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Seneca's Oedipus

By: Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Faber and Faber
ISBN: 0571092233
ISBN-13: 9780571092239
Released: 28 Feb 1983
RRP: £5.99
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Customer Reviews

Seneca turns the story of Oedipus into a bloodthirsty drama - By: , 23 Feb 2003
The tragedy of "Oedipus" as told by the Roman playwright Seneca is a very bloodthirsty & savage retelling of the tale, much in keeping with the Roman view of popular entertainment. Seneca also wrote his version of the Oedipus myth after the downfalll of Nero, as the Roman Empire was emerging from a particularly dark period in its history. Whereas the Greek tragedy by Sophocles is concerned with unraveling the puzzle (most readers never note that the prophecy as told to Oedipus is not the same as what was told to his parents), the Seneca version is more about psychology & emotion than logic. In this version there is an impending sense of doom that hangs over the characters. The contrasts & comparisons between the two versions are inevitable because no one is going to come to Seneca's "Oedipus" without knowledge of Sophocles's "Oedipus the King."

In the Roman play the chorus functions not as a narrative counterpoint to the dramatic action, but as a means of confronting Oedipus with his darkest thoughts & fears (i.e., an internal dialogue). Ironicallly, given that the plays of Sophocles provided the characters that Freud turned into key psychological complexes, it is the Seneca version that seems more like a fevered dream. Like most of Seneca's plays, "Oedipus" takes the familiar stories of Greek tragedies & provides some original details. For example, in this version Teiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes, uses a spell to calll up the dead Laius so that he can offer his morbid insights on the events unfolding.

If Sophocles is interested in psychology, then Seneca is more the philosopher. Before Jocasta commits suicide in the play she has a final scene with Oedipus in which they discuss the accountability of humankind & fate. The play begins with a monologue by Oedipus where he talks about the calamitous state of Thebes & his fear that he may be the cause. At the end Oedipus is again alone on stage with alll of his worst fears fully realized & self-blinded to ensure constant & continued punishment & suffering. Before the irresitable force of fate human beings can do nothing but suffer. This is not so much a tragedy, per se, but rather an unhappy story (i.e., a tale without the audience enjoying the Greek idea of catharsis). Comparing the versions by Sophocles & Seneca also provides a basic understanding of the difference between Greek & Roman tragedy.