The Theban Plays (Penguin Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Oedipus a bit predictable
Review: Set in ancient Greece, Oedipus the King is a classic play about the fall of a great leader. This particular type of theater can be classified as a tragedy due to the fact that the main character has a positive view by his people and leads with great pride. The story begins with a plague throughout the land and its only stopper is told through a prophecy. The prophecy describes the murder of a king from a far off land; to stop the plague the killer must be discovered and punished accordingly. Oedipus boasts his ruling ways a he vows to discover the murderer and banish him, family, and future generations from his country. King Oedipus receives opinions and assistance from his wife Jocasta, brother-in-law Creon, and the Chorus whom reacts the decision making of Oedipus and takes the place of the people. Oedipus uses his power to summon those who might know anything about the murder. Accusations are first pointed to a group of robbers who attacked and robbed the king while he was traveling. The blind prophet Tiresias from Thebes is then sent for. Tiresias points the finger at Oedipus and blames him for the murder. The tale starts to unravel as the prophecy of Oedipus's life is told. In summary the prophet tells how Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. This very prophecy is the reason that Oedipus moved away from his alleged parents whom in actuality acquired Oedipus as a baby before he was killed in hopes to prevent the very prophecy. Oedipus discards the prophet's words and continues his search. Signs continually point towards Oedipus for an unexpected ending.
The play is full of long speeches that derive a simple point. Foreshadowing makes up a majority of the play and gives way the play far before it is over. Great detail is put into each speech and put into a quite violent ending. I personally rate the play as poor for it is far too predictable and drawn out. The only real entertaining part of the play is the ending though predictable it is quite graphic and creative.

Rating:
Summary: of course it's predictable
Review: The previous reviewers who denigrate Oedipus as "predictable" only reveal their own ignorance. Any member of an Ancient Greek audience already knew the story of Oedipus, it'd be like complaining that upon going to Easter Mass, you found the story of the Crucifixion to be predictable; the point was never to have a twist, but to create a relationship between the characters and members of the audience, placing the viewers in direct relation to the mystery of life. The language is gorgeous besides.

Rating:
Summary: The pinnacle of Greek tragedy...
Review: These three plays stand as the best of the Greek tragedies, superior to the works of Sophocles' rivals Euripides and Aeschylus, mainly because these plays hold more depth and allow for more cultural analysis.
They may seem long-winded at times, even repetitive, but I assure potential readers that there is a point to the speeches, and that many 'extraneous' phrases divulge the author's meaning or bias.
Highly recommended.