

Cocteau makes references to the Oedipus as human. In essence, he represents him to possess human characteristics and traits. He illustrates Oedipus as a virginal youth. On the same note, Cocteau states that, Oedipus arrogance was too overwhelming in the interactions that he engaged in. In his interactions with Sphinx, she enables him escape a deadly situation. However the case, Oedipus does not recognize the fact that assistance had been abetted in his favor. His manifestations of arrogance are hence illustrated along these cones. In this regard, it is according to Cocteau view of what Oedipus was. He goes ahead to ...

Thesis

Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles that begins with the deaths of two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices; their deaths are caused by their own swords in a struggle for the throne after their father, Oedipus, dies. Creon, the relative who takes up the throne allows for an honourable burial of Eteocles but denies Polyneices the same respect. He issues a decree that Polyneices’ body be dumped in the wild and no respect to be paid for it. Antigone, Polyneices and Eteocles’ sister, learns of the decree but goes ahead to bury her brother, Polyneices, despite the orders given by the king, Creon ( ...

Oedipus Rex is an astounding and great Sophoclean play which portrays a tragic hero in a unique way. The play was composed during the ancient Greece time when Sophocles took advantage of the using character flaws in the drama. He gave Oedipus the role of a tragic hero to ensure that he captured the attention of the audience. Sophocles’ play was outstanding because the play-watchers felt to be part of it and experienced a catharsis of reactions. At the beginning of the play, Sophocles gives Oedipus a decidedly recognized character with a high sense of intelligence. Oedipus is portrayed as a privileged individual who is not ...

In the Greek play Antigone, there exist great conflicts between religious/moral laws vs. state/human law. The rebel (stubborn Antigone) and Creon the king, fully represent the conflicts that lie within the laws. Antigone believes that the god’s decrees accompanied by his family chores in taking care of his two brothers had a great importance than any other written laws and decrees by man. She dares to ignore all the written laws including the ones passed by the mighty Ruler of Thebes. She ignores the fact that the powerful King is her uncle and leaves no chance to bow to ...

Oedipus Rex, written by the Greek playwright Sophocles, tells the story of the titular King Oedipus, who reaches the status of King of Thebes only to become embroiled in an investigation into the murder of the previous king, Laius. Over the course of the play, he is informed of a prophecy in which he is said to kill his father and marry his mother; despite the inevitable nature of this prophecy, Oedipus refuses to believe it. However, once he is told that he was the one who killed King Laius unknowingly in a raid some time ago, he learns that he ...

Sophocles was one of the most prescient and well-regarded playwrights of Greek drama, whose tragedies have established many literary and theatrical conventions that are still alive today. While Sophocles’ work is indicative of the culture in which it was created, it is also a trenchant critique of human nature as well. This comes across especially clearly in his Theban plays – Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus – in which he uses his stories and characters to reflect flaws and issues he sees with the human condition and its relationship with the gods. Exploring these critical aspects of Sophocles’ Theban ...

Literature gives a reflection of the society we live in, authors are able to get their ideas from the issue that face the society and organize these ideas to come up with plays, novels, poems and even songs. Once one can connect what an author presents to the contemporary society, it is very easy to understand the themes and the ideas that the author reflects. 1. Compare and contrast the depiction of female characters in Oedipus Rex, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Glass Menagerie. What does each author suggest about the role of women in his society ...

Introduction

The main antagonist in the Theban plays, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, Creon undergoes a major character transformation. This is clearly indicated in the three roles he takes up in respective plays. In Oedipus the King, Creon is the loyal brother-in-law who is accused by the former of murder. He is depicted as a lover of his family and of the people of Thebes. In Oedipus at Colonus, this nature slowly fades away and he becomes devious and deceptive. As a king, Creon, a noble statesman finds himself between a rock and a hard place while he decides to stand for the ...

