A Great Translator s Reflections On Oedipus The King

M. H. Abrams says that â€Å"almost all literary theorists since Aristotle have emphasized the importance of structure, conceived in diverse ways, in analyzing a work of literature† (300). The matter of the structure of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is a subject of varying interpretation among literary critics, as this essay will reveal. In â€Å"A Great Translator’s Reflections on Oedipus the King,† Gilbert Murray, professor at Oxford University in England, cites structure as one of the reasons why he chose Oedipus Rex as a work of translation: On the whole, I can only say that the work of translation has made me feel even more strongly than before the extraordinary grip and reality of the dialogue, the deftness of the construction, and . . . the unbroken crescendo of tragedy from the opening to the close (105). . . . But Sophocles worked by blurring his structural outlines just as he blurs the ends of his verses. In him the traditional divisions are all made le ss distinct, all worked over the direction of greater naturalness. . . .This was a very great gain. . . .(107) Murray’s appreciation of the â€Å"crescendo of tragedy† in Oedipus Rex is echoed in the sentiments of another critic: In Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge, Charles Segal says that the protagonist fares well in the first series of tests, but declines towards his catastrophe in the second series: The first three tests are, respectively, Oedipus’ meetings with Creon, Teiresias, and then Creon again.Show MoreRelated Structure in Sophocles Antigone Essays1944 Words   |  8 Pagesworked over the direction of greater naturalness. . . .This was a very great gain. . . .? (107). Murray here refers to Sophocles? modification of the classic structure for tragic drama. This is distinct from what Aristotle above refers to as the ?structure of the plot.? The classic structure for drama includes: Prologue ? everything up to the chorus; Parodos ? the chorus? sings; First Episode ? development of plot by main character(s); First Stasimon ? the chorus again; Repetition of Episodes and StasimonsRead MoreA Picatrix Miscellany52019 Words   |  209 Pagescomprehensive of the grimoires, or handbooks of magic. The attribution to the Andalusian mathematician al-Majriti (or al-Madjriti) (d. ca. 1004-7) is considered pseudo-epigraphic. The Latin translation dates to 1256 and the court of Alphonso the Wise, king of Castille, and exerted a considerable influence on Western magic thereafter. It is said that much of Ficino’s astrological magic derives from the Picatrix (see I.P.Couliano, Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, University of Chicago Press, 1987, pRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesbuilt-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore