Oedipus #4

The stylistic techniques used in this play are interesting and helpful to notice while reading the play.

"Men of Thebes, always first in honor", this passage uses imagery to allow the reader to picture men of great honor, maybe warriors or fighting men. Possibily a warring country/civilization.

"I tell you neither the waters of the Danube nor the Nile can wash this palace clean", this passage uses both imagery and allusions to connect with the reader. This imagery is used to have the readers picture such a mess that a great amount of water can't clean it. And the allusions to the Danube and the Nile are used to gives something to the readers to use as comparison and to assume the amount of water being talked about.

Sophocles also uses words that represent a harvest of some sort; "Your father killed his father, sowed his mother, / one, one and the selfsame womb sprang you - / he cropped the very roots of his existence". Using the connection to plants/harvesting, the imagery is much more indepth because fertilization in humans is easily connected with that of the earth. This passage makes for a good use of literary techniques throughout Sophocles' play.

Oedipus #3

The Point of View and the Characters are very important to the understanding of the play. The story is told from the viewers point of view, but Oedipus is the main character. This remains steady throughout the play. The reader gets to know the characters well, but not as well as a novel because it is a play and all that is being read are the cues and the speech.

From the characters' words, the reader can determine each of their characteristics and personalities. "No - / god's sake, master, no more questions!" this shows that the Shepherd is a more reserved man and has deep emotions regarding what took place with the baby that he was given.

Oedipus is presented as a ruler that seems high on his horse, but throughout the play, he becomes paranoid with the idea that his prophesized fate has/will come true. he begins to become obsessive with finding his innocence.

By giving the reader the knowledge of Oedipus' fate and writing the play to show Oedipus slowly but surely figuring out the truth, makes for a true tragedy. We watch Oedipus suffer as he struggle to find out that his mother and father aren't truly his mother and father. And, also that he stays away from them to avoid any harm done to them when his actions aren't neccessary because they aren't the parents he would kill.

Sophocles sets us up to sympathize for Oedipus because of his fall from greatness. He has no knowledge of the workings that brought him to the parents that raised him. No blame can be put on him for his life happenings. Sophocles writes this play in the most tragic way.

Oedipus #2

The background information that we learned about is very helpful while reading the play. It helps with the visualization of the play itself, such as, the chorus and the three main characters. Also, the knowledge that the scenery was just being added at this time allows for a good image of backdrops and objects being used to help with the feeling of the setting.

For example, the cue says, "Enter JOCASTA from the palace". This cue is helpful because in class we learned that there was being to be painted scenery and all woman were played by men. These facts help me picture the play.

Sophocles also increased the complexity of the plots and characters. This is a sign that something big will probably happen because with that kowledge, we know that the plot is not going to be straight forward.

I've been tracking the motif and recurrence of rumors and how they affect the characters and I found this quote intruiging; "Loose, ignorant talk started dark suspicious / and a sense of injustice cut deeply too". This quote also adds to the idea of a complex plot. From this, the reader can conclude that something important will happen. We can conclude that there might be something deeper going on with the story that just what seems apparent.

Also, because Dionysus is the God of the life cycle and vegetation, the reader sees aspects of this throughout the play; "My baby / no more murdered his father than Laius suffered- / his wildest fear - death at his own son's hands". This shows the life cycle. Marriage and having children are each a part of life. Even though this quote is not a happy quote about family relationships, it still gets the job done in making the connection.