These two speeches are the most memorable speeches given. They might seem different but as I read through the two speeches they sounded similar, despite the fact that they were given two thousand years apart. The similarities are featured in length, content and in the situations whereby the two speeches are given. In Pericles' speech appreciation of the ancestors, the people who died for the country, the survivors, and their families served as the purpose for his speech. The speech also reminded the readers and the listeners of the benefits of having democracy as well as the goodness of ...

Antigone and Creon

Antigone and Creon are the main characters in the play Antigone by Sophocles. These two characters have opposed views on various issues but are alike in many ways. The play Antigone features these two central characters that have different set of values and loyalties against each other in the public. Despite their enormous discrepancies, Antigone and Creon have many similarities that make them uniquely alike in numerous ways. They are both loyal towards their views, independent as well as arrogant and hasty in decision making. However, Sophocles tried to make Creon and Antigone different, at the same time he ...

Poems are used in order to express the feelings of the poet towards the issues they write about. They are used to bring forth the meanings of things that happen in society as well as nature. Emotions are drawn from poems because of the way in which a poet chooses to present their thoughts and the same can be said about the poems Wild Geese by Mary Oliver and Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold. The two poems share a lot of similarities and differences too with regard to the language used and the meaning derived from them. There is also something ...

3 Short Essays

The conversation between Crito and Socrates took place inside the prison wherein Socrates was waiting for his execution. His loyal friend Crito arrived earlier before the break of dawn to tell Socrates to save his life by escaping from prison. By escaping, Crito will keep him as his true friend and will not be accused by people that he did not do what was needed to save a friend’s life. However, Socrates does not care about the majority’s opinion. What he was concerned about is his friends’ would be in trouble from the authorities after ...

The fabric of any prosperous political community in the world is bestrewn by threads of peace and social order. The desire for social order and peace catapulted human beings to surrender to some of their unalienable rights, bestowed upon by nature, in exchange for security from the government. John Locke asserts that life in the state of nature was short, nasty and brutish.The war of every man against every man acted as a catalyst for man to leave the state of nature and become party to a society governed by the rule of law. Although the rule of law is ...

- Introduction When literature is translated onto a stage, it becomes a play; it takes on a facet of reality that merely reading the words does not bring to the reader. Not every story translates perfectly into the medium of the play; plays have to have a lot of interaction between characters and environments to translate properly into theatre. Although there are certainly plays where not much happens, these plays are few and far between; most plays focus on the relationships between characters and their environments-- including the other characters that are present in the play. In theatre, the actors are ...

‘Instructor’s Name’

‘Subject’ Thinking Critically with Drama- Antigone Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles in or before 441 BCE. Although it is the last of the Oedipus trilogy, Antigone was written first and bagged the first prize at the Dionysia festival. The play deals with a female protagonist who acts against the order of the king, and in the process meets her untimely death. The conflicts between the two main characters Creon and Antigone, is a powerful human struggle, which is still relevant as it was during that day. It is a struggle of an individual against the establishment. Antigone by ...

The play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles begins with Oedipus the king explaining his concern about his citizens thus: “My zeal in your behalf ye cannot doubt; Ruthless indeed were I and obdurate, If such petitioners as you I spurned” (11-15). These lines clearly establish the fact that Oedipus is a good king and looks after his kingdom, Thebes, quite well. However, this is not enough. No matter how well Oedipus governs his kingdom or how valiant he is, tragedy befalls Oedipus through what can be said as “Hamartia”. Hamartia or tragic flaw is what brings down a great character and ...

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex essentially bulges, pregnant with the themes of hubris and hamartia that the Greek playwright so frequently used. It is the play’s protagonist, King Oedipus, who is the unfortunate soul born unto a terrible prophecy that foretold that he would one day kill his very own father and marry his mother. In order to prevent such a horrendous nightmare from occurring, Oedipus’ father sent baby Oedipus to be murdered but he was instead given to the childless king and queen of Corinth to be raised as their own. Oedipus in later years hears rumors of the prophecy. In ...

