Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a classical Greek tragedy.C, and was written in the fifth century B. The author, Sophocles, first achieved recognition in the theater at the age of twenty-eight. He grow up in a well-to-do family in Athens, enjoyed a carefree childhood, education, and eventually became a distinguished public official as well as an outstanding dramatist. He produced 123 plays, but only seven survive today. The purpose of this book is to win the championship and to teach a moral lesson. The theme of this book includes the quest for identity, the nature of innocence and guilt, human will versus fate, and the abuse of power. The structure includes a prologue, parodos, dialogue, choral odes, and exodos. Oedipus, the main character, remains on stage for nearly the entire play, sets up all the tragedy. The razor sharp irony in Oedipus Rex is one of the elements that has given the play its power to spellbind audiences for thousands of years and has also made updated versions of the story popular from Roman times to the present day.
The purpose in writing the play is to win the championship and to teach a moral lesson. The theme relative to the tragedy like Oedipus Rex is crucial to the play's long - lasting appeal. Audiences for generation have recognized and been affected by the issues that lead to Oedipus's downfall. The structure of play starts with prologue or opening scene, the paradox or first of the chorus's lyric songs or choral odes, a regular alternation of scenes in dialogue and choral odes and the exodus or concluding scene. The stage set-up consists of backstage, stage, altar, orchestra and seating. The backstage is used for preparing. The orchestra or performance areas are where the chorus sang and danced. A practically bare stage is used, were the actors spoke their lines from behind huge masks. The ancient Greeks cited the myth of Oedipus as a striking example of how human fortunes can suffer unexpected drastic reversals, how even good and noble people can suffer at the hands of fate or the will of the gods.
