Whether we are born into a predestined life, or one with free will, is a question that boggles our minds. Similar to such a concept is the case in Sophocles' play, Oedipus Rex. An underlying question that lingers within this play tends to ask if fate dominates free? In the play, Oedipus' violent a...

The art of performing plays in front of audiences had been around years before Ancient Greek society. Even earlier civilizations used plays to entertain and embody happiness, sorrow, and anger, sharing these emotions with their audiences. It wasn't until the Golden Age of Greece that the ancient ar...

The great philosopher Aristotle once said that "tragedy is the imitation of actions and of life" (521). Another great philosopher, Plato, counter stated that "representation is far removed from reality" (425). Plato disagrees with Aristotle because he believes that the imitation ...

Sophocles and Aristotle: The Rules of Writing Writing, particularly story writing, is an art. When a person sets out to create a painting, there are certain rules of composition that need to be followed. In the art of writing, it is the same. There are rules of composition for writing and they...

A tragedy is a play, story, or other literary work, which arouses terror or pity by a series of misfortunes or sad events. The plot is usually about the downfall of a great man. Many take it a step farther and say that the main character or the person who experiences the downfall brings it upon hi...

Oedipus Rex is a tragedy of a man who attempts to flee a prophecy out of fear of what the future may hold for him, and in doing so blindly falls straight into his tragic fate. The use of literary devices in this play such as irony, metaphor, and reversal of the situation in this play help to weave S...

Oedipus Rex In the story of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, there are many scenes that use anagnorisis. Anagnorisis is the recognition by the tragic hero of some truth about his or her identity or actions that accompanies the reversal of the situation in the plot. The scene that uses anagnorisis is Sc...

The theatre in the City Dionysia was a great semi-circle on the slope of the Acropolis, with rows of stone seats. The front row consisted of marble chairs; these were reserved for the priests of Dionysus and the chief magistrates. Beyond the front row was a circular space called the orchestra, where...

The legend of King Oedipus has withstood the test of time in its existence through many centuries. Sophocles, an Ancient Greek Playwright, composed the most renowned version of this epic tale. Seneca published another version, and although it is considered the lesser of the two, it is still a popul...

Antigone, written by Sophocles, is one of the three dramatic plays with a tragic ending. There are many themes in this play, however in order to understand this play in depth, there are three major themes the reader must identify. These themes are hubris, or better known as pride, Antigone's g...

For Love of The Dead Antigone Often times in life it is the smallest creatures that take upon themselves the task of carrying the largest loads. Trudging on, though burden after burden is stacked upon their shoulders. Never was there a more blatant representation of this fact than can be fou...

Although ancient Greece was a male-dominate society, Sophocles' Antigone, portrays women as being strong and capable of making wise decisions. In this famous tragedy, Sophocles uses the characters Ismene and Antigone to show the different characteristics and roles that woman are typical of i...

The medium of expression, also known as the marriage of language and action is theaters' most impressive mechanism. It is through this medium that theater is capable of creating a world both on stage and in the imagination. Verbal cues are a significant component in constructing this space. Eve...