The Differences in the Conveyance of Messages in Fagles and Sheppard Translations of Oedipus the King

So far in the tragedy of Oedipus the King, Oedipus has blinded himself following Queen Jocasta’s act of suicide due to his realization the he has committed tremendous actions. The chorus and Oedipus both mention how there is suffering in the world and how Oedipus has suffered greatly. The cause for Oedipus’ suffering was the Greek god, Apollo, as Apollo did create the prophecy. Oedipus states his wrong-doing while the Chorus consoles him. Just as the Chorus continues to try to relieve Oedipus, the Creon arrives and speaks with Oedipus, trying to help him through these troubling times as well. While the translations of this passage differs in their wording, they do convey the same message of realizing Oedipus’ wrongdoings, suffering, and plans for the future of his life. Both the translations by Fagles and Sheppard differ greatly in their choice of wording while trying to convey the same meaning as the original tragedy, their words do matter and result in the effectiveness of their versions. The translation by Fagles is the victor of conveying meaning to Oedipus as he provides a stronger tone and his use of literary devices is more extensive than that of Sheppard.
Fagles’ variant of Oedipus is stated in a much more poetic tone in juxtaposition to Sheppard's tone of the tragedy, which lacks the melodic sound and urgency of Oedipus’ downfall. Fagles gives a more dramatic tone which Sheppard lacks. For instance, following Oedipus saying he can not see his children, literally and figuratively since he is blinded, he states “All men must caste away the great blasphemer, the curse now brought to light by the gods, the son of Laius, I, my father’s son” (Fagles 1336). On the other hand, Sheppard’s version of the speech was instead: “Prove...

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...Sheppard’s translation of the tragedy. It is clearly visible that the tone used in Fagles’ writing is much more vibrant, and carries a lot more emotion than his counterpart. The usage of dramatic tone paves a pathway to more successful and entertaining storytelling that Sheppard lacks. The choices of words and usage of literary devices also raise Fagle’s effectiveness in explaining Oedipus’ tragedy. Sheppard is also at a disadvantage as he does utilize Old English in his writing, and it is obvious the translation would appeal to a different audience than Fagles’. This disadvantage creates a less dramatic tragedy to a more modern reader as the reader will have to consider what is meant. It still is clear that Fagles wrote a more superior translation in comparison to Sheppard’s translation due to more powerful tone, choice of words, and utilization of literary devices.