Just like anyone else, all characters in a story have their own historical background and information regarding their pasts. This information is usually very important in understanding their traits and their current lives. Therefore such information assist readers understand a specific story. This is what is referred to as exposition. Generally it can be defined as the historical background touching on the characters and setting in a given story usually at the beginning of the story. The major information is usually occurrences that took place before the story was initiated. Therefore it is usually the initial part of the plot. Therefore, in ...

The hard-boiled detective seems a decidedly modern invention – the noir gumshoe who cynically navigates a world that seems to conspire against him, working his way through a seedy culture that he can capitalize upon. With hard-boiled detectives in film and literature, there is often a measure of moral ambiguity, as the main character is conflicted between what he does for a living and who he wants to be, or is otherwise blind to the harsher truths that surround him. Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 noir film Chinatown certainly fits this description, with Jack Nicholson’s Jake Gittes being a dark, morose yet deeply motivated human ...

A story is written when a prediction is made. A character’s journey is laid out as they’re being guided towards their fate by the invisible hands of the Gods. Fate is as important today as it was thousands of years ago and this was the reason the Greeks incorporated the concept of fate in their stories and plays. While fate can decide a person’s well-being or destruction, the Greeks almost always depicted fate in a tragic sense. By depicting their heroes as prone to tragedy and fate, the ancient Greeks who conceived these fables might have been looking to ...

Introduction

Myth, particularly in the Greek tradition, places a great significance on place and location – cities such as Thebes, Athens and Crete are given almost mythical importance of their own through their roles in the characters’ journeys. In the case of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Thebes is both the setting and the goal of the story – Oedipus’ loyalty to Thebes, a suffering city, provides a complex goal and metaphor for Oedipus’ own journey to the truth of his own existence and past with King Laius. Thebes is just as much of a character in Oedipus Rex as Oedipus himself or any other figure, solidifying place’ ...

Philosophy

1. Antigone is presented a tragic hero in the book. In the modern Antigone, she sacrifices the relationship with the person she loved by refusing to disclose her secret. Similar to Kierkegaard, the pain of the family’s shameful secret burdens her. Because of the sensitive nature of the secret, she ought to keep it at all cost even if it means sacrificing love and promoting secrecy within a relationship. There is no doubt that disclosing the secret would put her and her family in a bad situation where they could face action, hence the necessity to keep it. 2. According ...

Introduction

Marriage is often considered as an important milestone in people’s lives and in ancient Greece; this was no different. The vast amount of ancient Greek literature that is currently in circulation features many themes with marriage being one of the most prevalent. Just like its definition of in the modern context, a marriage in ancient Greece was seen as a sacred bond between a man and woman. However, the Greek marriage had a lot of differences to the current type of marriage. The modern type of marriage dictates that the man are woman are equal partners, but this was not the case ...

World Literature

‘Antigone’ by Sophocles: Analyzing the importance of Teiresias in Greek tragedy Greek Literature speaks of ‘Antigone’ as the tragic play, which was written by Sophocles during 441 B.C. Some of the literary experts are of the view that the original manuscript belonged to years much before 441 B.C.; however, the lack of evidence certifying the earlier dates suggest the former as the age of this storyline (Leach). This play is an important asset that World Literature preserves with care, and serves as the source for many important inferences that can be drawn from each event that ...

Sophocles’ literary work “Antigone,” is one of the most popular books related to Greek mythology. Antigone, the central character of the book, believes that both her birth and family history instilled a desire of death in her instead of a desire for life. When Antigone realizes that Creon’s prohibition on burying a body is against the law of gods, she does not risk death to bury a child or a husband. However, in the case of her brother Polyneices, Antigone happily risks death to bury as she desires death to have a union with her brother that she longs for. The quote from the ...

The book “Antigone,” written by Sophocles is one of the most famous works on philosophy. The attitudes and actions of several characters in the play showcase gender and tragic morality. In regards to gender, Antigone showcases feminist logic, while Creon favors patriarchal society. While Creon demands the people to follow the laws set by him by ignoring religious and moral beliefs, Antigone believes that God’s laws lay above all other laws. The confrontation between Antigone and Creon gives rise to the conflicts between genders in “Antigone.” Excluding Antigone, Sophocles portrays the other female characters as timid before men. ...

