Oedipus the king

Sophocle

72 pages, parution le 15/06/2023

Ajouter à une liste

Expédié sous 9 jours

Livraison à partir de 0,01€ dès 35€ d'achats
Pour une livraison en France métropolitaine

QUANTITÉ

Résumé

Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπoυs Τύραννos, pronounced [oidípoːs týrannos]), or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC.[1] Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπoυs), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus Tyrannus to distinguish it from Oedipus at Colonus, a later play by Sophocles. In antiquity, the term "tyrant" referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation.[2][3][4] Of Sophocles' three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of Oedipus, Oedipus Rex was the second to be written, following Antigone by about a dozen years. However, in terms of the chronology of events described by the plays, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles's play concerns Oedipus's search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair. In his Poetics, Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the genre.

L'auteur - Sophocle

Sophocle (497-406 avant J.-C.) a sans doute écrit plus d’une centaine de tragédies, mais sept seulement nous sont parvenues. De son vivant déjà, il fut le plus célébré des poètes tragiques, et la postérité des pièces transmises est vertigineuse, tant dans l’histoire de la littérature et de la pensée que pour la pratique théâtrale. Né dans le faubourg athénien de Kolonos, où se déroule sa dernière pièce conservée Œdipe à Colone, Sophocle est étroitement lié au destin d’Athènes, qu’il ne quitta jamais, et dont il a mis en scène les fiertés et les doutes, les contradictions et la gloire. Ne rechignant pas aux charges civiques d’importance, contemporain de Périclès, il a vécu si longtemps qu’il a connu l’apogée de la cité démocratique, mais aussi ses périodes de crise et de renaissance. Aussi virtuose pour son efficacité dramatique qu’admirable dans sa profondeur philosophique, son œuvre permet d’appréhender la tension féconde, vive, sans cesse renouvelée entre art et politique.