DOCSLIB.ORG

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Copyright Notice ©1998−2002; ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. ©2007 eNotes.com LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher. For complete copyright information on these eNotes please visit: http://www.enotes.com/oedipus−rex/copyright Table of Contents 1. Oedipus Rex: Introduction 2. Sophocles Biography 3. Summary 4. Themes 5. Style 6. Historical Context 7. Critical Overview 8. Character Analysis 9. Essays and Criticism 10. Compare and Contrast 11. Topics for Further Study 12. Media Adaptations 13. What Do I Read Next? 14. Bibliography and Further Reading 15. Copyright Introduction Sophocles's Oedipus Rex is probably the most famous tragedy ever written. It is known by a variety of titles (the most common being Oedipus Rex), including Oedipus the King and Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles first produced the play in Athens around 430 B.C. at the Great Dionysia, a religious and cultural festival held in honor of the god Dionysus, where it won second prize. In the play Oedipus, King of Thebes, upon hearing that his city is being ravaged by fire and plague, sends his brother−in−law Creon to find a remedy from the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. When Creon returns Oedipus begins investigating the death of his predecessor, Laius, and discovers through various means that he himself was the one who had unknowingly killed Laius and then married his own mother, Jocasta. Jocasta commits suicide, Oedipus blinds himself, takes leave of his children, and is led away. Aristotle praises the play in his Poetics for having an exemplary, well−constructed plot, one Oedipus Rex 1 which is capable of inspiring fear and pity not only in its audience but especially in those who have merely heard of the story. Following Aristotle's appraisal, many prominent authors including Voltaire, Frederich Nietzsche, and Sidmund Freud reacted at length to the play's themes of incest and patricide. In the twentieth century, the most influential of these thinkers, Freud, showed that Oedipus's fate is that of every man; the "Oedipus Complex" is the definitive parent−child relationship. Throughout history, writers have drawn upon the myth of Oedipus, and dramatists, composers, and poets, including Pierre Corneille, Fredrich von Schiller, Heinrich von Kleist, William Butler Yeats, Ezra Pound, Igor Stravinsky, and Jean Cocteau, have both written on, translated, and staged the tragedy; contemporary filmmakers such as Pier Paolo Pasolini and Woody Allen have directed self−consciously autobiographical versions of Oedipus Rex. » Back to Table of Contents Author Biography Sophocles was born in Colonus, Greece, c. 496 B.C. and died in Athens c. 406 B.C. The son of an armor manufacturer, he was a member of a family of considerable rank, was well−educated, and held a number of significant political positions, in addition to being one of the best dramatists in his age—an age in which his dramatic peers included the famed playwrights Euripides and Aeschylus. Sophocles studied under the musician Lampras and under Aeschylus, later becoming his rival. He lived and wrote during an era known as the Golden Age of Athens (480−406 B.C.); in 480 and 479 B.C. the city had won the battles of Salamis and Plataea against Persian invaders, thereby inaugurating what would become a definitive period in the history of western literature and society, famed for its flourishing political and cultural life. The Golden Age lasted until Athens's humiliating defeat to Sparta in 404 B.C., after 27 years of war between the two city−states (commonly referred to as the Peloponnesian War). In many ways, the dramatic arts stood at the center of the cultural achievements of the Golden Age, and the popularity and success of the plays of Sophocles were evident in his own day. His works were produced at the Great Dionysia in Athens, an annual festival honoring the god Dionysus and culminating in the famous dramatic competitions. Sophocles won first prize over twenty times in the competition, beginning with Triptolemos in 468 B.C., the first year that Aeschylus lost the contest to him. Euripides lost to Sophocles in 438 B.C. Unfortunately, Triptolemos is one among many of Sophocles's lost plays. He is purported to have written over one hundred tragedies, yet only seven have survived to the modern era; Ajax (c. 450 B.C.); Antigone (c. 442 B.C.); Ichneutai (translated as The Trackers,, c. 440 B.C.); The Trachiniae (c. 440−430 B.C.); Oedipus The King (c. 430−426 B.C.); Electra(c. 425−510 B.C.); Philoctetes (409 B.C.); and Oedipus at Colonus (c. 405 B.C.). While there is some dispute among scholars as to their actual relationship, three of Sophocles's surviving works are thought to comprise a trilogy. Known as the Theban Trilogy the plays are Antigone, Oedipus The King, and Oedipus at Colonus. All of these plays draw upon the ancient story of Oedipus, King of Thebes. The sources for Sophocles's version of this legendary tale are thought to include Book XI of Homer's Odyssey, two ancient epic poems entitled the Oedipodeia and the Thebais, and four plays by Aeschylus, including Seven against Thebes. In addition to being a dramatist and a public official, Sophocles also was a priest of the god Amynos, a healer. He married a woman named Nicostrata and had two sons, Iophon and Agathon. » Back to Table of Contents Author Biography 2 Summary 1. Act I Summary 2. Act II Summary 3. Act III Summary 4. Act IV Summary 