Thursday, October 4, 2018
A thespian's view on Oedipus
I think something that is easy to forget when reading a Greek tragedy or a comedy is that in fact, the many of the dense poems we read are meant to be performed. As a "thespian," it is fun to read the play "Oedipus, the King." This is mainly because the language in it is much more natural than I've read in other plays. It is seemingly easier to perform and therefore, most likely more enjoyable to watch. Language in the play is vivid, containing imagery and emotion that is vital to a memorable stage performance. The way that Sophocles writes out Oedipus's anger, for example would be interesting to watch, and it is nice to read a work in which it is so clear that the characters would be beautifully performed. It is typical that as someone interested in theatre, you default to love modern shows, but after reading a bit of Oedipus, I've gained a significant amount of respect and appreciation for even those works that are ancient.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
As a non-thespian, I can also agree that the language and dialogue in the play is very powerful and produces some beautiful imagery. In the past when I would ready plays for class, I would enjoy them and the story they told, but could never seem to picture what was going on in my head that well. But with Oedipus, it is easy to imagine the fury and rage of Oedipus, the wisdom and snark of Tiresias, or the terror of Jocasta when she is the first to realize what is actually going on. Everything is a perfect mixture of over the top and dramatic while still maintaining believability and seriousness. In Ancient Greece when it was first preformed, there was little to no props or background, and the scenes were all preformed in the same place (in Oedipus' case, it was outside the palace). The type of language and dialogue used probably helped to bring it to life and make it more believable for the audience.
Coming from another thespian, I've also been very fascinated with the reading we've had this past week! I find the origins of Greek theater so interesting, including where the word "thespian" originated from. I also agree with Elise in that with the language Sophocles uses makes the play much more vivid, as I can imagine the emotional turmoil happening right in front of me.
As a non-thespian (like Elise) I can often forget to recognize the craftsmanship in writing under the pretense that it will be translated to reality on stage. I’m so glad that you pointed this out as when reading novels, you can understand the characters through descriptions and undertones, while in Greek tragedies the dialogue paints an image and it’s interesting to recognize this difference.
I do have to agree that this is definitely one of the easiest-to-read Greek plays that we have studied in school. In the past, I always found myself struggling to keep up with the difficult language and even re-reading whole pages just to make sure I understood things that were happening in the play. Yet, Oedipus Rex is an exception to this rule because the language flows so well and almost makes it seem as if this play was written relatively recently. It's crazy to think that this was published all the way in 429 BC. This makes me very impressed at Sophocles. Not only does he write differently from other tragedies but the way he writes is closer to the modern English language than more recent tragedies (recent relatively speaking). I have no doubt that, with this natural flow of language, this play was easier to perform than other plays as you mentioned.
Post a Comment