Sophocles

Who wrote Antigone and Oedipus?

Sophocles

Who wrote Hamlet?

Shakespeare

Themes of Oedipus

fate vs. free will, sight vs. blindness (literal and metaphorical), hubris the limits of human knowledge

Who is Oedipus?

tragic hero whose hubris and desire for truth lead to downfall

Who is Jocasta?

queen and mother-wife who seeks to avoid the prophecy

Who is Tiresias?

blind seer symbolizing insight

Who is Creon?

voice of reason, foil to Oedipus

Who is the Chorus?

comments on the moral and social implications of events

Literary devices in Oedipus

dramatic irony, symbolism, catharsis

Themes of Antigone

civil law vs. divine law, loyalty to family vs. state, gender roles and power, pride and stubborness

Who is Antigone?

strong-willed, moral, prioritizes divine law

Who is Creon as king?

ruler of Thebes, tragic figure whose pride causes ruin

Who is Ismene?

Antigone’s sister, cautious and law-abidingH

Who is Haemon?

Creon’s son, voice of reason and love

Who is Tiresias?

once again delivers crucial warnings

Literary Devices of Antigone

tragic irony, foil character: Antigone vs. Ismene; Creon vs. Haemon, symbolism

Themes of Hamelt

revenge and justice, madness, appearance vs. reality, corruption and decay the complexity of action and inactionWho

Who is Hamlet?

philosophical, conflicted, and tragic hero

Who is Claudius?

usurper king, represents corruption

Who is Gertrude?

Hamlet’s mother,, caught between loyalties

Who is Ophelia?

innocent, used and destroyed by the men around her

Who is Polonius?

meddling courtier, source of both comedy and tradegy

Who is Laertes?

a foil to Hamlet, represents action

Who is Horatio?

loyal friend, survives to tell Hamlet’s story

Fortinbras?

represents decisive leadership and the future

Literary devices of Hamlet

soliloquy, irony, symbolidm