5. Act V Summary Act I Summary Prologue Oedipus Rex begins outside King Oedipus's palace, where despondent beggars and a priest have gathered and brought branches and wreaths of olive leaves. Oedipus enters and asks the people of Thebes why they pray and lament, since apparently they have come together to petition him with an unknown request. The Priest speaks on their behalf, and Oedipus assures them that he will help them. The Priest reports that Thebes has been beset with horrible calamities—famine, fires, and plague have all caused widespread suffering and death among their families and animals, and their crops have all been destroyed. He beseeches Oedipus, whom he praises for having solved the riddle of the Sphinx (an action which justified his succession to King Laius, as Jocasta's husband and as king) to cure the city of its woes. Oedipus expresses his profound sympathy and announces that he sent Creon, the Queen's brother, to Delphi to receive the Oracle of Apollo, in order to gain some much−needed guidance. Creon arrives and Oedipus demands, against Creon's wishes, that he report the news in front of the gathered public. Creon reports that the gods caused the plague as a reaction against the murder of their previous king, Laius, and that they want the Thebans to "drive out pollution sheltered in our land"; in other words, to find the murderer and either kill or exile him (Laius had been killed on the roadside by a highwayman). Oedipus vows to root out this evil. In the next scene, the chorus of Theban elders calls upon the gods Apollo, Athena, and Artemis to save them from the disaster. Act I Declaring his commitment to finding and punishing Laius's murderer, Oedipus says that he has sent for Teiresias, the blind prophet. After much pleading and mutual antagonism, Oedipus makes Teiresias say what he knows: that it was Oedipus who killed Laius. Outraged at the accusations Oedipus calls him a "fortuneteller" and a "deceitful beggar−priest." Both are displaying what in Greek is called orge, or anger, towards each other. Oedipus suspects the seer of working on Creon's behalf (Creon, as Laius's brother, was and still is a potential successor to the throne). Teiresias thinks the king mad for not believing him and for being blind to his fate (not to mention ignorant of his true parentage). Oedipus then realizes that he does not know who his real mother is. Teiresias is led out while saying that Oedipus will be discovered to be a brother as well as a father to his children, a son as well as a husband to the same woman, and the killer of his father. He exits and the Chorus enters, warning of the implications of the decisive, oracular charges against Oedipus. » Back to Section Index » Back to Table of Contents Summary 3 Act II Summary Creon expresses great desire to prove his innocence to Oedipus, who continues to assert that Creon has been plotting to usurp the throne. Creon denies the accusations, saying he is quite content and would not want the cares and responsibilities that come with being king. Oedipus calls for his death. Jocasta, having heard their quarrel, enters and tries to pacify them, and the Chorus calls for proof of Creon's guilt before Oedipus punishes him. Jocasta reminds Oedipus of Apollo's oracle and also of the way Laius died. She recounts the story as it was told to her by a servant who was there at the crossroads where a charioteer and an old man attacked a man, who in turn killed them. Hearing the tale, Oedipus realizes that he was the murderer and asks to consult the witness, the shepherd, who is sent for.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sophocles' Oedipus Rex: a Deconstructive Study
    Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 6 No. 5; October 2015 Flourishing Creativity & Literacy Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex: A Deconstructive Study Javed Akhter (Corresponding author) Department of English Literature and Linguistics University of Balochistan Quetta Balochistan Pakistan E-mail: [email protected] Khair Muhammad Department of English Literature and Linguistics University of Balochistan Quetta Balochistan Pakistan E-mail: [email protected] Naila Naz Department of English Literature and Linguistics University of Balochistan Quetta Balochistan Pakistan E-mail: [email protected] Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.5p.9 Received: 19/04/2015 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.5p.9 Accepted: 04/07/2015 Abstract Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) is the most prominent figure in contemporary philosophical and literary debate. He originates a trend-breaking theory of deconstruction. He opines the persistence in west European philosophical tradition of what he labels is logocentric metaphysics of presence. He argues that the different theories of philosophy, from Plato until structuralism are versions of a single or authoritative system. Though we cannot hope to escape this system we can at least identify the conditions of thought it imposes by attending to that which it seek to impress. Derridean deconstruction may present a new perspective to Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”, which has always been a research target for world researchers. The researchers studied it from different angles, but the present study tries to reveal different facets of the play on Derridean deconstructive bedrock. Applying Derrida’s deconstruction to the text of the play, the study tries to present it in a new and innovative way.
    [Show full text]
  • Oedipus Rex Crossword Puzzle
    L I T ERARY CROSSWO RD PUZZ LE Oedipus Rex 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Across Down Across 2. Animals useful in prophecy Down1. The wife of Oedipus 2. Animals4. useful Tiresias in prophecy says Oedipus is “the unholy ________ 1. 3.The How wife Jocasta of Oedipus died of this land.” 5. Laius was killed at the intersection of ________ 4. Tiresias 7.says The Oedipus famous is “the Oracle unholy dwells ________ here. of this land.” 3. How________. Jocasta died (2 words) 7. The famous9. What Oracle has dwells killed here. Polybus? (2 words) 5. 6.Laius The was shepherd killed at claimsthe intersection that Oedipus of ________ was born________. this (2 11. Who has killed Laius? words)way. 9. What has15. killedThe entirePolybus? play (2 words)takes place outside of here. 8. Oedipus is revealed to have married his 11. Who has16. killed Adoptive Laius? mother of Oedipus 6. The_________. shepherd claims that Oedipus was born this way. 15. The entire17. playMeaning takes placeof “Rex” outside of here. 8.10. Oedipus The baby is revealed Oedipus to have was married to be killed his _________. before he 19. What Oedipus decrees will happen to Laius’ could ________ ________ ________. (3 16. Adoptive mothermurderer of Oedipus 10. Thewords) baby Oedipus was to be killed before he could ________ ________ ________. (3 words) 17. Meaning20. of King “Rex” of the Greek gods 12. Oedipus hopes the herdsman will say ________ 24.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dream Narrative As a Mode of Female Discourse in Epic Poetry
    Transactions of the American Philological Association 140 (2010) 195–238 Incohat Ismene: The Dream Narrative as a Mode of Female Discourse in Epic Poetry* emma scioli University of Kansas summary: This article examines Ismene’s nightmare in book 8 of Statius’s Thebaid by contextualizing it within the epic’s narrative, comparing it with the dream narrations of other female characters in epic poetry, and aligning it with other typically female modes of subjective expression in epic, such as weaving, teichoscopy, and lamentation. My analysis shows that by exposing the diffi- culties inherent in retelling a dream, Statius demonstrates sympathy with the female perspective on the horrific war that constitutes the central action of his poem and foreshadows the subsequent inadequacy of words in reaction to such horror. i. introduction: ismene begins ismene, daughter of oedipus, is a character who has virtually no presence in the narrative of Statius’s Thebaid either before or after the small section devoted to the retelling of her dream and its aftermath (8.607–54); for this reason, the intricacy and allusiveness of this passage are all the more striking. In this scene, Ismene recounts to her sister Antigone a dream she has had, in which her wedding to her fiancé Atys is violently interrupted by a fire. After questioning the dream’s origin, Ismene discounts its meaning as incongruous with her understanding of her own waking reality and resumes * Shorter versions of this paper were delivered at the University of Rome, Tor Vergata, in 2004 and the 2005 APA meeting in Boston. I would like to thank audience members at both venues for useful feedback.
