I had to read this play more than once to fully understand it. You can tell by reading it that it was written a long time ago as the language Sophocles uses is harder to understand, at least by me. I would much rather read this whole play as a short story rather than a play. I believe that it would make more sense to me as a whole and I would enjoy it a whole lot more. Although, after reading this play, I wouldn't mind actually seeing this particular play in a theater. I believe that it would be well worth watching.
I had to look up many words throughout the entire play to see what they meant, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more time consuming. Within the prologue itself, I had to look up the meaning of a multitude of words such as suppliant, emissaries, and pangs in order for me to fully understand the play.
Some questions...
Why did the King Laius bother binding a baby so small? It would take a baby months to develop any kind of movement therefore leaving them utterly defenseless left on a mountain in the first place, so the point in tying his feet together to me was complete nonsense.
I can understand why Jocasta committed suicide after learning that Oedipus was her son, but did she not think of her other children? What will they do for comfort now? Who shall help them get through this great tragedy?
Why did Jocasta allow the one person who witnessed the murder of King Laius to go into the fields. Was she already suspicious of Oedipus? Did she maybe have a feeling of what was to happen?
Great question about Oedipus and the binding of his feet! To take it further; how did the British english word of "oedema", or the American english of "edema" come about? Was it related to Oedipus himself, or was it already established? I understand it was so the child could not crawl. So, then it creates more questions??-a child of this age, would not be crawling..
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this play at a theater! I am a visual learner, and I would do much better to actually see it. It was difficult to understand at times! I had to read it several times:) I actually looked it up on youtube, and there is a play on there! It is not the best, but it really helped the play make more sense to me!
ReplyDeleteSo many people have asked about the binding of baby Oedipus' feet. I can't believe I just skimmed over this as given fact. I assume that the king and queen wanted to make quite sure that baby would be killed. Since Oedipus literally means "bound feet" I also wonder if this is one of those chicken / egg situations. Did Sophocles bind Oedipus' feet simply so he could call him Oedipus? I didn't mean to answer your question with another question but there truly may be some meat here!
ReplyDeleteYes this play is somewhat hard to follow and I myself think that it would have been easier to understand some parts the play if we could actually see it instead of reading it. I liked your questions because I had those same ones as I was reading it.
ReplyDeleteI think the baby was not as small as everyone thinks. Being a mother myself I used to call my one year old a baby because they still are.
ReplyDeleteA lot of women don't think about their children before their man. Look at all the women who stay with their men after they molest or beat their children. It happens all the time unfortunately. Some women need to have a man in their life no matter what.