Perspective On Oedipus

Perspective can completely alter the way someone perceives a work of art. The idea that a different viewpoint can change how an individual feels about artwork is evident with many modern films and novels. For example, the television series Game of Thrones is also a book series, and many loyal fans of the novels dislike the differences in the television adaptation and refuse to watch. However, the television series has attracted a major audience, and a large portion of that audience have never read the books. Therefore, the different perspectives of Game of Thrones somewhat influence whether a person will enjoy or despise it. Perspective plays an important role on older works of art as well, including the Oedipus trilogy written by Sophocles.
There are numerous fascinating ways to explore this trilogy, and many of these approaches are found in academic articles. There are three intriguing articles that present completely different perspectives on the Oedipus trilogy. Firstly, the article titled “Sophocles’ play works better on page than stage,” written by Daniel Fried explores the advantages of reading Oedipus’ play, opposed to watching a live performance. Secondly, Ernest L Abel argues that fetal alcohol syndrome disorder caused Oedipus to commit his actions in his article, “Did Oedipus Have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder?” Lastly, the article titled, “Oedipus Crux: Reasonable Doubt in Oedipus the King” by Kurt Fosso attempts to prove that Oedipus did not fulfill his prophecy, and is innocent. The remarkable concept combined with the strong supporting arguments by Fosso makes the idea that Oedipus is innocent the most interesting academic approach to the Oedipus
The concept presented in Fried’s article is the least thought-provoking of the three approaches, and his supporting points are not as detailed, and as a result, not as convincing. The concept of Sophocles’ plays being better on page has less to do with the play itself and more with an individual’s personal preference. Certain people enjoy reading in general, while others need a visual representation to better understand the events in the play. Also, this concept doesn’t require an individual to think differently about the play. For example, viewing a live performance of Oedipus the King will not make the audience feel a dissimilar way about the protagonist that they did not feel when reading the play. However, the other two articles invoke thought by allowing the reader to view characters and events in a different way. Furthermore, the supporting details provided by Fried are not detailed and captivating enough to support his approach. When Fried states that there is no tension left on stage due to the violence being offstage, he does not take into account the other emotions in the scenes. For example, when Jocasta commits suicide offstage, instead of pointless and gratuitous violence, the audience is presented with the most important part of that suicide, the effect of it on Oedipus. In fact, it can be proven that a live performance would allow the audience to