Oedipus at Colonus: Sophocles (Greek Tragedy in New Translations)

The latest title to join the acclaimed Greek Tragedy in New Translations series, Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of the last day in the life of Oedipus. It was written at the end of the fifth century BCE in Athens, in the final years of the "Golden Age" of Athenian culture, and in the last year of Sophocles' own life. At the center of the play is the mysterious transformation of Oedipus from an old and blind beggar, totally dependent on his daughters, to the man who rises from his seat and, without help, leads everyone to the place where he is destined to die. In the background of this transformation stands the grove of the Furies, the sacred place of the implacable goddesses who pursue the violators of blood relationships. Although Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, is an obvious target of the Furies' vengeance, he enters their grove at the beginning of the play, sure that it is the resting place Apollo has predicted for him. The reversals and paradoxes in the play speak to the struggle that Oedipus' life and the action of the play bring vividly before us: how do we as humans, subject to constant change, find stable ground on which to stand and define our moral lives? Sophocles offers his play as a witness to the remarkable human capacity to persevere in this struggle. 00000___0bf66fb76d8561abd3fda3f3309a91c5......Page 1 00001___ba42c1e8dec8065890094b4a63851ec2......Page 2 00002___a707db942919e52ba78cad4ca6eeec79......Page 3 00003___115b96f1836811079a486a0e95ea5a9a......Page 4 00004___dbacc26417eca457b33a4f4ce2106c71......Page 5 00005___6be0a8aca214557839c88dd610a1f28c......Page 6 00006___07b8597a06fb880cf2761dbc8ec0aceb......Page 7 00007___f1b4556dda4c84a782f5a0cd22941105......Page 8 00008___ea3921817ab1d583a426cac6ee4e4b2a......Page 9 00009___82d4a4c9ec03475db110dd733eddae2a......Page 10 00010___f2a41fadd0dccd3dc43b632754c3ad78......Page 11 00011___65213b2264d0c002d87674d06284b57a......Page 12 00012___43dc823e826f023048c2d53df895feba......Page 13 00013___05b4b51d481f04177fa18fc377d205e8......Page 14 00014___40deb555ab77d74b7518cb482c0b500f......Page 15 00015___267a3733d1e7988f667ffef913f78137......Page 16 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00124___5b311b18e4f1682ac10e3908e094aa44......Page 125 00125___49a523dc904c69fa87bbe6a1261ccf97......Page 126 00126___236cdc332c1913ffc95d90e2f19e83aa......Page 127 00127___d903ad44152ba49b54d5dd5501e2272f......Page 128 00128___d06e55e4a68a496a8e166da4203da51f......Page 129 00129___a81da1a28a57f7ad2811aae62de2b025......Page 130 00130___971cc40721bf4023cd0b96cfa7da6613......Page 131 00131___a3603eab002e05f7b10f28bcf79359ea......Page 132 00132___2055db6dd0878288a54e9a6f5ea57f8f......Page 133 00133___a6be9b7c103a2548a0a02b4a586ef5f7......Page 134 00134___4d7adca08a9407097e797b8dcf471470......Page 135 "Working from Victorian translations into English and French by classicists R. C. Jebb and Paul Masqueray, Yeats completed Oedipus the King in the fall of 1926 and Oedipus at Colonus a year later. Yeats gave the second play, like the first, directly to the Abbey players, prompting him to revise and hone his texts through many versions to achieve his stated goal of putting the play "into simple speakable prose" that he hoped would be his "contribution to the Abbey Repertory." The play had a successful run in September of 1927 but was not published until 1934." "The edition presents photographs and transcriptions of three revised typescripts that Yeats prepared and extensively revised over a period of eight-and-a-half months and a reading text based on the first publication of the play, which is presented with an apparatus of collations from the many proofs for three different intended publications. Included also are photographs and transcriptions of the verse choruses, except for the two appearing in The Tower (1928), also in this series; an appendix of other typescripts and proofs that invite detailed treatment; and a brief account of the music written for the play by Lennox Robinson, who was also its first director. The texts are prefaced by a census of manuscripts, an introduction discussing Yeats's development of the play,and a chronology of composition."--BOOK JACKET. "Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of the last day in the life of Oedipus. It was written at the end of the fifth century BCE in Athens, in the final years of the "Golden Age" of Athenian culture, and in the last year of Sophocles' own life. At the center of the play is the mysterious transformation of Oedipus from an old and blind beggar, totally dependent on his daughters, to the man who rises from his seat and, without help, leads everyone to the place where he is destined to die. In the background of this transformation stands the grove of the Furies, the sacred place of the implacable goddesses who pursue the violators of blood relationships. Although Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, is an obvious target of the Furies' vengeance, he enters their grove at the beginning of the play, sure that it is the resting place Apollo has predicted for him. The reversals and paradoxes in the play speak to the struggle that Oedipus' life and the action of the play bring vividly before us: how do we as humans, subject to constant change, find stable ground on which to stand and define our moral lives? Sophocles offers his play as a witness to the remarkable human capacity to persevere in this struggle."--BOOK JACKET.

Oedipus wanders for years in exile until he finds a haven at Colonus. Part of the trilogy that includes Oedipus Rex and Antigone; considered the great playwright’s crowning achievement.