Talk:Oedipus the King

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Moved from main page, since it seems a little trivial for an encyclopedia article. Oedipus the King retold in 154 personalised licence plates (Here is a sourced link) http://web.archive.org/web/20041126095113/http://www.physics.upenn.edu/~heiney/jokes/oedipus.html

• This doesn't seem to be worthy of inclusion. It really doesn't help someone understand the story. I'm inclined to delete it, but it is on the talk page so I will give it some time. Mat334 18:37, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Contents 1 Is the availability of a DVD irrelevant? 2 Two tragic heros? 3 Oedipus in the Iliad 4 Oedipus Rex 5 sources incorrect 6 Often Missed? 7 "Oedipus Rex"

[edit] Is the availability of a DVD irrelevant?

Having visited the Shakespeare on Screen page, I am rethinking how this information should be presented without mentioning the DVD format. Rick Norwood 14:32, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

I think the place for the information about the production out on DVD is a page to parallel Shakespeare on screen, Tragedy on screen. Rick Norwood 00:06, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Two tragic heros?

That statement about how incest is Jocasta's punishment for trying to prevent her husband's murder is interesting because then in her struggle and death she too might be seen as a tragic hero. Theshibboleth 09:42, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Oedipus in the Iliad

Here is what the Samuel Butler translation says, "Mecisteus went once to Thebes after the fall of Oedipus, to attend his funeral, and he beat all the people of Cadmus." That is not quite what the paragraph in this article suggests, but I don't read Greek, so I do not know if the word translated as "fall" only means "fall in battle" or if it can also mean "fall from power". If the latter, then this passage does not conflict with the events in this play, though it does conflict with the events in Oedipus at Colonus. Can someone who reads Greek clear this up? Rick Norwood 15:42, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

Hearing no response, I'm moving this to the article. Rick Norwood 14:16, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Oedipus Rex

I was under the impression that Oedipus Rex was the most common name for the play. Should(n't) the article be there? —Vivacissamamente 11:41, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Both titles are popular. I don't think it matters which one is used. - Ravenous 20:02, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] sources incorrect

<quote>Often missed by those reading the play is that the famous prophecy regarding Oedipus's fate has changed. Whereas Oedipus is told that he will murder his father and wed his mother (ln 752-57), his parents were only told that their son would murder his father (ln 676-78). It is because Jocasta tried to thwart fate and murder her own son that the penalty of incest was added to the prophecy; the sin belongs to her and not to Oedipus.</quote>

The lines refernced, according to wikisource are incorrect

[edit] Often Missed?

The article says 'often missed is the prophecy about Oedipus' blah blah blah. Often missed? Its basically telling us that most of the readers miss the major part of the entire story. Has been changed...

[edit] "Oedipus Rex"

Sophocles' play is very often referred to by the name "Oedipus Rex." This is a relic from a time when Latin was the lingua franca of the literary world, and it makes no sense at all for use in English: Sophocles wrote in ancient Greek, and "rex" means king in neither English nor Greek. Therefore, an English-speaking person's referring to Oedipus the King as "Oedipus Rex" would be like a Greek-speaking person's referring to Attack of the Clones as "L'attaque des clones."

I removed this from the article for now. We probably could make this point in the article, however - I'd like to avoid the "no sense at all" type of comments and star wars references in making it. - Ravenous 20:21, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm just passing through, but I'll comment. Oedipus Tyrannus was the name that Sir George Young (1837-1930) gave the play in his translation. According to the edition I'm reading from, it's truer to the transcribed Greek tyrannos, though the edition is still published with a big Oedipus Rex on the cover. On an unrelated note, the second messenger relates the news of Jocasta's death and Oedipus rendering himself blind, not the chorus. I'm going to be bold and change this second detail. 68.228.27.186 02:15, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

My copy of Penguin Classics The Theban Plays (first published 1947) goes for King Oedipus - just how many names for this play are there? Timrollpickering 12:14, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

The thing is that, because, as someone pointed out above, Latin was used in literary criticism for a long time, especially in the Classics, this play was known as Oedipus Rex for over a century. Many people know it by that name, even if they haven't read it yet. I know that I did. The title is correctly translated as "Oedipus the King" or, even better, "King Oedipus." But the article ought to mention the alternative title, if only to remove any confusion from readers who are looking for the play under that title. I think that the title of this article ought to be more helpful in this regard. It should read Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex). I tried to change it but I guess I don't know how. If anyone wants to, they ought to try. The first line of the article is helpful, giving the alternative title, but I think it should be in the actual title of the article, to be more helpful to readers not that familiar with this masterpiece. 66.108.105.21 16:51, 7 December 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth

I don't think we should change the title, I do however recommend changing the "Oedipus Rex" page to redirect to this instead of the Opera, and perhaps adding a paragraph about the title controversy (just not the "makes no sense at all" one from above). - Ravenous 21:12, 7 December 2006 (UTC)