    [Show full text]
  • Surviving Antigone: Anouilh, Adaptation, and the Archive
    SURVIVING ANTIGONE: ANOUILH, ADAPTATION AND THE ARCHIVE Katelyn J. Buis A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2014 Committee: Cynthia Baron, Advisor Jonathan Chambers ii ABSTRACT Dr. Cynthia Baron, Advisor The myth of Antigone has been established as a preeminent one in political and philosophical debate. One incarnation of the myth is of particular interest here. Jean Anouilh’s Antigone opened in Paris, 1944. A political and then philosophical debate immediately arose in response to the show. Anouilh’s Antigone remains a well-known play, yet few people know about its controversial history or the significance of its translation into English immediately after the war. It is this history and adaptation of Anouilh’s contested Antigone that defines my inquiry. I intend to reopen interpretive discourse about this play by exploring its origins, its journey, and the archival limitations and motivations controlling its legacy and reception to this day. By creating a space in which multiple readings of this play can exist, I consider adaptation studies and archival theory and practice in the form of theatre history, with a view to dismantle some of the misconceptions this play has experienced for over sixty years. This is an investigation into the survival of Anouilh’s Antigone since its premiere in 1944. I begin with a brief overview of the original performance of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone and the significant political controversy it caused. The second chapter centers on the changing reception of Anouilh’s Antigone beginning with the liberation of Paris to its premiere on the Broadway stage the following year.
    [Show full text]
  • Female Familial Relationships in Valerius' Argonautica and Statius
    W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 5-2021 Female Familial Relationships in Valerius’ Argonautica and Statius’ Thebaid Sophia Warnement Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the Classical Literature and Philology Commons Recommended Citation Warnement, Sophia, "Female Familial Relationships in Valerius’ Argonautica and Statius’ Thebaid" (2021). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1619. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1619 This Honors Thesis -- Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Female Familial Relationships in Valerius’ Argonautica and Statius’ Thebaid A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Department of Classical Studies from The College of William and Mary by Sophia Irene Warnement Accepted for ______Honors___________________________ (Honors, Highest Honors) __Vassiliki Panoussi___________________ Vassiliki Panoussi, Director __Molly Swetnam-Burland____________ Molly Swetnam-Burland __Jennifer Gülly___ ____________________ Jennifer Gülly Williamsburg, VA May 07, 2021 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Oedipus and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex: a Comparative Study مسرحية توفيق الحكيم الملك أوديب ومسرحية سوفكليس أوديب ملكا: دراسة مقارنة
    I Tawfiq Al-Hakim’s King Oedipus and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex: A Comparative Study مسرحية توفيق الحكيم الملك أوديب ومسرحية سوفكليس أوديب ملكا: دراسة مقارنة Prepared by: Israa Jamil Mohammed Supervised by: Professor Tawfiq Yousef A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master’s Degree in English Language and Literature Faculty of Arts and Science Department of English Language and Literature Middle East University August 2015 II III IV Acknowledgment My deepest thanks and gratitude are to Allah, the Greatest, who gave me the patience and strength to do this research. My special appreciation and thanks are to my supervisor Professor Tawfiq Yousef who has been a tremendous mentor for me. I would like to thank him for supervising my research and for allowing me to grow as a researcher. His comments, guidance, and advice on my research have been very helpful. Special thanks also are given to my parents. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my father and my mother for all of the sacrifices that have made on my behalf. Their prayers and their support for me were what sustained me thus far. Finally, I would like to thank my brothers and sisters who stood by my side during the period of preparing the thesis. V Dedication I would like to dedicate this research to my parents, who were my strongest supporters throughout this whole experience. I also would like to dedicate it to my brothers and sisters who also supported me. Finally, I dedicate it to my uncles, aunts and friends.
