‘Blind’ The King
Fascinated by essay question four, the use of the word blind, metaphorically and literally caught my attention as throughout the play Oedipus’s ignorance towards the situation describes his metaphorical blindness as he continuously attempts to solve the riddle of who … Continue reading →
Oedipus: Divine fate or free will?
When presented with this story, I was very skeptical about how much meaning I could get out of it. Oedipus kills his father, and has intercourse with his mother. We all know the story. But as we started discussing it (especially during the lecture) I was able to extract enormous amounts of information from my […]
Oedipus the King
The first text of the year was, I admit, not one I was particularly enthusiastic about. As I read through the text, Oedipus’ unfolding tragedy (which I had learned about several times in the past) seemed to me as a foretold train wreck: a man who, curse upon curse, sealed his own destiny. However, looking at […]
Six Obols None the Richer
C.S. Lewis was mentioned in the lecture today, which reminded me, of all things, of a song from a 90s teen movie. The movie is She’s All That (Pygmalion in high school, not stellar), and the song is ‘Kiss Me’. It’s … Continue reading →
On Phalluses and Satire and Sitcoms
Last class, we discussed the origins of Greek tragedy from the very phallic-heavy fertility ritual of the diathyramb into an entirely new form of storytelling that used new techniques such using actors to show events taking place rather than solely relying on a … Continue reading →
“How could you quench the fire of your eyes?”
… asks the leader of the chorus upon learning of Oedipus’ self-blinding (P85, line 1729). Such poetical phrasing is what we’d expect of the chorus, of course. In Greek tragedy the dialogues constituting the episodes were prosaic in comparison with … Continue reading →
Screwed Either Way
My impression of the story of Oedipus, at least at this point, is that the man starts the play in a situation of immense pressure, and that makes his demise is circumstantially inevitable. As a benevolent king, he cares about … Continue reading →
Sailing The Ship of State
I could very much use this post to promote The Empire of Celestria and my other hobbies, but I shall not, but from my own understanding of Antigone is that Antigone and Kreon are jousting in a ideological battleground. On one side of the field, Antigone is the knight (alluring to Kierkegaard) of the Gods […]
Girl, interrupted: Antigone’s unfinished revolution
The title of this blog is derived from a movie that I have never seen and that may or may not have some resonance with Antigone. The film — “Girl, Interrupted” — centres around an 18 year old who is … Continue reading →
The Chorus in Antigone
Reading Antigone, I was surprised at the effect (or lack thereof) the chorus had on the rest of the play. I have never before read a Greek play, and was taken aback at how the chorus was used. The only other story I’ve read that involved a chorus was the Penelopiad, in which the chorus […]