Sophocles Essay Examples

How are haemon or oedipus and creon foils of each other?In the play Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles, foil and parallel characters are very common. The foil character in a story is the character who is the exact opposite of the main character, or in other word, the parallel character, and therefor serves […]

Sophocles often wrote about ancient myths that were common knowledge to the people who viewed his plays. “Oedipus The King” was written knowing that the audience is aware of the outcome of the play, and therefore utilizes that foreknowledge to create various situations in which irony plays a key role. More specifically, this dramatic irony […]

Analytical Analysis on “Oedipus” And his Tragic Flaw It has been said that all tragic heroes possess tragic flaws. Whether this statement applies to Oedipus of “Oedipus” the King, written by Sophocles, is still a matter of much debate even centuries after its debut. If Oedipus bares a “tragic flaw,” then he is a man, […]

Joey Hepner highlights a powerful quote from Sophocles’ Antigone. The quote reads: “If you think what I’m doing now is stupid, perhaps I’m being charged with foolishness by someone who’s a fool” (Sophocles469). This quote is significant because it is said by Antigone after she has been caught burying her own brother, which goes against […]

Greek tragedy is generally characterized by a protagonist’s downfall cause by his own actions or character flaws. Sophocles’ Oedipus, however, does not fit this traditional mold. While in most tragedies the main character is a “free agent” who causes his own demise, Oedipus is merely a “puppet of the gods” who is simply a victim […]

Croon and Oedipus represent two completely different characters that serve deferent roles in the tragedy. Their differences are emphasized through their actions and speech. Although Croon and Oedipus have some similarities, they represent foils of each other. Croon contrasts strongly with Oedipus and presents himself as Oedipus’ foil. The purpose in Croon being Oedipus’ foil […]

To what extent do Euripides and Sophocles portray women as the cause of tragedy In Made, Hippopotamus, Oedipus The King and Antigen? Women In the plays of both Euripides and Sophocles Is a subject of much debate, indeed it seems as though people’s view on these female characters may well have changed over time for […]

To achieve my desired audience response to the scene in which Terrifies confronts Croon, I would stage it in a minimalist thrust configuration with a plain black background. This would give the audience a strange impression of the setting, setting the overall atmosphere of the play. The goal is to draw attention to the character […]

Sophocles’ Antigone displays Creon as a misogynist due to his position in the play as a newly appointed ruler of Thebes who eliminates all burial rights to Antigone’s brother, Polynices. Antigone defies this order believing that the will of the gods and her family’s honor is more important. Creon, however, advocates family honor aggressively to […]

The birthplace of tragedy was the city of Athens, and here it also reached its full flower in the fifth century B. C. with the masterpieces of the three great Greek tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Among these Sophocles is often held to be the greatest dramatist of all, at the least Oedipus Rex, following […]

Sophocles is known as one of the greatest tragedians in the history of Greek Literature. Among his works, Antigone may be considered as the stand out and the greatest. It is the story of Antigone, the daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, the main character in another of Sophocles??? tale. In the story, Antigone showed how […]

In either version of Antigone, the plot is essentially the same. The King forbids the burial of a traitor to the city of Thebes, but the man’s sister disobeys the order and is eventually killed, along with the King’s son and wife. The characters are relatively constant between the two versions. Ismene, Creon, Antigone, and […]

Both Antigone, by Sophocles, and Blood Wedding, by Federico Garcia Lorca have similar fantastical elements that help guide the story to it’s conclusion. The use of magical characters in the plays is symbolic of vision and true sight, breaking of norms, and lighting up societal flaws. Not only does the use of magic illuminate critical […]

The city of Thebes, torn by war, is the setting of Sophocles’ play Antigone. The absence of a true leader for many years has led to a dispute between Antigone’s two brothers over who should rule Thebes. Both Polyneices and Eteocles were brothers, but Polyneices was exiled before returning to the city with an invading […]

This descriptive poem, “Ode to Man” reflects the usage of power by man in society. The writer uses natural imagery, diction, personification and the structure of 4 lines per stanza to indicate and ensure how the poem and society can reflect between each other and its conflicts. It vividly explains how man became powerful with […]

Oedipus the King starts in the legend where Oedipus, king of Thebes, is trying get rid of the plague in his city. Oedipus sends Creon to the oracles at Delphi to get the answer to the city’s problems. Creon is away for a long time, and he returns with Teiresias, the blind prophet. They repeat […]

In the prologue of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is informed about Apollo’s recent prophecy. Apollo orders the people of Thebes to seek vengeance against the killer of Laios. Oedipus, unaware of the fact that he himself is the person referred to by Apollo, agreed with Apollo’s advice out of fear that the same killer would target […]

Undoubtedly there has been a tremendous amount of speculation and dissection of this play by countless people throughout the ages. I can only draw my own conclusions as to what Sophocles intended the meaning of his play to be. The drama included a number of horrific and unthinkable moral and ethical dilemas, but I believe […]

The belief in gods and superstitions infused the lives of ancient Greeks. It was manifested in their customs, traditions, religion, feasts, and most certainly in their arts. Dramatists Sophocles and Euripides wrote masterpieces involving the intervention of gods and the supernatural in the progression or termination of the plot. However, in two of their most […]

Oedipus, the protagonist from Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King”, is a great example of the immense power that fate has within literature. Sophocles is very effective in portraying the wrath of fate as he shows how Oedipus is a victim of fate and, despite his endless efforts, was unable to avoid it. Fate managed to overcome […]

A dramatic theme is an underlying message found within the action of the play that reflects the values of the time at which it was written or the values of the author that produced it.  The moral code depicted by that theme often drives the plot and the action of the play.  Although they are […]

In Sophocles’ Antigone, the character Antigone displays rebellion and strong morals. However, she opts to defy Creon’s government laws, which he considers fair. This choice creates complications for both herself and those around her in her quest for justice. In contemporary society, the notion of justice portrayed in this tale may be viewed as injustice […]