    [Show full text]
  • Stravinsky Oedipus
    London Symphony Orchestra LSO Live LSO Live captures exceptional performances from the finest musicians using the latest high-density recording technology. The result? Sensational sound quality and definitive interpretations combined with the energy and emotion that you can only experience live in the concert hall. LSO Live lets everyone, everywhere, feel the excitement in the world’s greatest music. For more information visit lso.co.uk LSO Live témoigne de concerts d’exception, donnés par les musiciens les plus remarquables et restitués grâce aux techniques les plus modernes de Stravinsky l’enregistrement haute-définition. La qualité sonore impressionnante entourant ces interprétations d’anthologie se double de l’énergie et de l’émotion que seuls les concerts en direct peuvent offrit. LSO Live permet à chacun, en toute Oedipus Rex circonstance, de vivre cette passion intense au travers des plus grandes oeuvres du répertoire. Pour plus d’informations, rendez vous sur le site lso.co.uk Apollon musagète LSO Live fängt unter Einsatz der neuesten High-Density Aufnahmetechnik außerordentliche Darbietungen der besten Musiker ein. Das Ergebnis? Sir John Eliot Gardiner Sensationelle Klangqualität und maßgebliche Interpretationen, gepaart mit der Energie und Gefühlstiefe, die man nur live im Konzertsaal erleben kann. LSO Live lässt jedermann an der aufregendsten, herrlichsten Musik dieser Welt teilhaben. Wenn Sie mehr erfahren möchten, schauen Sie bei uns Jennifer Johnston herein: lso.co.uk Stuart Skelton Gidon Saks Fanny Ardant LSO0751 Monteverdi Choir London Symphony Orchestra Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) The music is linked by a Speaker, who pretends to explain Oedipus Rex: an opera-oratorio in two acts the plot in the language of the audience, though in fact Oedipus Rex (1927, rev 1948) (1927, rev 1948) Cocteau’s text obscures nearly as much as it clarifies.
    [Show full text]
  • Antigone's Line
    Bulletin de la Société Américaine de Philosophie de Langue Française Volume 14, Number 2, Fall 2005 Antigone’s Line Mary Beth Mader “Leader: What is your lineage, stranger? Tell us—who was your father? Oedipus: God help me! Dear girl, what must I suffer now? Antigone: Say it. You’re driven right to the edge.”1 Sophocles’ Antigone has solicited many superlatives. Hölderlin considered the play to be the most difficult, the most enigmatic and the most essentially Greek of plays. This paper treats a matter of enigma in the play, one that is crucial to understanding the central stakes of the drama. Its main purpose is to propose a novel account of this enigma and briefly to contrast this account with two other readings of the play. One passage in particular has prompted the view that the play is extremely enigmatic; it is a passage that has been read with astonishment by many commentators and taken to demand explanation. This is Antigone’s defense speech at lines 905-914. Here, she famously provides what appear to her to be reasons for her burying her brother Polynices against the explicit command of her king and uncle, Creon. Her claim is that she would not have deliberately violated Creon’s command, would not have ANTIGONE’S LINE intentionally broken his law or edict, had this edict barred her from burying a child or a husband of hers. She states that if her husband or child had died “there might have been another.” But since both her mother and father are dead, she reasons, “no brother could ever spring to light again.”2 Reasoning of this sort has a precedent in a tale found in Herodotus’ Histories, and Aristotle cites it in Rhetoric as an example of giving an explanation for something that one’s auditors may at first find incredible.3 To Aristotle, then, Antigone’s defense speech appears to have been “rhetorically satisfactory,” as Bernard Knox says.4 However, such a reception is rare among commentators.5 1.
