21 Nov 2013

Oedipus Rex - Greek Drama Themes - Mythology

OEDIPUS REX - GREEK DRAMA THEMES - SOPHOCLES
GREEK DRAMA THEMES

MYTHOLOGY AND THE GOD...

Early Greek drama, both tragedy and comedy, drew from the stories of mythology and legend. These myths illuminated universal problems, ones that could pertain to situations plaguing fifth century Greece as well as to past events. The ancient Greeks believed that tragedy should deal with illustrious figures and significant events, thus the pantheon on God is ever-present and, often, omniscient. Aeschylus ‘plays, for instance, often centred on the justification of the God ways in relation to humankind or the comprehension of the form of justice meted out by the God.

The God might punish the characters, as Zeus punished Prometheus in Prometheus bound, or they might settle the seemingly insurmountable conflicts the characters faced, as when Athena decreed that the Furies must give up their torment of Orestes in the Oresteia. The tragedians took the basic premise of their stories from mythology but transformed them for dramatic intent, infusing the heroes and heroines with human qualities and relating their themes to the present day.

My thology also lent the tragedians ‘ plays a more universal quality, allowing them to comment on topical events without limiting their scope to contemporary events and figures. God also played a prominent role in Old Comedy.

Cratinus’s Dionysalexandrus is a play of mythological burlesque. It retells the story of the judgment of Paris –Alexander - , with variations. Aristophanes ‘ work parodies tragedy; thus the Greek God and Goddesses take a central role in the lives of its characters. However, mythology in drama was on the wane. Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War contributed to the sense of disillusionment that the ancient Greeks felt with their legendary heroes and gods, and with the rise of the New Comedy, writers were moving away from mythological subjects toward common subjects that centred on love and family life.

Here...Alas Mrose...the original contents by www.sensualityface.com or www.fairyage.com / describe with the help of Oedipus rex - Sophocles

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