Oedipus the King is one of the most eminent literary works in the history of literature. The work has stood the test of time, and has left an everlasting mark on the minds of the avid readers. The critics across the world have spoken in unison regarding the literary quintessence of the literary work. The character of the protagonist, Oedipus, is an immortalized literary character that embodies one of the most tragic fates in the history of literature. His characteristic traits set him apart, and the chronology of events in his life that shape him as an individual leaves a ...

In Othello and Oedipus we see characters that are vain and incapable of coming to peace with the truth that their lives have reached because the truth is deeply tragic. Both feel compelled to punish themselves. The manner of punishment that they inflict on themselves is different. This difference is revealing of the personalities of the two characters. When we compare literary characters, many considerations must be taken into account. What the plot of the story is; where does the character figure among other characters in the plot; and what the personality traits of the characters are, are few ...

It is clear that a modern and ancient audiences use different concepts and words to express their emotional credentials with tragic characters. According to Aristotle concept of pity and fear in more detail, that indicates why ancient audience may not apply to the modern theater. Aristotle legendarily recognized characteristic emotions produced by tragedy as eleos and phobos which simply means pity and fear. The concept explanation provides a valuable idea as to how ancient audience replied to tragedy. However, to take advantage of his insight, we must clearly understand his concept of pity and fear. Words, after all, change their meanings ...

Sophocles was an ancient Greek writer, who along with Aeschylus and Euripides had a great influence on the development of the dramaturgy in general and became the forefather of the tragedy in particular. Those several dramas that remained till nowadays (“Ajax”, “Antigone”, “Electra”, “Philoctetes”) are the masterpieces of ancient Greek literature, and “Oedipus the King” is recognized as one of the peaks of the world drama and the crown of a tragic theater. On the first stages of Athenian tragedy’s formation and development Aristotle was one of the first philosophers who determined the features of this form of dramaturgy. Sophocles ...

The definition of a tragic hero has become an issue of contention as many scholar come up with their definitions. Tragic heroes are characters who make decisions that destroy them in the end of the story; however the decisions are always good for them or for the society. In Oedipus Rex, the protagonist Oedipus is depicted as a tragic hero because of his strength, nobility, and his determination to find the murderer. In most tragic hero stories and plays, the tragic hero does something good for the people, which eventually destroy him or her. In addition, Jocasta cannot be considered as a ...

Law and the Language of Power

Laws are an essential part of life because they are necessary for there to be the order. There are both natural and man-made laws. Even at a very basic level where we eliminate man from the equation laws are necessities. For example, if nature opposed what we now term as the laws of physics then life on earth would not exist. The very premise of man-made laws is that they are designed to benefits persons in positions of power. The code of Hammurabi epitomizes this property of man-made laws. Natural laws on the other hand attempt to bring order in ...

Oedipus, Sophocles’ Greek Tragic hero is a king who in fulfilling the Oracle’s prophecies unknowingly kills his own father and marries his own mother. Born to the King Laois and ordered to be killed because of the prophecy, Oedipus is raised by Polybus of Corinth and eventually becomes king. Oedipus’ life follows the trajectory of a Greek tragic hero, but it isn’t fate alone that is at play but his faults too that contribute to his downfall. The play traces the ascension of Oedipus as a king, his despair and sorrow when he realizes the truth and the final inner ...

In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the young king Oedipus must deal with demons from his past and the uncertain nature of his future, as he learns the fate of the previous king and the ways in inextricably ties with his own parentage (and marriage to the former king’s bride). Oedipus Rex, being a tragedy, deals primarily with the phenomenon of dramatic irony, in which the main character does not know things that will inexorably change their point of view once they know it. Oedipus is directly contrasted with the prophet Tiresias, who is without eyesight but has a much better sense ...

