1. Stories
a. Helen of Troy
The face that launched a thousand ship, written by Christopher Marlowe
Part of text :
Was this the face that launched a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies!
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
b. Hubris
Hubris, defined as exaggerated pride or self-confidence, is the earmark character trait of Oedipus and perhaps Creon. ( Oedipus 自以為人定勝天 )
c. purple robes (皇室象徵)
The scene in which Clytemnestra induces her husband to trod on the purple robes strewn in his path--the principal symbolic act of hubris, an act that foreshadows his death—is also very important.
Another example, blue blood is also the symbol of royalty.
d. dramatic irony
For example, in Oedipus the King, the audience all know that Oedipus is going to kill his father and marry his mother. Another example, Oedipus has been seeking to find out the murderer of the previous king in order to solve the plague, but in fact, he is the murderer.
e. Sphinx
In Greek tradition, a sphinx is represented as a monster with a head of a woman, the body of a lioness, the wings of an eagle, and a serpent-headed tail. It is mythicized as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer its riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories, as they are killed and eaten by this ravenous monster. This deadly version of a sphinx appears in the myth and drama of Oedipus. The Sphinx is the rasping Singer who arrived in Thebes shortly after Latus' departure.
f. The climax
Thebes suffers from a plague. Oedipus wants to end the plague, so he sends Creon to Apollo’s oracle at Delphi. Creon comes back and tells him that the oracle said that to end the plague, the murderer of Laios (who was king before Oedipus) must be found out and punished. Oedipus, the wisest mortal (he did solve the riddle of the Sphinx), decrees that the murderer will be found and punished. But actually the murderer is Oedipus himself. ( the climax of the story )
Part of text :
Messenger : Your ankles had been pinned. I set you free.
Oedipus : From birth I've carried the shame of those scars.
Messenger : That was the luck that named you, Oedipus
( swollen foot)
→ Audience and the messenger know the truth.
In the end of the play, the chorus made the comment.
Chorus : Thebans, that man is the same Oedipus whose great mind solved the famous riddle. He was a most powerful man. Which of us seeing his glory, his prestige, did not wish his luck could be ours? Now look at what wreckage the seas of savage trouble have made of his life. To know the truth of the man, wait till you see his life end. On that day, look at him. Don't claim any is God's friend until he has passed through life and crossed the border into death ---- never having been god's victim.
→ 只有死才能逃離命運
g. Antigone and Haemon
Creon decreed that Antigone was to be thrown into a cave with one day's worth of food, despite her engagement to his son, Haemon. The gods, through the blind prophet Tiresias, expressed their disapproval of Creon' s decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices. However, Antigone had already hanged herself on the way to her burial. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she was to be left, his son, Haemon, threatens him and tries to kill him but ends up taking his own life.
Haemon is betrothed to Antigone. He must choose between his father (whom he has always followed) and his lover Antigone. He chooses Antigone but cannot separate himself from either because of the strong ties of family and love. He commits suicide because of his helpless situation, which also leads his mother to commit suicide. These actions cause Creon' s madness at the play's conclusion.
Antigone is the daughter/sister of Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta.
Haemon is the son of Creon and Eurydice.
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