The Three Theban Plays: Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus
by Sophocles
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Book Summary Information
Author: SophoclesTranslator: Robert Fagles
Introduction: Bernard Knox
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-01-03
ISBN: 0140444254
Number of pages: 430
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780140444254
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Three Theban Plays: Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus
Book Review: Best Translation for Most
Summary: 5 Stars
Though not a trilogy in the strict ancient Greek sense like Aeschylus' Oresteia and indeed written decades apart over a long life, Sophocles' three Theban plays are interrelated and ideally read together. They are immortal classics and essential for everyone; the real question is what translation to get. Robert Fagles' is undoubtedly the best for current readers. It is not that prior ones are inaccurate, but inevitable language changes have made them ever less readable; some may think them more stately, but they lack Fagles' flow and readability. All one need do is compare his renderings of the famous closing speeches in Oedipus the King and Antigone to prior ones; his are so much more immediate yet also more poetic. Dedicated Greekless readers will of course want several, but neophytes should start with Fagles, the only version most will ever need.
Oedipus the King has been an immortal world literature classic for nearly 2,500 years. Long considered the greatest Greek tragedy, it was hailed by Aristotle as the tragedy par excellence, and in the millennium plus since only Shakespeare's greatest work has even approached it. It remains a model of what tragedy should be; deftly plotted and perfectly executed, it has a sympathetic protagonist, a crushing climax, sublime poetry, and a wealth of meaningful themes. The play remains on the very short list of incomparably and undeniably great world literature masterpieces - one of the six or so best works ever.
Perhaps the aspect that has always spoken most strongly is the character of Oedipus. The archetypal tragic hero, He is one of literature's most thoroughly sympathetic personages. Whatever his faults, he is far more sinned against than sinning; his rise from humble background to king is matched only by his even more awe-inspiring fall. Arrogant, haughty, and somewhat impulsive, he has distinct flaws, but they only make him more human; we feel for him because we see his profound humanity. However ostensibly different from us, he has the indisputable human core necessary for a truly moving character. His downfall's pathos is near-unbearable; it is hard to see a man so truly broken and heavily suffering. The play is valuable for showing the nadir to which people can sink, bringing out life's inherent tragedy with incredible force and emotion.
The story itself is also key. The original audience knew the Oedipus story well, and it has continued to be so famous that most will know a lot before reading, but Sophocles portrays it with such skillful mastery that it affected Athenians with mesmerizing power and continues to do so. A tighter plot or more perfect execution could not be conceived; no one has ever made better use of foreshadowing or dramatic irony, and the breathtaking climax has rarely even been approached. The story is put together with almost mathematical precision, and the close is simply devastating. The totality of bitterly ironic events that comes down on Oedipus is so crushingly malevolent that it shows the absolute worst that can happen to a person. For this reason among many others, the play remains the consummate tragedy.
The work's lasting value may be due primarily to its extraordinary dramatization of numerous weighty themes. All Greek tragedies were broadly philosophical in a way later plays - to say nothing of current ones - rarely are, but this is again the top example. It most famously deals with fate and has indeed never been matched for showing fatalism's dark possibility and potentially fatal consequences. However, this has also been exaggerated, because a close reading clearly shows that Oedipus himself inadvertently caused his downfall; this is what makes him a tragic hero. Denying the conventional depiction may seem strange, but it after all makes him more relatable. As far as we know, we are not victims of venomous fate but are fragile beings suffering from limitations we are unable to overcome. The play in any case has other important themes: the creation and enforcement of taboos, questions of political succession and family relations, pride vs. humility, etc. That Sophocles was able to do all this in a work of less than two thousand lines - not even half of Hamlet - is a testament both to his genius and to ancient Greek art's essential concision.
As in Oedipus the King, the character of Oedipus is perhaps the most immediate strength. He is one of literature's most thoroughly sympathetic personages, and the truly pathetic depiction of him here as a broken old man near death - blind, seemingly at least partly senile, and dependent on his daughters for even the simplest tasks - may be even more moving than his downfall in Oedipus the King, powerful as that was. Here he is reduced to the most abject misery possible to humanity - a state so pitiful that even reading of it is nearly unbearable. Though he had clear faults even in his prime and caused his own decline, it is virtually impossible not to sympathize with him; he is truly more sinned against than sinning. He has flaws even here; his impulsiveness has increased, his temper has shortened, and he lashes out at people - including his own sons - with little provocation. Yet he remains sympathetic; such things if anything make him even more human; we feel for him because we see his profound humanity. His state is indeed so low that he is forgiven by Zeus and allowed to die not only with dignity but with some satisfaction at a return of his importance after decades of pained exile. On top of everything else, the play is a thoroughly moving depiction of true compassion and noble forgiveness. Despite many dark moments, it is uncharacteristically optimistic for ancient Greek drama - indeed no tragedy at all, though ostensibly styled one. It suggests that there is always a possibility of at least partial redemption and underscores the profound significance of empathy and mercy. Sophocles' nearing death may have brought on such thoughts, but their universality makes them timeless; the play continues to speak at least as powerfully as the tragedies to those willing to listen, and its greater palatability makes it potentially more relatable.
