You did an excellent job last week writing about different quotes. That is very good.
1.) Do the same thing this week. Choose a quote that no one else has chosen and write about it. Tell what theme it helps develop, how it helps move the plot along, how it reveals character.
2.) Also, if we get to the background to the opera version of Oedipus Rex, mention a few things about what you learned there. Discuss some of the details you remember from the opera. Again, don't repeat what anyone else has said. Thank you for doing such a good job on your blog entries.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Samielle Foltz
ReplyDelete"I think that I myself may be accurst/ By my own ignorant edict."
(1.)Spoken by Oedipus, he has just fully discovered that he himself is the killer of his own father and king of Thebes. He says that he is accurst by his own ignorant edict but the fact is, he was not ignorant. He was fully aware of the prophecy pertaining to him and he still chose to kill in his moment of uncontrol. You would think that when told he would kill someone he wouldn't kill someone even if he didn't think that the man on the highway(the king of Thebes) would be that man he's supposed to kill. So we can tell by this bit of information, that Oedipus is rather spontaneous instead of thinking things through and planning them. This may result in his downfall later in the play.
Crystal Nybo
ReplyDelete"Ah God! It was true! All the prophecies! -Now, O light, may I look on you for the last tine! I Oedipus, Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned." (pg 64)
This statement talks about a huge theme of prophecies in the play. This passage says that all the prophecies that were foreseen came true and there was nothing people could do about it. As much as Iocaste wanted to shack off the possibility of them being true they all came true one way or another. I don't think there is anything that Oedipus could have done to prevent these acts from happening because it was his fate. Just like how in the quote it mentions how he was damned in his birth and his marriage he couldn't have avoided the prophecies. The lesson that Oedipus as well as the other characters learned is no matter how hard you try to avoid something there is no way off escaping it when it's a prophecy, he was doomed from the start.
Derek Decker
ReplyDelete"Let every man in mankind's frailty consider his last day; and let none presume on his good fortune until he find life, at his death, a memory without pain." - Choragos, pg. 81
This line, the last in the play, essentially sums up the message. As seen with Oedipus, fate is cruel; after all, he had slain his own father, married his own mother, and bestowed children to the same womb to which he himself was bestowed. He had known about this fate and sought to escape it, only to fulfill it. So in the end, it's best that we don't worry about what fate has in store for us, because there's no avoiding it anyway. It's best that we simply live our lives, keep our friends close, and enjoy our fleeting time in this world without worrying about the manner in which we transcend the mortal coil.
Bridget Cook
ReplyDelete"Think no longer that you are in command here, but rather think how, when you were, you served your own destruction." (Creon pg. 80)
In this quote, Creon is speaking while Oedipus is being led away from his children. He is telling Oedipus that he is no longer the king and now has no power. Like salt in the wound, he adds that while he was king, he began his own downfall by wanting to find the "murderer." This quote shows that no one, not even a king, can avoid their fate. Oedipus tried to avoid his, but in turn sealed it. I think this quote summs up the overall plot of the play, Oedipus was trying to avoid killing his father and sleeping with his mother, but ended up serving his own destruction.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnna Billmaier
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
"We heard her call upon Laïos, dead so many years,/And heard her wail for the double fruit of her/marriage,/A husband by her husband, children by her child." (page 68)
This is when the Second Messenger reports of Iocaste's death. This plays an important role in the book because when Iocaste dies, she cries out that her husband was created by her husband and that she bore children from her own child, which suggests that she knew all along exactly who Oedipus was. I wonder if she didn't know for a while who her second husband was, but when she found out she was trying to hide it from Oedipus in order to protect him, as her husband and as her son. This also makes me wonder how many people actally knew who Oedipus was and if they knew all along that he was the killer of his real father, Laïos.
Christine Nafziger
ReplyDelete“Apollo. Apollo. Dear children the god was Apollo. He brought my sick, sick fate upon me. But the blinding hand was my own! How could I bear to see when all my sight was horror
everywhere? ”(page 72).
This is after Oedipus puts pins into his eyes to blind himself. He wanted to blind himself so that then he would not have to see all the mistakes he has made. Oedipus learns that he did fulfill the prophecy of killing his father and sleeping with his mother so he chose to go blind. This shows the theme of the prophecy in the book because it shows what Oedipus does when he finds out. He ran away from his family to save his father but still ended up killing him without knowing it. Oedipus knows that Apollo brought this fate on him but he wants to end the horror of everything that happened.
