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Oedipus Tyrannus by the great tragedian Sophocles is one of the
most famous works of ancient Greek literature. The play has always
been admired for the tight unity of its plot; every bit of every
scene counts towards the dramatic effect. The action is
concentrated into a single day in Oedipus' life; his heinous crimes
of unwittingly killing his father and marrying his mother all lie
long ago in the past, and now, in the action of this one day, there
awaits for him only the discovery of the truth. Oedipus is
portrayed as a noble king, deeply devoted to his people and they to
him. Proud of his earlier defeat of the Sphinx, he is determined to
save his city once again, and he unflinchingly pursues the truth of
who he is and what he has done, unaware that it will bring him to
disaster. The spectators, familiar with Oedipus' story, wait in
horrified suspense for that terrible moment of realisation to
arrive. And when it does, Oedipus survives it: he takes full
responsibility for what he has done, accepts the grief and the
pain, and carries on, remaining indomitable to the end. Sophocles
gives no answer as to why Oedipus is made to suffer his tragic
fate. He simply shows us how human life is; how even a great and
good man can be brought to the utmost misery through no fault of
his own. The gods may, for no apparent reason, deal out
unbelievable suffering, but humankind can survive it. Jenny March's
new facing-page translation brings alive the power and complexities
of Sophocles' writing, with a substantial introduction and a
detailed commentary.
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