The theme of tragedy presents itself in different ways in Medea by Euripides, Medea by Anouilh, Antigone by Sophocles and Antigone by Anouilh. Anouilh, who is a French writer, rewrites the two plays (Medea and Antigone) in a manner that incorporates modern ways of life into the storylines. For example, in Medea, Anouilh writes of a celebration that involves free wine, food and street dance to mark the betrothal of Jason to Creusa. That is a deviation from the play written by Euripides.

Apart from retelling the story of Medea and Antigone from a slightly different perspective, Anouilh handles tragedy in a different manner from ...

Dover Beach” is a poem of a dramatic monologue nature written by Matthew Arnold. The poem seems to be set near Dover which is along the south eastern English Coast. Arnold uses some natural phenomena including the sea calmness and the rising and falling of waves to describe some aspects of human nature. The poem starts with a description of a relatively quiet scene. There is a couple (most likely Arnold and his wife) looking out into the waters of the English Channel and listening to the sounds of the rising and falling of waves. The sound made by the waves make Arnold ...

Introduction

Oedipus tragedy is predicted even before his birth in the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, as his father, Laius, will meet his fatal death in his hand and he will marry his own mother, Jocasta, when he grows up. The oracle is the major reason for his parents to infanticide him. Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, adverts Oedipus as a best example of tragic hero ever. Aristotle’s panorama about Oedipus is vividly described in the following lines: “must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous-a personage like Oedipus” (Poetics XIII paragraph 2) and “he who hears the tale ...

Introduction:

As in Oedipus the King, a major theme in Othello is man's inability to reliably distinguish between what seems to be and what actually is. Explain how this shared theme of "uncertain vision" is treated somewhat differently in Othello than it is in Oedipus the King.

In this land, said the god; "who seeks shall find; Who sits with folded hands or sleeps is blind."

Thesis: The shared theme of "uncertain vision" is treated somewhat differently in Othello than it is in Oedipus the King Argument: Oedipus and Othello both suffer because they believe lies that others told. However the motivations behind those lies, and the reasons for believing them are different. Iago lies out of ...

Motion in the basic and simple functions in a movie or artistic work is to break the monotony that could accrue from still scenes. When the actors and actresses move about during the film, it helps the viewer or the audience in general to accept and appreciate newer scenes that would be equally interesting. This is one benefit that the motion has over still scenes and still films, where all the scenes are acted, or role played in a still or stagnant place. The overriding disadvantage of motion is that the viewer or the audience may lose grip and control of ...

Introduction

Laws are intended to enforce and reflect the ethical and moral standards in a society that is civilized. Laws are used in civilized societies as fundamental instruments for controlling the behavior of man. There is a slight difference between ethics and morals that should be outlined. Morality deals with the aspects that are regarded as wrong or right. Morality originates from the conscience of the individual and from the values of a society that are based on political principles or religious traditions. A moral conduct, therefore, is that which is considered right in the conscience of the doer and the values of ...

Aristotle was one of the greatest Greek philosophers. He wrote on many areas including, meteorology, climate, biology, animal anatomy, psychology and ethics. His philosophical works focused on logic and the use of inference and deduction. He also wrote a number of works on the arts including the structure of the Greek Play. For the ancient Greeks, the tragic play was the greatest form of drama, and Aristotle ideas of Greek Tragedy and the tragic hero were based on the views of the times. According to Golden, Aristotle’s defined a Greek Tradgedy as, ". . . an imitation of a noble and complete action, having ...

[In Montmartre – Paris, France, at a fancy outdoor terrace, served by a young American boy.] [Enter Antigone, followed by Gregor Samsa, who pursues Antigone everywhere, declaring his true love for her] ANTIGONE: By Zeus, dear Insect, please offer me no more dishonor and allow me to rest at this table, thinking of my own troubles. GREGOR SAMSA [with a squeaky voice]: Good Lady, I mean no harm to your exquisite beauty. I ask only to listen to the soft tone of my voice, to sense my true soul and see me as a person. Because I am a deeply in ...

