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 Stand out quotes of Antigone 1. “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 very impressive. At this point in the play Antigone has been caught breaking the laws Creon has set forth by burring her own […]

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 […]

How would you wish your audience to respond to the scene in which Terrifies confronts Croon? Explain how you would stage this section to achieve your aims. This section begins with Terrifies’ entry, led by a boy, and ends with the exit of Croon and his entourage to free Antigen from the vault. Terrifies appears […]

In Antigone, Sophocles positions the readers to condemn Creon as a misogynist. In Antigone, Creon is the newly appointed ruler of Thebes, and after banishing all burial rights to Antigone’s brother, Polynices, Antigone refuses to obey this order and buries him anyway. Creon is pitted against Antigone who holds up the will of the gods […]

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 play Antigone by Sophocles, it is originated in Thebes, where the city has just been torn by war. Many years have passed since there has been a real ruler governing the city. For Antigone’s two brothers have been in conflict over the rightful ruler of Thebes. Polyneices was the brother who was an exile […]

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 learns of Apollo’s latest prophecy. Apollo commanded that the people of Thebes were to take revenge upon the murderer of Laios. Oedipus agreed with Apollo, not knowing at the time that he was the person whom Apollo reffered to, for fear that the same killer would soon come […]

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, Antigone is a rebellious character who has high morals and, by following these morals, disobeys the laws of Creon in his “just” system of government and creates problems for herself and those around her in her search for justice. The “justice” in this story could be called injustice in today’s society, since […]