Abstract

The Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles

This article literary appraises the book "The Œdipus Tyrannus of Sophocles," translated by G. Volney Dorsey. This book is based on a Greek drama, and is more popular than the drama itself. The principal reason for this is, that in its general structure it resembles more nearly than any other a modern tragedy. The plot, though simple compared to any one of dramatist William Shakespeare's, is yet more complicated than the plots of most Greek tragedies, and the incidents are so arranged as to lead up skillfully yet naturally to the terrible catastrophe. The story is too well known to require repetition. It is so revolting that had Sophocles invented it for the purposes of his tragedy he could not have been acquitted of a violation of the rules of dramatic art.