An Annotated Bibliography of Articles on Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex'

o Overgang tussen historisch besef en de zee aan mythen wordt gevormd door een reeks gebeurtenissen/personen/… die in de tijd worden aangeduid dmv hun positie tav de structurele referentiepunten (maw de verwantschapsstructuur en afstamming)

With this, Armstrong states that myths influence various cultures and societies, past and present. Myths gave emotional insight to many cultures, and allowed men and women to experience the insight firsthand. Though many people today view mythology as mere boring, uninteresting “fairytales” of unrealistic gods, Armstrong presents the underlying meanings lie in the pathetic fallacies within the myths, such as thunderstorm representing

Oedipus, a tragic hero, faces dilemma when a plague threatens the city of Thebes. In his despair, he desperately searches for the truth in order to determine why this plague exist. However, what we can learn from this story is how Oedipus’ search for the truth leads him to his downfall.

Dark times are upon Thebes.As Oedipus, the same Oedipus who used his quick wits and cunning to defeat the Sphinx, strides onto his palace's outer balcony, he can see that the same dark cloud is still looming over his city."What am I ever to do to get this city out of this mess," he quietly thinks to himself while surveying the death and pain that lay just an eyesore away.This dark cloud that is hanging over Thebes, foreshadowing a future of destruction and desolation, is the plague that has engulfed the population.Men,women, and children dying at a rapid pace and everything seems doomed.As Oedipus gyrates his head down towards the gate of his home, he sees a proscession of priests approaching, accompanied by a group of young children with suppliants on their heads.

Myths have value in today’s society because of their moulding effect on people, culture, and society. This essay will

Myth is a genre that is extremely fascinating to the human mind to such a great degree, that it completely captures an individual into a whole new state. Myth or Mythos, as it is known in Greece, received its origins from the Greek. Mythos means ‘story’ or ‘word’ which articulate how characters undergo or enact an ordered sequence of events via narratives that are symbols from the past. Moreover, these narratives concern cosmology and cosmogony , ‘the origin of nature of the universe’. There are quite a number of general conceptual frameworks involved in definitions of myth such as Cosmogonic Narratives, Narratives of the Sacred Nature and as Formative or Reflective of Social Order or Values within a culture. A strong aspect about myth is the

Over the extensive history of the theatre arts, most of the many plays and productions fall into unique categories in regards to structure. The two most simplest of the structural categories are climactic and episodic. A climactic structure, or alternatively known as an intensive structure, contains a play in which all components are restricted as the main conflict in the story commences late into the play and only a little time passes until the story occurs. Everything is restricted to a few components. There are not as many characters, scenery change and very limited amounts of action. climactic structures focuses heavily on the climax in contrast to other structures. One notable example of a climactic performance is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The story of Oedipus is that of tragedy and despair as Oedipus and his family are unable to escape the fate that Oedipus has had since birth. The exposition and starting action (in this case, the events that led up to him to being king of Thebes) occur before the play and is only ever talked about. The play only takes place in the castle and has only four primary characters. Ultimately, Oedipus Rex only takes place within a day and primarily focuses on the realization and aftermath of the story of Oedipus and his sins, or the climax. All these components that define a climactic structure of production are found in the aforementioned play by Sophocles, strengthening what a climactic structure is and the vast potential a climactic play

The word “myth” can be used in so many ways and it can also have so many different meaning based on the contents of the word. It can have a religious tone to it, where it describes the foundations of some people’s belief system as most religions do. In an extreme case it can shape someone’s way of life. It can also be used as an escape from reality in

The primary function of classical mythology is didactic. That is, a majority of classical myths are either constructed with the intention to instruct, or utilised as an explanatory tool (Strabo, Geography 1.1.10, 1.2.3, 1.2.8-9). This is proven by the fact that there is an abundance of didactic features throughout many myths. The instructional and explanatory impact of classical mythology comes through the narratives of events in the celestial and heroic realms of a mythic past. Such narratives explain aetiology and the current state of affairs such as gender roles and ancient concepts.

As many of the past and present scholars will agree, the study of mythology provides us with valuable insight into the culture of ancient societies. As narratives have been passed down from generation to generation, the interpretations of these stories or myths have diversified significantly, allowing us as readers to view them through a plethora of different lenses. One of the most significant methods of analysis regarding mythology is the antirational approach taken by many mythologists and philosophers. Antirationalists are those who favor metaphorical interpretations of myth, believing that traditional tales hide profound meanings within their fictional and fantastical elements. As emphasized by Mark Morford in Classical Mythology, antirationalists

When looking at Myth it is easy to get lost in the epic stories of Hero’s and Heroines as you go on an adventure with them through real places and time, facing their trials and tribulations like Agamemnon and the sack of Troy, or following Zeus on one of his many adventures. Whilst cultures don’t seem to question the authenticity, modern scholars try and make sense of them, by reading ancient hymns and scripts and theorising why the myth was created in the first place.

The analysis of mythology in relation to society establishes a commonality among humanity, as well as the analyzation of various cultural perspectives and values around the world. Thus forth we see the origins of mythology diversely interpreted and analyzed by the context of culture. Myths “symbolize” and “embody” human experience in relation to a cultures beliefs and values (Rosenberg, 1999). Despite the various roots in which a myth may originate and or the level of cultural recognition, it is evident myths exist in all societies. Myths allow humanity to embody culture, tradition and spirituality. Myths fulfill the human desire to express an established identity or sense of oneself. This perspective aligns with Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of internalization of the environment and the “unconscious mind”. It is my perspective that cultures are built upon the comprehension and generalization of such stories. Mythological legends or beliefs serve as the fundamental purpose in which humans identify and tradition is formed. Through individual interpretation a set of cultural values and norms develop. Societies refer to such stories as a reference or guide through spiritual and religious origins. In time myths and their intended purpose evolve to accommodate an ever changing society. In this essay I will examine a “The Aeneid” a poem of epic portion, using the theoretical approach of feminism and anthropology. I will further analyze how a myth develops alongside its

Myths are generally known to be the reflection of ancient people 's thoughts and vision about the world which surrounded them. Due to this assumption, the word 'myth ' appeared to have a number of connotations, which denote a contemporary man and his thoughts and vision, i.e. the way he perceives this word and reality. The scholars whose expertise fall within the field of myths and their investigation claim that myth as a genre of literature reflect the human history from the point of view of the culture which took place. In other words, the phenomenon of myths serves as a connection between ancient and contemporary generations.

The word ‘myth’ is derived from the Greek word ‘mythos’, which means a traditional tale common to the member of a tribe, race or nation. It usually involves the supernatural elements to explain some natural phenomenon in boldly imaginative terms. Today myth has become one of the most prominent terms in contemporary literature analysis. It was Northrop Frye, one of the most influential myth critics (others including Robert Graves, Francis Fersusson, Richard Chase, Philip Wheelwright), who discovered certain formulas in the word order. He identified these formulas as the “conventional myths and metaphors” which he calls "archetypes". C.G. Jung was of the view the materials of the

The ‘Emancipation of Thought from Myth’ (1946) is an essay written by J Barnes which explains the theories of philosophical and mythopoeic thinking in reference to the Pre-Socratics influence in human knowledge of thinking. Throughout this essay I will be explaining the concepts of philosophical and mythopoeic thinking and how they were related to the Pre-Socratics. In addition to that I will elaborate on who they initially were by referring to specific thinkers. Thereafter in conclusion I will enlighten on why the Pre-Socratics (600BC - 470BC) were regarded as philosophical thinkers rather than mythopoeic.