Kiera Wesley
ReplyDelete"But his command is plain: the parricide/Must be destroyed. I am that evil man." (pg. 76)
This reveals the guilt that Oedipus feels about being the evil man that killed the king. He has so much shame he feels he needs to exile himself from the city. This is the point when he realizes his own fate, that he knows that he had ordered himself to be destroyed, but is also knows that he can not go through with his own execution even though he realizes he is the guilty man.
Will Quattlebaum
ReplyDelete"The prophesied that I should kill Polybos, kill my own father; but he is dead and buried, and I am here-I never touched him, never, unless he died of grief for my departure, and thusm in a sense through me." (50)
This is Oedipus talking about his "father", Polybos, being dead. He had the prophecy about killing his father and sleeping with his mother. He thought that by leaving Corinth, he wouldn't fulfill the prophecy. He is just saying that he didn't fulfill the prophecy so that he doesn't believe in it. Little does he know, that Polybos wasn't he father!
Samielle Foltz
ReplyDelete2. The most memorable thing to me about the play was the visual interpretation. The colors, the make up, the costumes, lighting, props, etc. Despite the limitations of the masks and wooden hands the opera singers had to hold they did a surprisingly good job of moving around while portraying their character. And the way they were carved, for example the craggliness of the soothsayer's hands compared to Jocasta's. Jocasta's hands were quite feminine but at the same time were molded in such a way that they coordinated with her movements, in a swooping motion or simply putting them crossed over her chest, characterized her as a motherly figure. And the scraggly hands of the soothsayer, were kind of creepy, but they were very pointed and poised to be pointing if that's what they were doing.
Gina Tuthill
ReplyDelete1. "You are fatally wrong! May you never learn who you are!(57)"
This line was said by Iocaste when Oedipus was realizing what had happened to him when he was younger. I believe Iocaste knew all along that he was her son, but didn't want to say anything to him because he might've never helped the city escape from the Sphix. But there could also always be an alternative story as to why she didn't want to tell him.
2. In the opera, I loved how one thing could be symbolized for different things. Like the red ribbon, I believed it symbolized both life and death because it showed up when Oedipus was in the womb, when Iocaste killed herself and when Oedipus stabbed himself in the eyes. They could also symbolize how he was pretty much dead all along from the womb to when he exiled himself from his fair city. Everything was symbolized quite nicely.
Jenny Hergert
ReplyDelete"Death take the man who unbound/ My feet on that hillside/ And delivered me from death to life! What life?/ If only I had died,/ This weight of monstrous doom/ Could not have dragged me and my darlings down."
1). After Oedipus discovers the truth (which he so adamantly denied earlier), he, naturally, feels absolutely terrible. Bad enough to stab out his eyes with a pin. This quote really shows how terrible and guilt-ridden Oedipus feels. It does a good job of conveying the emotions of the scene, and ultimately the play.
2). What I remember most clearly from the opera version of Oepipud Rex is the costumes. I liked how the ancient greek sculpture was included and represented by all the main charcters. I also liked how the big heavy costumes looked more like they came from a Japanese theatre. I think it's amazing how unique the cast ended up looking.
Breanna Taylor
ReplyDelete"And there we saw her hanging, her body swaying/ From the cruel cord she had noosed around her neck."
The theme of this was the sorrow of the play, its helped move the plot along because this caused Odious to stab his eyes, and this helped show the character that his mom/wife was, that she knew he was her son and yet she was married to him, it shows whata sick, twisted woman she is, and she couldnt bear to live with him knowing because then she couldn't just ignore it. I think she killed herself out of shame, so this shows what a shameful person she is, perhaps she should be the one being punished.
Nik Toor
ReplyDelete"May God bless you for this-and be a friendlier Guardian to you than he has been to me! (78)
1. Oedipus was talking to Creon about him bringing his daughters to him after he blinded himself and was about to leave the city forever. Creon told Oedipus that he knew he loved his children and remembered to bring them to him. Oedipus called for God to bless Creon for his act of kindness and wanted God to be a "friendlier guardian" to Creon than he was to Oedipus because in Oedipus's eyes God let him down and lead him to kill his own father and marry his mother witch all lead to him becoming blind and being exiled.