    [Show full text]
  • CS Lewis, Colin Hardie, Charles Williams, and JRR Tolkien's
    Volume 38 Number 2 Article 11 5-15-2020 Inklings and Danteans Alike: C.S. Lewis, Colin Hardie, Charles Williams, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Participation in the Oxford Dante Society Jim Stockton Boise State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Stockton, Jim (2020) "Inklings and Danteans Alike: C.S. Lewis, Colin Hardie, Charles Williams, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Participation in the Oxford Dante Society," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 38 : No. 2 , Article 11. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol38/iss2/11 This Notes and Letters is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract This note pulls together information about the Oxford Dante Society and compiles a useful timetable of the participation of three Inklings in its activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Antigone Introductory Lecture Notes Greek Drama and the Elements of Tragedy
    Antigone Introductory Lecture Notes Greek Drama and the Elements of Tragedy Understanding Greek Theatre I. The Festival of Dionysus Dionysus - Festival of Dionysus - II. Conventions of Greek Drama Actors - Chorus - o Functions Costuming Scenery and Action Composition and Structure o Composition . o Structure . Prologue - . Parados - III. Tragedy Tragedy: Aristotle o Aristotle’s Unity of Time, Place, and Action . Time: . Place: . Action: o Action of the play arouses extreme pity and fear in the audience – pity for the protagonist and a sympathetic fear. (Tragedy cont.) o Purpose of tragedy: o Catharsis - Tragic Hero o Hamartia: o Paripateia: The Fall Revelation IV. Sophocles and the Oedipus Myth Sophocles Notes on Greek Burial Traditions: The Oedipus Myth o King Laius rules Thebes with his queen, Jocasta. An oracle prophesies that his son will grow to kill him, so Laius pierces his infant son’s ankles and feet and orders Jocasta to kill him. She cannot, so she sends a servant to do it, who leaves him for dead in the mountains. o The infant is found by a servant of the King of Corinth and is then raised by the King and Queen of Corinth, who name him Oedipus (meaning “swollen foot”). o When Oedipus is a young man, an oracle tells him that he will kill his father and marry his mother so, to try to escape his fate, he flees Corinth. Along the road, he gets into an argument with a stranger and kills him. That stranger is Laius. Part 1 of the prophecy is fulfilled. o Oedipus reaches Thebes, where a sphinx is plaguing the city, but will stop if someone answers a riddle.
    [Show full text]
  • November 6, 2018 to the Board of Directors of the Voice Foundation
    November 6, 2018 To the Board of Directors of The Voice Foundation, This is a letter of interest in the Van L. Lawrence Fellowship, to be awarded in 2019. As I look through the bullet points to be included in this document, it’s clear to me that what I should really be submitting is simply a thank-you note, since attending the Annual Symposium has comprehensively re-shaped me as a vocal pedagogue since I began attending four years ago. The singers I teach (at the University of Missouri, and as of this year, at the Jacobs School of Music at IU-Bloomington) are music majors ranging from freshmen to young professionals, c. 18-26 years old. The freshmen arrive having had some introductory experience with vocal instruction, but are basically wide-open to the unknown. They leave after their first lesson knowing what vowel formants are and where they are located, understanding the contribution of harmonics to an expressive vocal color, and demonstrating a solid rudimentary understanding of resonance strategies (including divergence and off-resonance, aka inertance). I’ve been diligent in streamlining this information; I want them to gain fluency in these concepts before they even think twice. The rapidity with which these talented students assimilate a paradigm so squarely founded on acoustics and physiology is inspiring, and very exciting. As recently as three years ago, I felt obliged to defend the validity of these ideas, and my qualifications to present them as established fact. Now, that defensive stance (at least with these superlative students) is already obsolete.
    [Show full text]
  • Oedipus Myth Inadequate and I Put Forward an Alternative Hypothesis of Social Survival, Based on the Demands of Societal Functioning
    Benin and Thebes: Elementary Forms of Civilization PETER P. EKEH This chapter deals with comparative themes in Oedipal myths. Oedipal myths in classical Greek city-state civilization will be compared with Oedipal myths in Benin city-state civilization in Africa. I use this comparative strategy in order to shed light on the functioning of elementary city-state civilizations and to generalize from the elementary forms of civilization to the dynamics of more complex modern forms of civilization. In doing so, I find Freud's on or publication of and Fromm's interpretations of the Oedipus myth inadequate and I put forward an alternative hypothesis of social survival, based on the demands of societal functioning. The comparison of Greek city-state civilization with their counter parts outside the Euro-America cultural matrix runs against stand personal use only. Citati ard practice. It is fashionable in Western scholarship to trace the rums. Nutzung nur für persönliche Zwecke. origins of Western culture and society to Greek city-state civiliza tion. In sociology, for example, Talcott Parsons (1966) recently tten permission of the copyright holder. characterized ancient Greece as a "seed bed" society on which modern Western institutions grew. Equal, ifnot greater, importance • is assigned by historians and philosophers to the significance of Greek city-state civilization for the evolution of modern Western ; culture. While such common tendency of linking Greek city-state i civilization to the characteristics of modern Western culture seems generally beneficial to our understanding of modern institutions and material prohibited without express wri express without prohibited material Propriety of the Erich Fromm Document Center.
    [Show full text]