Unlike the prior two Theban plays and Greek drama generally, Colonus has very little action. It is essentially an emotional drama that works via dialogue, but there is also substantial philosophical dramatization. The grand themes and monumental speculation of Oedipus the King and Antigone are mostly gone, but it does handle important issues like the responsibility of parents toward children and vice versa, questions of political succession, society's treatment of outsiders, the significance of ritual, etc. Those who value the first two plays for taking on weighty issues more grandly and overtly may be somewhat disappointed, but this still has a good amount of weighty themes, and its elegiac aura is in its way even more emotional. Unlike them, it does not stand well on its own, but this edition thankfully makes the point moot; it comes off much better in context, adding considerably to the book's worth.
As in Oedipus the King, the title character may be the most stirring aspect. Though not a tragic hero in Oedipus' strict sense, Antigone has fundamentally human thoughts and feelings that make her supremely relatable; we feel with and for her because we see ourselves in her. She may be extremely high strung, and her actions and emotions may be highly wrought, but she is an extreme case of what the dark, often contradictory emotions at humanity's heart can lead to if followed to the logical conclusion. Whatever her faults, she does not deserve her dark end, and the depiction of her doomed love and tragic end are profoundly moving; few portrayals are more pathos-drenched. However superficially different from us, she has the indisputable human core necessary for a truly moving character. Whether or not we agree with her, we sympathize strongly, and her determination and resilience are truly admirable.
We must not overlook the significance of a female protagonist in an ancient Greek work. Greek society was truly a man's world; women were oppressed to an extent that has long been unthinkable in the Western world. They were not considered unequal so much as hardly thought of at all; indeed, they seem not to have been allowed at dramatic performances - a true irony here. Antigone has thus unsurprisingly been the focus of much feminist criticism. Calling it proto-feminist would be too much, but having a female protagonist - much less a sympathetic one - was indeed notable. Though lacking Greek male heroes' attributes, she is a far cry from the wily but essentially frivolous goddesses and women in Homer and elsewhere, to say nothing of helpless damsels like Helen. The play vividly showed that, however insignificant women were, their wishes could not simply be ignored - and that tragic consequences may result if they are. It was not until far later - perhaps the mid or late Victorian era - that literature had another heroine of comparable strength.
Yet she is not the only interesting character; indeed, strictly speaking, Creon is the true tragic hero. Much like Oedipus, he has tragic flaws - arrogance, narrow-mindedness, impulsiveness - that lead to his downfall. It is hard not to hate him at first, especially considering the story's background, but at least as hard not to be moved by the truly pathetic picture of the broken man he is at the end. He may have deserved punishment, but few would say he deserved the catastrophe he got, which is one of the most vivid and deeply stirring illustrations of how a rash act done quickly with little thought can lead to fatal conclusions. As important as Antigone is to the play's core emotion and thought-provoking aspect, Creon is also essential.
The story itself is a fundamental part of the play's greatness also; only Oedipus the King even rivals it for plot tightness and perfect execution. Superb handling of grand themes are also again important, including family relations, questions of political succession, private vs. public loyalty, pride vs. humility, etc. Perhaps all that need be said, though, is that this is nearly as great as Oedipus the King.
One can of course purchase these plays separately, but they are ideally read together, and getting all three Fagles translations at once is too good of a bargain to pass up. Anyone wanting to read them for the first time or searching for a new edition need look no further.
Summary of The Three Theban Plays: Antigone; Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus
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Aristotle called "Oedipus The King," the second-written of the three Theban plays written by Sophocles, the masterpiece of the whole of Greek theater. Today, nearly 2,500 years after Sophocles wrote, scholars and audiences still consider it one of the most powerful dramatic works ever made. Freud sure did. The three plays--"Antigone," "Oedipus the King," and "Oedipus at Colonus"--are not strictly a trilogy, but all are based on the Theban myths that were old even in Sophocles' time. This particular edition was rendered by Robert Fagles, perhaps the best translator of the Greek classics into English.
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