Oedipus the King

Este día te dará la vida y te traerá la ruina.

El tiempo es lo único que muestra al hombre justo; pues al malvado se le puede conocer en un solo día.

I'm being irreverent, but whenever I think of this work I cannot help recalling Mel Brooks in History of the World Part 1.

Apart from the legendary, and infamous, incest, this is an ancient tale of psychological terror and angst. Human nature does not change and the themes Sophocles explored are still relevant today, this is truly a timeless work.

I actually like this one better than Antigone, the subject is very disturbing, but I liked the writing a lot.

I really do not like my mother.

I realize that moms (mums for the English) have many hats to wear. There is the tumult she has with the husband who never listens to her, and the children who end up at the principal’s office, and the clothes that need mending, and the purveying and construction of victuals to meet everyone’s different palate. Got it. I cannot even imagine what extra toll and toil the 1960’s will bring on these unappreciated females. But that is still years away. I like to focus on the now. Why? Sounds good, I think. Please pass the black and white corn on the cob.

But some mothers are…well…mothers. I include mine in this subsection. She is so bad I do not hesitate to walk little old ladies across the interstate. She is so bad that occasionally I will borrow a granny's walker for few minutes and ask them to lean against a wall while I spin it around. She is so bad that I consciously walk through the make-up departments at big chains and offer an ersatz opinion to elderly mothers on their rouge or their eyeliner or whatever it is that they buy for their faces.

I will say, in passing, “No, the lipstick is too vermillion.” Of course, they will think it over, because what kind of man knows the word vermillion. “Periwinkle eye-shadow? In the summer?” will cause them to blush vermillion, as I roll my eyes (drama). You can never use the word vermillion enough, I have always thought. It’s the opposite of pizza. One slice of it after forty-years old and you have gained twelve pounds. Two slices, straight away to a triple bypass at the local emergency room. Three slices and a Parson delivers the box, and waits.

And even after many attempts at self-normalizing behavior, I still do not like my mother. I know, it is against one of those ten commandments, but we just do not get along. It happens. Why are you trying to make me feel guilty?

“Tell me about your mother, david?”
“Oh no, not again.”
“Is she pretty?”
“What?”
“Is she malicious?”
“Well…”
“Oops. Sorry. The session is up. See you again next Monday at nine?”
“Cannot. I must give a speech at the Greater NY Jockey association. The topic is ‘Organic Horse Feed, Worth the Cost?’”
“You sound resentful?”
“I thought our time was over? Hmm.”
“One hundred dollars, please.”
“A little resentful, now.”

Sophocles, what’s your deal? This is Greece. It is friggin’ hot here. There are no “Saturday Morning food fairs” and you do not like fishing? Why not go to Santorini for the week? They are having a sale on last year’s togas and this year’s newest flip-flops.

No. Instead, you go off on your own, chisel in hand and rocks on the ground, no one around for hectares, and you start writing a story about a boy and his mommy, in an intimate way? Perhaps you also wrote for Penthouse forum? Our Athenian audience is all men, this is not Off-Off Broadway. They ain't going to like it. Well, maybe the politicians...

Listen to me, your friend Socratberg. Go to the nearest dispensary and buy yourself some hybrid hemlock. Have it with a little vino. Don’t forget it may take an hour before the effects set in.

Okay, basta. Y’all know how the story goes. A tragedy indeed for the son/husband and serendipity for Sophocles, who, so far has about twenty-five hundred years run on this production.

Next time, take my mother, please.

Kako se kupuje karta za Edipa u JDP? Nakon što par meseci očekuješ da ćeš je nekako dobiti, podesiš alarm na početak prodaje, a onda umesto u 13:00, dođeš u 13:24 - i jedva dobiješ dve karte. Odvojene, jedna u prvom, druga u šestom redu.

Edipa sam ponovo pročitao nakon predstave, i oduševio se još jednom. A oduševila me i predstava. Sofokle i srpska kafana - na prvi pogled recept za tragediju neke vrste u pozorištu. Ali ovo je ispalo sjajno. Time što su zadržali klasični tekst (naravno, donekle ga skratili), a modernizovali likove i scenografiju, Taufer i Stojanović su napravili remek-delo. Edip tako nije više samo jedna od najboljih tragedija koje sam čitao, već i koje sam gledao.

Šta je sledeće? Verovatno Edip na grčkom, u Atini ispod Akropolja, ili na letnjoj pozornici u Epidauru.



