In Sophocles‘ play Oedipus the King, the title character fits all aspects of Aristotle‘s formula for the characteristics of a tragic hero. Oedipus fits the six qualities laid out by Aristotle perfectly, as if they had been molded for him. This is as it should be, given that Aristotle based many of his arguments asContinue reading “The Tragic Hero: Oedipus the King”
Tag Archives: Play
The Novel Form
One of the things that stand out the most while reading Henry Fielding’s Jonathan Wild, is how differently it is formatted from other works from the same period. Granted, The Beggar’s Opera is a play and thus formatted accordingly. But Moll Flanders, while obviously a novel, based on its length, narrative style, etc., was not at all formattedContinue reading “The Novel Form”
Sophocles’ Religion
Sophocles devotion to his Athenian religion is reflected in the play Oedipus the King, illuminating the work’s overall meaning. Examining man’s responsibility for his own moral sanctity and his own sanity, Sophocles at the same time recognizes that in order to fulfill these responsibilities a man must have equal measures of piety and faith inContinue reading “Sophocles’ Religion”
Turning Back the Clock: How Flashbacks Are Used in Literature (Part 2)
Tim O’Brien also uses time travel in his critically acclaimed novel, In the Lake of the Woods. What makes these journeys to the past so much easier to identify and pay attention to in O’Brien’s novel versus Miller’s play? The answer: format and point of view. In In the Lake of the Woods, scattered throughoutContinue reading “Turning Back the Clock: How Flashbacks Are Used in Literature (Part 2)”
Turning Back the Clock: How Flashbacks Are Used in Literature (Part 1)
Time. Time is something that affects us all. We can feel it aging us, passing us by – we know we are living right in the midst of it. However, despite our intimate experience with it, the vast wealth of human ingenuity and knowledge has yet to afford us with a way to travel backContinue reading “Turning Back the Clock: How Flashbacks Are Used in Literature (Part 1)”