In Sophocles’ Theban play Antigone, the titular character defies the orders of her king in order to permit an honorable burial for her brother, who had just rebelled against the state of Greece. By showing the flaws of the state, Antigone is successful in her suicide; Antigone’s steadfast dedication to the individual and the family unit (supported by the gods) is a harsh critique of the cold-hearted nature of the state, as well as the corrupting nature of power. While Antigone knows systemic oppression as a woman, she knows she must fight for what she feels is right; Creon is ...

Gender is a social construct, not tied to sex in any neat, definitive manner and hence, amenable and open to (re)construction in order to challenge power relations. This paper explores gendered power relations in Euripedes’ Medea and Sophocles’ Antigone, in an endeavour to explicate upon how such relations manifest themselves in the text, and thereby, shape, influence and contribute to an understanding of the overwhelmingly misogynist and patriarchal social reality of ancient Greece. The paper also seeks to take issue with the use of language as mediating an elucidation and plurification of meaning/s in the text, and aiding in ...

According to the ancient Greeks, a hero was an immortal religious figure that had received cult honors and was anticipated to come back, so to bring prosperity to the entire community (that worshiped the hero), including the animals and the fertility of the crops (Nagy). However, a hero could also be a mortal, hence a literary figure, whose life had to undergo an ordeal, in order to receive immortalization after he dies (Nagy). Born with a heavy legacy already on his shoulders, Oedipus spent his entire life trying to avert an ominous prophecy that placed him as the person that would kill his ...

This paper seeks to take issue with Freud’s visitations to Hamlet, the vicissitudes of the Oedipal in Freudian analyses, the text and the meaning/s thereof, with a focalised interest in Freud’s essay ‘On Repression in Hamlet.’ It seeks to delineate the basic tenets ingrained in Freud’s essay, the critical readings in psychoanalytic literary criticism with reference to Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet’s visits to the ‘Oedipal’ shrine and the reverential treatment meted out as evinced by the essay and a close analysis of the text. The aim of the paper, therefore, is to initiate a critical dialogue with Freud’ ...

Artist biography MAX ERNST (1891-1976)

Max Ernst is a German painter, sculptor and poet. He's one of the brightest figures of Surrealism. The artist was born in 2 April 1891 in Brühl, Germany. He was a second child in a catholic family of Philipp and Luise Ernst (Fiedorek). In 1908, Max Ernst graduated from the lyceum in his native town, and in 1909 he started studying philosophy in the University of Bonn. During his studies at university, Ernst thoroughly studied psychology and showed a great interest to the art of mentally ill people. Soon young Ernst left the university and fully devoted himself to art. A ...

Introduction

In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, fate and free will play a central role, around which all characters revolve and knit their lives, one way, or another. On the one side, there are characters that play along with what their society demands, meaning they accept that fate drives people in a pre-determined path, where no deviations are possible, or have a meaning. On the other hand, there is Oedipus, who strongly advocates his right to have free will and the freedom to express himself, and drive his life where he wants. Oedipus’ actions eventually led to his destruction, making it seem ...

The issue of free will versus predestination is something that is present in quite a bit of fiction and mythology; mankind’s belief that it is in control of its choices often goes against the grain of religious belief in gods that have master plans for us all. Two of the most fascinating examples in early literature and religion are Job from the Hebrew Bible and Oedipus from Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King. Both of these characters struggle with divine misfortune that is dispensed upon them seemingly without cause, leading them to wonder as to the nature of the world ...

Since time immemorial, people have been generating strong figures to look up to. These physically powerful figures are known as heroes. The presentation of these heroes in traditional mythological heroes is very different with that of modern day fictional hero stories. However, these heroes are created in related ways. They have to protect those in danger, despite the challenges they face. In classical mythological hero stories, the heroes are presented as infallible and set apart from the community. The heroes are expected to be in aid of the people in time of distress and fight the enemies on their behalf. ...