Prethodno sam pisao:
----------
U vreme zlatnog doba antičke Atine, drame je u teatru gledalo 17.000 gledalaca (Aristotel kaže 30.000, ali arheolozi su izračunali preciznije). Postojala su dva festivala za vreme kojih su se drame igrale, i to svaka po samo jednom. Zakasnio? Žao nam je, reprize nema.

I sad, evo, novi festival stiže u grad. Nedeljama je već glavna tema u agori to da će se prikazati nove tragedije Euripida i Sofokla. Duel titana. Ovo je nešto za šta se živi, od dana kad se za Ijonovo recitovanje Ilijade tražila karta više, nije bilo ovakvog spektakla. Odlaziš u teatar već ujutro, a dešavanje traje čitav dan. Odgledaš 3 drame i komediju, i tako sutra ponovo. Sav sam se naježio zamišljajući se.

Priča o caru Edipu je Atinjanima bila poznata, kao što je i nama pre nego što krenemo da je čitamo. Ali i kad znaš šta te čeka, ovaj prvi detektivski triler ne ostavlja ravnodušnim. Edip je 'osuđen' i pre početka drame, iako je do neke mere nevin. Zbog svog beskompromisnog traganja za istinom se dovodi u situaciju da kažnjava sam sebe. Ali upravo zbog tog traženja istine, postaje heroj, koji ne želi da živi u neznanju. Čvrsto je rešen da stvari istera na čistac.

On, koji je do tada čitav život posvetio tome da izbegne sudbinu, svojim potezima tu strašnu sudbinu doziva. Ova prastara tema slobodne volje pojedinca obrađena je kratko, veoma melodramatično, ali efektno.

Edipova tragedija se pred našim očima odvija u realnom vremenu. U roku od tih sat vremena (otprilike toliko traje i da je pročitaš), Edipov srećan život se potpuno urušava. Aristotel je rekao da samo mrtav čovek može biti srećan čovek, što možda zvuči glupo, ali je istinito. Evo šta kaže Sofokle o tome:
"Narode Tebe, gledaj moćnog Edipa koji je rešio čuvenu zagonetku i služio na ponos ljudima. Ko mu na blagoslovenoj subdini nije zavideo? A sada su ga crne nesreće sinji vali potopili. Zato ne nazivajte srećnim nijednog od smrtnika pre njegovog sudnjeg dana, pre nego što mu se život okonča, a nikakvo mu se zlo ne dogodi."

Edipo Rey constituye una de las más famosas y emblemáticas piezas de la tragedia griega. Concebida por Sófocles, el más destacado de los dramaturgos que alguna vez habitasen Atenas, esta obra maestra debe su fama a lo implacable de su construcción, el fervor de su fuerza dramática y lo agudo de su ironía. Es además sumamente rica en estilismos y poética en el desenvolvimiento de los coros haciendo de su lenguaje narrativo no sólo elevado y distintivo sino profundamente bello. Su concepto, además, tan malicioso como brutal es eficaz en reflejar algunas de las creencias más características de la época en cuestiones como las deidades, el destino y el honor. Edipo Rey no sólo reúne los elementos de la tragedia sino que se enriquece de una retorcida originalidad que en lo depravado de su concepto halla también su cualidad de fascinante.

“The pain we inflict upon ourselves hurt most of all.”

The story of Oedipus, the king who is fated to kill his father and marry his mother, is one of the best-known Greek myths, thanks to Freud. I first read the play long ago as an undergraduate. In this rereading, I felt awed by Sophocles's skill as a playwright. The structure, pacing, and dialogue were brilliant, and considering that he was one of drama's earliest practitioners, the play is even more impressive.

I read and listened to a superb production on audible. I would love to see it performed. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the classics or drama.

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
4 out of 5 stars to Oedipus Rex, the first of "The Theban Plays," written by Sophocles around 430 BC. If you are unfamiliar with Greek tragedies, the thing you need to know most is that the authors often played with the concept of fate: not just that some things are meant to be or to come back and haunt you, but that there is always more going on than you realize at the time. This is one of the plays you should absolutely read. Although borderline spoiler, it's important to know 1 fact about the play, as it plays into the mind of so many psychologists today when they speak about an Oedipal Complex, as in all young boys (kids?) fall in love with their mothers at some point. Essentially, Oedipus kills the King and marries the King's wife. Little does he know.... that was his father and she is his mother. Whaaaaattttt? How does that happen? Seriously... well, the plot is intricate, the history is insane... and it's only the first of three in this trilogy. Find a translation and read it. It's a little convoluted, and the language may be a bit metaphorical in too many places, but the characters and the plot is amazing!

n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.