Three Theban Plays

Sophocles' three Theban plays, ranked:

1) Oedipus the King
2) Antigone
3) Oedipus at Colonus

Notes for the collection -- put the essays after the play, not before. Why would I want to read an in-depth analysis before I've read the actual play???

The arguements in all three plays were amazing. Just hurling insults left and right. Also, people just letting the other person go on for like six paragraphs of trashing them without interupting. Proper sportsmanship.

Oedipus the King was the most fun. It was really suspenseful despite everyone -- including the people watching in ancient Greece in the 400s BC -- knowing the inevitable conclusion. Oedipus slowly marches towards his own demise, and we just watch it happen, dreading the moment it's all revealed. It centers on Oedipus ignoring warnings and digging around and opening closets looking for skeletons -- and boy does he find them. It brings up a lot of really interesting ideas about fate vs choice that the accompanying essay does a great job of laying out. It also introuduced me to a satire about penguins who are accidentaly baptized and the panic it causes in the Church, which is just amazing.

Antigone was fun too. A perfect representation of hidden motives, the folly of being stubburn, and our inability to communicate effectively in times of conflict.

Oedipus at Colonus was not bad by any stretch, but after the greatness of the other two, it didn't deliver quite at the same level.

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Cover designed by me.