AP Lecture Notes: Sophocles etc.

We begin our study of Greek tragedy with Oedipus Rex, and in order to facilitate our understanding of this play we need to understand a few things.

1. Sleeping with your mom is not a good idea.
2. Nor is having excessive pride and stubbornness.
3. Brooch pins, when wielded by grieving son-husbands, can cause ocular injury.

In other words, this play would NOT make a good pop-up book, although it would be very interesting.

Here are some things we went over in class today:

Aristotilean tragedy is categorized by several elements:

1. The protagonist must be of noble birth.
2. The protagonist must have a character flaw (hamartia) that is often pride (hubris).
3. The play will feature a metaphorical fall from a great height--the protagonist will lose prestige, position, power, and possibly life.

Some Greek dramas adhere to the sense of Aristotilean unities as well--unity of space (one setting), unity of action (one central plot with no subplots), and unity of time (taking place within a 24-hour period.) Sophocles was considered by many of his contemporaries to be a master dramatist, and his Theban trilogy his masterpiece.

Sophocles led a multi-faceted life, serving in the Senate and military and becoming a wealthy landowner. You can read a more thorough biography of him in your anthology, but be sure to ask me about the significance of Oedipus at Colonus used as a defense in a trial held to determine his competence.

The Theban trilogy focuses on the fall of Oedipus and his offspring, and begins with Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King.) In this play, a plague has descended on the city of Thebes, killing its people, and King Oedipus sends his brother-in-law (uncle, really) to the Oracle at Delphi to determine the cause. The oracle reveals cryptically that the murderer of former King Laios must be brought to justice before the plague can abate, and Oedipus devotes himself to uncovering the murderer's identity only to discover the sordid truth.

In order to read this play from a 21st century perspective, you must adopt what Coleridge called "the willing suspension of disbelief." In other words, you are going to have to accept some outrageous coincidences at face value, and look at a society with different mores with as objective a gaze as possible.

Other elements of note:

Dramatic irony: Ancient Greek audiences did not rely on suspense to carry them through a performance; they already knew the storyline and wanted to see the characters undergo their epiphanies. This form of irony can serve as a substitute for suspense and is integral to understanding Greek tragedy. We already know Oedipus is doomed, and why--our enjoyment/curiosity comes from watching him figure it all out.

Thespis: the first actor; he adapted the Dionysian rituals for performance purposes.

Aeschylus: the innovator who added a second actor, thus creating the opportunity for conflict.

Sphinx: (I drew such an amazing Sphinx on the board! You should see it. And those are forelegs, not anything obscene.) The part-man, part-eagle, part lion beastie who held the city of Thebes in captive thrall for many years.

Oedipus: "swollen foot," which could refer to a congenital club foot or the injury sustained when the infant's feet were pinned together.

Jocasta/Iocasta: his mommy-wife. In other words, time for a psychological complex DELUXE.

Laios: His father and the former king. Oedipus killed him long before this play opens, not knowing his identity.

Kreon/Creon: Jocasta's brother and the man who uncovers what had gone horribly wrong.

Eteocles, Polyneices, Ismene, and Antigone: the inbred offspring of Oedipus and Jocasta. Not good marriage material.