The Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (Penguin Classics)
‘O Light! May I never look on you again, Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting, Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!’ The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496–406 BC) to create a powerful trilogy of mankind’s struggle against fate. King Oedipus tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he does not realise he has committed, and then inflicts a brutal punishment upon himself. With profound insights into the human condition, it...
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This volume offers the fruits of Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff1s dynamic collaboration on the plays of Sophocles1 Theban cycle, presenting the translators1 Oedipus Tyrannus (2000) along with Woodruff1s Antigone (2001) and a muscular new Oedipus at Colonus by Meineck. Grippingly readable, all three translations combine fidelity to the Greek with concision, clarity, and powerful, hard-edged speech. Each play features foot-of-the-page notes, stage directions, and line numbers to the Greek. Woodruff1s Introduction discusses the playwright, Athenian theatre and performance, the composition of the plays, and the plots and characters of each; it also offers thoughtful reflections on major critical interpretations of these plays.
PrefaceIntroductionSuggestions for Further ReadingNote on the TranslationsAcknowledgmentsTheban Royal Family TreeAntigone1Oedipus Tyrannus61Oedipus at Colonus125Endnote: A. Antigone208Endnote: B. Oedipus Tyrannus211Endnote: C. Oedipus at Colonus212AppHegel on Antigone214Selected Bibliography217
