Sophocles: Oedipus Rex

‘Sophocles, in a play that won only second prize, created a masterpiece that in the eyes of posterity has overshadowed every other achievement in the field of ancient drama. In it he played on certain latent terrors that are part of man’s nature in all kinds of societies and at all epochs; terrors whose influence may pervade our lives in ways we scarcely guess …’ These words come from the introduction to Dr Dawe’s edition of Oedipus Rex. In an attempt to analyse why this play ‘…has exercised such a powerful and long-lasting fascination on the human mind’ Dr Dawe devotes his introduction to an examination of the content of the story and to the technique displayed by Sophocles in the unfolding of the plot. The commentary deals authoritatively with problems of language and expression. This is an edition for classical scholars, undergraduates, and students in the upper forms of schools. The Introduction requires no knowledge of Greek and may be read by anyone interested in Greek literature and drama.

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