Sophocles Oedipus the King and Cocteaus The Infernal Machine Essay

Sophocles Oedipus the King and Cocteaus The mephistophelean Machine Sophocles Oedipus the King and Cocteaus The Infernal Machine relate the same story, yet from quite unalike angles. Sophocles play is written in heightened language and spends 1,530 lines on an moment of time. On the other hand, Cocteaus characters speak colloquially, and his 96 pages cover 17 years, putting much more(prenominal) emphasis on the events prior to where Sophocles begins his play. Sophocles and Cocteau present Oedipus character in different lights, and through these characters express contrary themes. Sophocles proud yet wise Oedipus reveals that a humans coming(prenominal) is determined by his actions, while Cocteaus haughty yet childish Oedipus suggests that mortals fates are completely predetermined by the gods. In both plays Oedipus appears to have extreme self-exaltation while Sophocles clever Oedipus has reason for his pride, Cocteaus foolish Oedipus is arrogant without cause. Sophocles Oedi pus solves the (sphinxs) filter by (his) wit alone.(Soph .O.T. 397) The Sphinx sits on the road to Thebes and kills anyone who can non answer her riddle until Oedipus appears, solves the riddle, and saves Thebes. It is at this point that he becomes King of Thebes and rules his people well. He does not know that he has killed his father, the former king, and married his mother. When his presence in Thebes causes a plague to drive the urban center, he sincerely seeks out the cure for his citys plight. <block citation>I know you are all spew out, yet there is not one of you, sick though you are, that is as sick as I myself. Your some(prenominal) sorrows each have single scope and touch but one of you. My spirit groans for city and myself and you at once. You have not roused m... ...sary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. late York Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. Cocteau, Jean. (1963). The Infernal Machine and other plays. (Bermel, Albert.). New York New Directions. Ehrenb erg, Victor. Sophoclean Rulers Oedipus. In Twentieth ascorbic acid Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. OBrien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Jaeger, Werner. Sophocles Mastery of constitution Development. In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA Greenhaven Press, 1997. Sophocles. (1991). Sophocles I Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Grene, David.). cabbage University of Chicago. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http//etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng& info=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi Sophocles Oedipus the King and Cocteaus The Infernal Machine EssaySophocles Oedipus the King and Cocteaus The Infernal Machine Sophocles Oedipus the King and Cocteaus The Infernal Machine relate the same story, yet from quite different angles. Sophocles play is written in heightened language and spends 1,530 lines on an hour of tim e. On the other hand, Cocteaus characters speak colloquially, and his 96 pages cover 17 years, putting much more emphasis on the events prior to where Sophocles begins his play. Sophocles and Cocteau present Oedipus character in different lights, and through these characters express contrary themes. Sophocles proud yet wise Oedipus reveals that a humans future is determined by his actions, while Cocteaus haughty yet immature Oedipus suggests that mortals fates are completely predetermined by the gods. In both plays Oedipus appears to have extreme pride while Sophocles clever Oedipus has reason for his pride, Cocteaus foolish Oedipus is arrogant without cause. Sophocles Oedipus solves the (sphinxs) riddle by (his) wit alone.(Soph .O.T. 397) The Sphinx sits on the road to Thebes and kills anyone who can not answer her riddle until Oedipus appears, solves the riddle, and saves Thebes. It is at this point that he becomes King of Thebes and rules his people well. He does not know that he has killed his father, the former king, and married his mother. When his presence in Thebes causes a plague to strike the city, he sincerely seeks out the cure for his citys plight. <block quote>I know you are all sick, yet there is not one of you, sick though you are, that is as sick as I myself. Your several sorrows each have single scope and touch but one of you. My spirit groans for city and myself and you at once. You have not roused m... ...sary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. New York Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. Cocteau, Jean. (1963). The Infernal Machine and other plays. (Bermel, Albert.). New York New Directions. Ehrenberg, Victor. Sophoclean Rulers Oedipus. In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. OBrien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Jaeger, Werner. Sophocles Mastery of Character Development. In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA Greenhaven Press, 1997. Sophocles. (1991). Sophocles I Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone (Grene, David.). Chicago University of Chicago. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http//etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi