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Pete Yemc
Period 7
3/28/99
So Why Read Oedipus?
Besides the obvious fact that all of the Caesar books were unavailable to our class on the Ides of March, and therefore we were forced to read Oedipus the King, there are some possible other reasons as to why we read Oedipus the King by Sophocles. I do not feel that there was one grand reason for reading Oedipus, but rather a whole set of smaller reasons, each of which in some way benefitted my (the classes) outlook on literature and literature's view on the world.
One major reason for reading Oedipus is that all modern theater has its roots in the Greek religious practices which would eventually lead to theater. If we as students are to understand modern or medieval theater, we first must understand the roots of theater. Once we can see where all of the aspects of theater came from (such as the chorus, or the term "thespian"), we can see how playwrights use the aspects of the play to explain a concept of humanity. Thus, when we do finally read Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, we can appreciate all of the theatrical aspects of the play and also we can see how theater has further evolved from the time of Sophocles (also theater and plays is the basis from which television shows developed).
Another reason for reading Sophocles' Oedipus the King is to learn about the whole concept of a "fatal flaw" or "tragic flaw" on which a tragedy is based. Oedipus' tragic flaw was his temper, which caused him all of his sorrow. Now that we have been informed about the tragic flaw, we can look for it in all other pieces of literature that we read. We also have learned to look for characters' motives in their actions by witnessing how Oedipus' temper affects his actions. By reading Oedipus the King, we as readers have learned to look for the tragic flaws in the characters and their motives behind their actions. This way when we read Caesar, which I presume is another tragedy (he does die at the end), we will look for Caesar's fatal flaw and see how it works against him leading to his demise.
So in actuality, it probably was better that there were not enough Caesar books for us to read, because we probably needed a better background in theater that is offered in Oedipus the King to fully appreciate Julius Caesar when we actually read it. By reading Oedipus first, we have learned about the origins of theater which will be used by Shakespeare in Julius Caesar. We also learned what is needed to deem a play a tragedy (a tragic flaw). An finally, something left unmentioned, we probably learned how to read a play properly (at least I did), how to recognize when characters are arguing and when they are merely reciting a soliloquy.
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