AP English Literature at MHSIS 2010-2011: Blog Hwk #1: Oedipus: "Find a quote (no more than 3 sentences) from Oedipus the King that would be viewed ironically by a Greek audience familiar with the Oedipus ..."
"Such ties swear me to his side as if he were my father. I shall not rest until I've tracked the hand that slew the son of Labdacus... (15)"
Well we have all realized and have been told this book is full of irony, and that is the purpose of Sophocles writing it this way. I researched a little about "Labdacus" and I found out that according to Greek mythology he is Laius' father, who in turn is Oedipus' grandfather. I did not write the entire quote, but it goes on to name Polydorus and Cadmus who are also past relatives. This whole quote is ironic because Oedipus is calling vengence on the killer of Liaus in the name of all these predecessors of Thebes. He not knowing he killed his father, Liaus, and in a way is disrespecting his past by calling vengence for these "kings" is just a whole lot of irony in one quote. Sophocles may have made these particular word choices because in the ancient times, it was a real threat to call upon your ancestors for retribution, especially if they had great authority over people.
No comments:
Post a Comment