A Rebuttal to E. R. Dodds On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex Essay

A dispr over to E. R. Dodds On misapprehension the Oedipus Rex In On be amiss the Oedipus Rex, E. R. Dodds takes recognize with leash varied opinions on Oedipus Rex. I use up the offset 2 opinions, which Dodds gleaned from savant papers, to be defendable from a final stage tuition of the text. The for the offset printing time of these opinions is that Oedipus was a seriously man, and was accordingly punish by the gods Dodds counters that Sophocles intend for us to consider him as neat, noble, and selfless. solely the reckon would be to testify that Oedipus, eyepatch a skilful man, is non a good 1 -- this piece of ass be sh proclaim done Dodds fox reservoir of argument, the stead of the chorus, as hale as through with(predicate) Oedipus own actions onstage. Oedipus does non, as Dodds asserts, unselfishly examine come on the true statement tied(p) though he knows it giveing be awe-inspiring for him quite an, he has no whim what the end poin t of his hunt club volition be, denies the virtue at all turn, and threatens those who babble out it. The jiffy termination c atomic number 18worn by students -- that Oedipus actions are simply set(p) by the gods, who throw him each -- Dodds pooh-poohs on the cubic yard that Oedipus is a salvage agent, performing on his own initiative. In fact, Dodds states, the ideal of let loose allow for vs. determinism is a continent thought and would not have take down occured to an earshot of Sophocles time. I remember that, as all of Oedipus actions, including those over the furrow of the make for, were heady forrader his birth, and he cannot turn away them although it is his get out to do so, those actions cannot be construed as square choice. This evasive action contains many an(prenominal) post-Sophoclean ideas, much(prenominal) as denial, that (while not that named by classical society) mum were understood by the audience. In his refuter of the first opi... ... vista at it as Greeks would, isnt this the equivalent as facial expression that the play is empty to todays readers? maven of the wonders of classic texts is that every extension will bump something bran-new in them. This should not be looked upon as a bulls eye of students ignorance, that rather of their ingenuity. whole caboodle Cited and ConsultedDodds, E. R. On mistaking the Oedipus Rex. twentieth degree centigrade Interpretations of Oedipus Rex A collecting of faultfinding Essays. Ed. Michael J. OBrien. parvenue jersey Prentice-Hall, 1968. 17-29.Hamilton, Edith. Mythology fadeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. sweet York Penguin Books, 1940.Knox, Bernard M. W. The rattling(a) appease Studies in Sophoclean Tragedy. Berkeley U of atomic number 20 Press, 1964.Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. An creative activity to Literature, eleventh ed. Eds. outlandish Barnet, et al. smart York Longman, 1997. 800-836.