2.In the opera of Oedipus Rex I felt like they used the plague more than the text. In the book it only mentioned the plague once or twice while in the opera it was recurring and was almost always in the background. I also really remember the red ribbons that came up constantly like when he was remembering killing his father, him at the start floating above the stage, or when Iocaste killed herself.
Lexy Kaftan
ReplyDelete"My wife, did she give it to you?" Oedipus said this to the only one who survived the fatal attack on the king and his bodygaurds, of course he doesnt know that he in fact in talking about himself as the baby who had his tendons tied and left on a moountain. At this point he is starting to figure out that the prophecy did come true and that he killed his father, married his mother and also had children with his mother. This is a huge turning point in the play because he goes on this hunt to find out who the killer is and says he will either kill the murderer or exile the murderer but in fact he has no idea that to fufill that promise he would either have to commit suicide or exile himself. He thought because he was raised by two other people he thought were his parents but in fact he went back to save the city from the sphinx without knowing he was back in thebes, his home land.
My lord, she did. Do you know why? I was told to get rid of it. An unspeakable mother! There had been prophecies…Tell me. It was said that the boy would kill his own father. (63)
ReplyDeleteSince they didn’t kill the child there was going to be prophecies. There is nothing they can do to stop it. Unless in the first place the person should have done what he was asked to. Since the Oedipus knew about that the prophecies he shouldn’t have killed anyone or hadn’t done anything, but that was hard to follow for him. This is basically the climax of the story, now he probably wants to get away or find out why he had to do or prophecies.
The most memorable thing to me in the play was the music. I thought it was interesting how they interpreted into play and also it was easy to understand, since they had subtitle. Also, they narrator was interesting as well, epically the way she talked like louder or quite or in the angry tone.
Garrett Johnson
ReplyDelete"Live where you can, be as happy as you can-/ Happier, please God, than God has made your father!" (Oedipus 79)
1. This quote helps support the theme that Oedipus is a broken man. He rips out his own eyes and then asks to be exhiled from the city because he cannot bear to live with himself. In the quote he is telling his two daughters that he wants them to be much happier in their lives than he has been in his. He feels shame that they have the titles of being his daughters because no man will want to be affiliated with "Oedipus' daughter".
2. In the opera I thought that the costumes and the visuals were done very well, although the statue-like people were scary with their huge hands. I thought that the opera did a good job displaying the demis of Oedipus, but there was not a very good build up to him being the respected king that he was before his fall in power. The visuals of the people with the plague and the singing set a solid, dramatic feel to the opera, and overall I thought it was well done.
Katie Martens
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
"Why should anyone in this world be afraid, Since Fate rules us and nothing can be forseen? A man should live only for the present day" (p 51).
1. This is a quote from Iocaste, talking to Oedipus and telling him not to be afraid. The biggest theme of the book is dealing with prophecies, fate, and whether or not they can be changed. Iocaste is stating her opinion that no one should be afraid of what the prophacy was. She thinks that everything people do is random, and not pre-determined. The irony of this passage is that Iocaste is actually wrong in what she is saying.
2. I liked the movements of the people in the opera. I feel like even the most subtle movements, like the way the cast moved their feet when they walked, was carefully thought out to make it fit with the play. We learned that the way they walk in a japanese opera is very specific, and even hard to master. I could clearly see this is the opera that we watched in class.
Tori Weisel
ReplyDelete“For if you are what this man says you are, no man living is more wretched then Oedipus” (64).
This is when Oedipus goes to find the Shepherd that first found him when he was an infant. At this point in time is when Oedipus finally realizes who he really is and he realizes who his real parents are. Oedipus also realizes that the prophecy ended up coming true and that his wife is also his mother and the stranger he killed at the crossings was his real father. No man will be able to look at him the same because of the dreadful things he has done which is why the Shepherd says that “no man is more wretched”. This quote ties into the prophecy theme and it helps to develop Oedipus as his true character.
Leslee Fall
ReplyDelete"Oh never to have come here with my father's blood upon me! Never to have been the man they call his mother's husband! Oh accurst! Oh child of evil, to have entered that wretched bed- the selfsame one! More primal than sin itself, this fell to me." (pg.73)
1. Oedipus has realized that everything Teiresias has said is true and he is horrified. The main theme of this book is fate and how you can't change it. Even though Oedipus didn't believe in it, it still came true and when he finds out it is too late for him to do anything about it. By this time he will exile himself and the story of his sons will begin.
