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Characterisation and characters in sophocles oedipus and antigone
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Oedipus Rex – Characterization
This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.
Seth Benardete in “Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus” portrays the protagonist in just one dimension of his well-rounded character, that of a suffering soul:
Everyone else is ill, but no one is as ill as Oedipus, for all the rest suffer individually, while he alone suffers collectively. He is a one like no other one. As ruler he is like the one that without being a number is the principle and measure of all numbers. Oedipus’ illness or disease is truly unequal to the citizens,’ for he is the source of theirs, but he regards himself as ill only because his grief is the sum of each partial grief. Oedipus always speaks for the city as a whole (109).
As protagonist, Oedipus is at the center of the story. The dialogue, action and motivation revolve about the characters in the story (Abrams 32-33). Werner Jaeger in “Sophocles’ Mastery of Character Development” pays the dramatist Sophocles the very highest compliment with regard to character development:
The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).
Surely it can be said of Sophocles’ main characters that they grow beyond the two dimensional aspect into really rounded physical presences. This is done through mostly the showing technique, though the chorus at times is involved in telling the audience various pieces of information. At the outset of Oedipus Rex the reader sees a king who comes to the door full of curiosity: “Explain your mood and purport. Is it dread /Of ill that moves you or a boon ye crave?” When the priest has responded that the people are despairing from the effects of the plague, the king shows another dimension to his character with his deep sympathy for his subjects: “Ye sicken all, well wot I, yet my pain, /How great soever yours, outtops it all.
Sophocles style of plot structure was usually to begin in media res. This is particularly true of Oedipus Tyrannus. When the reader or audience is first introduced to the main character, Oedipus is already a grown man and king of his country. In the first few lines, talk of a "fiery plague ravaging the city" is mentioned (Sopochles 3). In the very early stages of the play the reader begins to feel pity for Oedipus and recognizes his suffering. The time span is also another important factor to consider when analyzing the plot structure. The play in its entirety takes place within a one to two day period. The flashback scenes into Oedipus' childhood give the audience a better sense of the big picture, but can be misleading when focusing on the time aspect element.
Sophocles: A collection of critical essays edited by Thomas Woodward: Oedipus at Colonus. Whitman, Cedric H. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1966.
Sophocles. Four Plays by Sophocles. Trans. Thomas H. Banks. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966.
Boston: Pearson, 2013. 1396-1506. Print. The. Sophocles. “Oedipus the King” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing.
A human being begins life as a single cell. This cell changes throughout its life time to develop into a unique individual. Human development is the scientific study of the patterns associated with this change in accordance with the internal and external conditions of its existence (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2009). In exploring human development, there are three key areas that need to be addressed. These comprise of physical development, cognitive development and finally psychosocial development. Within each of these areas, it is apparent that most address three key issues. Firstly, is the development process continuous or a series of discontinuous stages? Secondly is there one path of development characteristics or does the individual take an active or passive role resulting in several possible paths and directions? Thirdly how do the genetic or environmental factors influence development? “Theorists such as Erikson and Piaget assume that developmental change occurs in distinct, discontinuous stages and all individuals follow the same sequence and order”(Hoffnung, Seifert, Smith, Hine, Ward & Quinn, 2010, p.34). While Brofenbrenner’s, ecological systems theory emphasises the broad range of situations and contexts in which development occurs making it a continuous process guided by the individual (Hoffnung,et al., 2010, p.35).
[1] According to the American Lung Association, in 2007 about 34.1 million Americans, including 9 million children, were diagnosed with asthma during their lifetime. In Australia, there are a total of around 2 million people who had asthma; this ...
Sophocles uses a mixture of both visual and emotional imagery to create the morally questioning, Greek tragedy ‘Oedipus Tyrannos’. He presents the audience with an intense drama, which addresses the reality and importance of the gods that the Greeks fervently believed in. The play also forces the audience to ask themselves if there is such a concept as fate.
Self-healing materials have developed greatly over time however still use the same fundamental materials. Originally, they were made by mixing DCPD filled microcapsules and crystals of Grubbs’ catalyst in an epoxy resin. The resin was then placed in a silicon mould that helps measure the toughness of the cracks.
Owen, E. T. "Drama in Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus." 20th Centruy Interpretations of Oedipus Rex. Ed. Micheal O'Brien. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 33-35. Print.
For many years, psychologists have been interested in the Theory of Mind (ToM) and its effects on non-human animals and also humans. Theory of Mind is referred to ‘the ability to attribute mental states – beliefs, knowledge, intentions, desires’ and so on. (Hewson et al, 2015) The Theory of Mind has been researched widely from many different psychologists, although ones mentioned in this essay are solely related to non-human animals. This essay will be describing research studies and explain how they have helped psychologists understand ToM.
Asthma is a life long condition that affects millions of children each year. The effects of this condition are different for everyone and causes can change throughout the year. The causes and effects on a person very between age groups. Asthma causes range from cold air reaction, pollution within the air, viruses and allergies. Effects of asthma include restricted breathing, increased chances of viruses, and additionally higher chance of hospitalization in children. Asthma results in narrowed airways and difficulty breathing. In certain instances an attack develops resulting from triggers. The use of medication and monitoring is vital.
The essential dimensions of classical management are invaluable and are the framework for organisations everywhere. Although today much more leeway exists, as there is new technology used in organisation and more emphasis on mass production. However the essential dimensions of classical management are fundamental tools to organisations all over the world, and these essential dimensions will be templates through out time.
“Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a tragedy of a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. Aristotles’ ideas of tragedy are tragic hero, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis these ideas well demonstrated throughout Sophocles tragic drama of “Oedipus the King”.
Developmental Psychology is an area which studies how we as humans change over the period of our life span. The majority of the focus is broken into three categories: cognitive, physical and social change. The creation of who we are today comes down to the everlasting debate of nature versus nurture. This ongoing debate of what makes us who we are and which one is the driving force in development may be so simple that it’s complex. Rather than it being a conflict of nature “versus” nurture, it is very well possible both play an equal part in the development of us as humans. In the beginning, we start off as single cell in the form of a zygote. In that moment, where the DNA begin to form and the first seconds of life take place, the zygote is already experiencing interaction with the womb. In the process of determining why we are who are it is better to look more at the interactions of nature and nurture, analyzing how both have shaped us.
According to Aristotle's theory of tragedy and his definition of the central character, Oedipus the hero of Sophocles is considered a classical model of the tragic hero. The tragic hero of a tragedy is essential element to arouse pity and fear of the audience to achieve the emotional purgation or catharathis. Therefore, this character must have some features or characteristics this state of purgation. In fact, Oedipus as a character has all the features of the tragic hero as demanded by Aristotle.