SOPHOCLES' (4 Week Course)
THREE THEBAN PLAYS
Course Introduction
Greek drama arose out of the cult of Dionysus. This god of the underworld, a latecomer to the Greek Pantheon, offered a life-story full of suffering, joy, fruitage and death. And the rites associated with his worship provided the groundplan for early tragic and comic theatre. The Dionysian tragoedia, “song of the goats,” was eventually adapted and acquired something like literary distinction under the name of dithyramb. In this guise it was capable of huge variety in form and matter, but maintained a characteristic pathos throughout. The chorus gave expression to cries of joy or of pity and terror as the story of the god was performed.
Course Overview
In this four-week module we will read together Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays, also known as the “Oedipus” trilogy: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. Our classes will be structured around discussion of the guided reading questions, provided to you one week in advance. We will cover all of the above in closer detail, and by the end of the course you will:
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understand several important social, historical and cultural contexts for emergence of Greek Tragedy
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be able to identify and interpret the use of classical genre conventions in Sophocles’ work
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be able to analyse and interpret Sophocles’ use of symbolism, metaphor and allusion
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have a clear overview of the main philosophical approaches to tragedy: Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Hegel