2. What i remember most about the opera are the singers and how dark the music sounded. It matched perfectly with the story i though and the movements with it kept it interesting. Personally i liked the way the performers sang because he kept me awake and into the story.
Laura Ahlrep
ReplyDelete"He came to me, touched my hand with his, and begged that I would send him away to the frontier district where only the sheperds go- As far away from the city as I could send him." (41)
This quote is really only a building block to the plot that Oedipus is the son of Laios and had really been the murderer that they want out of the city. Iocaste is explaining that the one man that saw the murder came back to the city and found that Oedipus, the man he just saw kill the king was now in throne and feared his life for knowing so asked to be sent away. Other than building to the plot and the truth this scene just helps prove that Oedipus had a doomed fate from the start.
In the Opera I thought the scene when Oedipus is stripped off all his clothing was the most interesting because it showed that he had no more power and was now bellow the common man. Often being stripped down into nothing shows being poor and homeless which was now what Oedipus was, he was an outcast with no home. I thought it was a really beautiful way to put the ending of Oedipus even if it was a sad moment for the man.
April Dick
ReplyDelete"Drive me out of this country as quickly as may be to a place where no human voice can ever greet me." (76)
In the beginning, Oedipus goes about solving the mystery with a sense of ignorance and confidence in himself. He chooses to dismiss Teiresias' words when he reveals what he knows and he doubts the loyalty of Creon.
Once Oedipus accepts that he is the murderer, he takes full responsibility for his actions without hesitation. You would think someone so ignorant and conceited wouldn't choose to exile themselves when they realized they're guilty, but Oedipus shows his true character when he stays true to his word. After all, Oedipus never intended to kill his father and sleep with his mother. It could be argued that he was right to run away from his home country and try to avoid fulfilling his fate. Yet Oedipus accepts what he has done without conflict.
Brody Hovatter
ReplyDelete"God. God. Is there a sorrow greater? Where shall I find harbor in this world? My voice is hurled far on a dark wind. What has God done to me?" (71)
At this point in the story, Oedipus has recently learned that the prophecy relayed to him had in fact come true, and the realization of reality has begun to sink in. Oedipus, it seems, has finally accepted his fate, and pleadingly asks "Is there a sorow greater?" and "What has God done to me?" The horror and shame of what he has done is evident in Oedipus' speech.
2. We learned that in some Japanese theater, words are spoken very loudly and clearly in order to get the proper point across. Doing so is more important than speaking with a melodic or pleasing voice. The narrator in the Opera version of Oedipus Rex used this technique, which was very interesting to hear. I was also impressed by the stage design of the Opera, which I thought matched the play well.
Mark Galambos
ReplyDelete"But since God hates me...: No, he will grant your wish." (80)
This is at the very ending of Oedipus Rex, as he is taken away to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus has fallen into his fate set by the gods. What this quote shows is a perfect set up for the following books in the trilogy; God will grant Oedipus' wish. We learn that he in fact does come back and is changed into a somewhat holy man.
Gina Chenoweth
ReplyDelete“He is so weak, and there is none to lead him, / So terrible is his suffering. / But you will see: / Look, the doors are opening; in a moment / You will see a thing that would crush a heart of stone.” (70)
Oedipus has just blinded himself and is about to talk to Creon. The messenger announced his presence and is commenting on how sad a sight Oedipus is. It is an important quote to show the comparison between how powerful and able-bodied Oedipus was, and how weak and pitiful he is now.
In the opera, we do not get to see Oedipus’ conversation with Creon, because that was where the credits began to roll. Getting to know Oedipus’ character after he has blinded himself was an important part of the book that was completely cut from the opera, but we were still shown how he reacted to the news that he was Laios’ son in contrast to Iocaste’s reaction, which was cool I guess.
Brian Gleadle
ReplyDelete"Do not allow this pollution to show itself Openly here, an affront to the earth and Heaven's rain and the light of day." Creon (76)
This quote came just after Oedipus finds out about his father and mother and blinds himself. He is calling on the people to claim judgement on him and the people call for creon since he knows what hes doing. This is important because Creon is announcing that no one shall look upon the man who slept with his mother and killed his father because that would taint the whole town and ruin Oedipus beyond whats already happened.
The best part of the opera was most definitely the orchestra. Without the music it would have been lifeless and boring but when they added the suspense that the music creates it truly gives the Opera life. Opera without singing = boring and just a bunch of people singing...with music = full of life and very nearly magical.
