Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Oedipus the King
The original version of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King opens up with Oedipus at the palace in Thebes. The city of Thebes has been beset by a plaque, with the people and the priests praying to the gods to free them from the curse that have plagued them. Oedipus is tasked to save the city; their dying livestock, crops, as well as their women who had turned sterile. Oedipus identifies himself with Thebes by telling them that he understands their devastation but none of them is as devastated and sick as he. Oedipus is able to restore peace in the city, but later understands that curing the city from the plague would require finding the King’s murderer. It turns out that the murderer is actually him, and that the former king was his father, whose widow he …show more content…
The new version bemoans character’s fate and tends to align their actions and decisions in line with their predestined fates or curses. For instance, at the beginning of the play, Oedipus comes out as a self- blinded, impulsive person and ends up killing the man he met on his journey to Thebes, not knowing he was his father. Later, after it was revealed that he was he king’s murderer, the audience seem to sympathize with him as he was simply fulfilling his destiny as prophesied by Apollo. The audience seem to forgive him for the act as he did not have control over his fate after all. However, in the original version, the audience seem to have a significance understanding of the Greek culture, religion and traditions and therefore expects a degree of accountability on the part of the characters. This is a major limitation of Constantine’s version as it shows the story unfold in some form of divine intervention as opposed to showing characters deal with consequences of their own mistakes, thereby teaching the audience a moral
Course
Instructor
Date
Oedipus the King
The original version of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King opens up with Oedipus at the palace in Thebes. The city of Thebes has been beset by a plaque, with the people and the priests praying to the gods to free them from the curse that have plagued them. Oedipus is tasked to save the city; their dying livestock, crops, as well as their women who had turned sterile. Oedipus identifies himself with Thebes by telling them that he understands their devastation but none of them is as devastated and sick as he. Oedipus is able to restore peace in the city, but later understands that curing the city from the plague would require finding the King’s murderer. It turns out that the murderer is actually him, and that the former king was his father, whose widow he …show more content…
The new version bemoans character’s fate and tends to align their actions and decisions in line with their predestined fates or curses. For instance, at the beginning of the play, Oedipus comes out as a self- blinded, impulsive person and ends up killing the man he met on his journey to Thebes, not knowing he was his father. Later, after it was revealed that he was he king’s murderer, the audience seem to sympathize with him as he was simply fulfilling his destiny as prophesied by Apollo. The audience seem to forgive him for the act as he did not have control over his fate after all. However, in the original version, the audience seem to have a significance understanding of the Greek culture, religion and traditions and therefore expects a degree of accountability on the part of the characters. This is a major limitation of Constantine’s version as it shows the story unfold in some form of divine intervention as opposed to showing characters deal with consequences of their own mistakes, thereby teaching the audience a moral