Craig Thomas
ReplyDelete"o light, may i look on yo ufor the last time! i, oedipus, oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, damned in the blood he shed with his own hand!" (64)
This quote is very important in the play because its when Oedipus finally realizes what he has done. he realized that he was the one who killed the king and married his mom and full filled the prophicy's. He is struck by so much grief and anger that he eventually tears his eyes out, permanitly blinding himself.
Dan McMillan
ReplyDelete"How could I bear to see when all my sight was horror everywhere" p 72 oedipus
This quote shwos that Oedipus is disgusted with himself. He is embaressed that he has betrayed himself and his family in such a way and all the same he feels foolish for his reltionship with his wife/mom and children. In a sense i feel as if oedipus feels 50/50 about his doings. He feels sorry for himself becasue he murdered his pop, but at the same time feels closure.
Denisse Manrique
ReplyDelete2.) I felt that the way the opera was portrayed vidually was very interesting. I think that the colors and props emphasized the drama and strangeness of the play. I liked the portrayal of Oedipus in the opera. I thought it was interesting the way the emotion and drama was shown singing instead of acting. I felt that the way certain parts of the opera were interpeted. For example the dead people under the stage and the sphinx exploding. I thought some of the dancing and movements done by the singers emphasized their singing. The puppets allowed forced to show emotion throw their singing more then with actors. I thought that gave the play a more unique, not that it wasn't already unique with the costumes and props. The detail in the art was just extraordinary.
Maxx Forde
ReplyDelete"And now what is left?... Is there anything? Ah, no, friends: lead me away. Lead me away from Thebes. Lead the great wreck And hell of Oedipus, whom the gods hate." (pg 72)
This adds to the character development of Oedipus by showing that he is willing to accept his fate. He will not fight the punishment which he just had set forth for anybody else who was the murderer. Now that he knows it is him, he will take the same punishments and sees that what Terisias said, something which showed that the gods did not look too happily upon Oedipus, was true. But he is now owning up to his actions and taking responsibility, especially since there is not much left for him in Thebes.
In the play, I liked how Jocaste's statue costume thing rose off of her while she remained on stage. I just thought it was kind of interesting and thought that it might represent her soul going to rest somewhere up above (like Heaven), while her lifeless body remained on Earth.
Jade Baumann
ReplyDelete"Then, whom can you ever marry? There are no bridegrooms for you, and your lives must wither away in sterile dreaming." (78)
This quote represents many themes of this play. The first major theme i notice, is how Oedipus thinks his daughters lives are over now because of what he has done with his life. He believes that the girls will be cursed now, and won't be able to get married, or have a normal life. Knowing where the girls came from, he believes that no man will ever marry them.
In the play, i thought it did a really good job of costuming, and getting the real feel of emotions that were involved off to the audience. But i didn't think the play did a very clear job af telling the story. Alot of important details were left out, and it seemed to be very vague.
Sarah Hale:)
ReplyDelete“Your fate is clear, you are not blind to that. Would God you had never found it out!” –Choragos pg. 72
This is a powerful line said by Choragos when Oedipus finally comes to a realization that the prophecies are true, and he in fact is not only the murderer of his father, but the husband of his mother, and the father of his brothers and sisters. Oedipus’s terrible fate, foreshadowed by the God Apollo, has come before him. Although he ran away from the family he thought he was predicted to kill, he literally ran into his unknown father of the time, Laios, and murdered him randomly, on impulse. Although the prophet Thebius warned him of his true fate and being, Oedipus, encouraged by his “wife” Iocasta, ignorantly dismissed the foretelling. Choragos now exclaims to Oedipus what he already is beginning to realize, that his fate described above is clear and he is not (yet, if personally find this next statement a play on words) blind to that. (Eventually Oedipus takes his own eyes.) Choragos says that without Apollo, Oedipus wouldn’t have ever found out his true fate, and maybe none of this would have came about.
A few things I learned about the opera, was for one really how ignorant Iocasta was to the whole scheme of things. The book, Oedipus Rex, in my opinion didn’t make it clear how she was completely mistaken with committing such incest with her own son. The opera did a wonderful job showing just how terrified she was to find out he new husband was in fact the son she attempted to kill. I loved the opera’s music as well, because the opera was all in a foreign language, and bits and pieces of subtitles were all that was provided to us, the music really helped to make the mood of the opera, and allow the audience to follow along easier.