CRITICISM

Ahl, Frederick. “Oracular Wordplay.” In Sophocles' Oedipus: Evidence and Self-Conviction, pp. 244-59. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1991.

Examines the wordplay in Sophocles's choice of names for his characters.

Arkins, Brian. “The Final Lines of Sophocles, King Oedipus (1524-30).” Classical Quarterly 38, No. 2 (1988): 555-58.

Argues that the closing lines of King Oedipus, although often questioned by scholars, are, in fact, genuine.

Armstrong, Richard H. “Oedipus as Evidence: The Theatrical Background to Freud's Oedipus Complex.” http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/journal/articles/psyart1999/oedipus/armstr01.htm.

Examines Freud's assertion that Oedipus Tyrannus moves modern audiences with as much intensity as it did ancient Greek audiences.

Berkowitz, Luci and Theodore F. Brunner, eds. Sophocles:”Oedipus Tyrannus.” New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1970, 261p.

Includes religious and psychological studies of the play as well as several essays concerning the guilt or innocence of Oedipus. A selection from this work is printed above.

Bloom, Harold, ed. Sophocles's Oedipus Rex. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988, 174 p.

Includes nine essays covering assorted topics—among them the motives for Oedipus's self-blinding; the question of his guilt; the nature of illusion and truth; and the troublesome ambiguity of the play's language.

Fowler, B. H. “Thought and Underthought in Three Sophoclean Plays.” Eranos: Acta Philologica Suecana 79, No. 1 (1981): 1-22.

Discusses the use of metaphorical language in Ajax, Antigone, and Oedipus Tyrannus.

Gilula, Dwora. “The First Greek Drama on the Hebrew Stage: Tyrone Guthrie's Oedipus Rex at the Habima.” Theatre Research International 13, No. 2 (Summer 1988): 131-46.

Provides an overview of the 1947 Guthrie production and offers reasons for its failure.

Gregory, Justina. “The Encounter at the Crossroads in Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 115 (1995): 141-46.

Analyzes Oedipus's speech concerning his parentage, his response to the oracle, and the killing of Laius.

Halliwell, Stephen. “Where Three Roads Meet: A Neglected Detail in the Oedipus Tyrannus.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 106 (1986): 187-90.

Discusses the significance of crossroads in Greek literature.

Lewis, R. G. “The Procedural Basis of Sophocles's Oedipus Tyrannus.” Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 30, No. 1 (Spring 1989): 41-66.

Investigates Attic legal procedures to determine the process Sophocles used as a framework for the play.

Nussbaum, Martha C. “The Oedipus Rex and the Ancient Unconscious.” In Freud and Forbidden Knowledge, edited by Peter L. Rudnytsky and Ellen Handler Spitz, pp. 42-71. New York: New York University Press, 1994.

Contrasts Greek accounts of the unconscious mind with those of Freud.

O'Brien, Michael J., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968, 119 p.

Includes nine essays, covering dramatic elements; typical misunderstandings of the play; interpretation of the last scene; and other topics. A selection from this work is printed above.

Payne, M. E. “Three Double Messenger Scenes in Sophocles.” Mnemosyne 53, No. 4 (August 2000): 403-18.

Compares the structure and function of three messenger scenes from Oedipus Tyrannus, Trachiniae, and Philoctetes.

Rusten, Jeffrey. “Oedipus and Triviality.” Classical Philology 91, No. 2 (April 1996): 97-112.

Surveys some of the arguments concerning the significance of the crossroads, including possible sexual symbolism.

Segal, Charles. “Oedipus Tyrannus.” In Tragedy and Civilization: An Interpretation of Sophocles, pp. 207-48. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981.

Provides an overview and analysis of the play.

Van Nortwick, Thomas. Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998, 185p.

Examines the nature of Oedipus's heroism and discusses the many ironic elements in the play.

Zelenak, Michael X. “The Troublesome Reign of King Oedipus: Civic Discourse and Civil Discord in Greek Tragedy.” Theatre Research International 23, No. 1 (Spring 1998): 69-78.

Provides an overview of Athenian drama, including the circumstances surrounding its origins.

Additional coverage of Sophocles's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Ancient Writers; Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 176; DISCovering Authors; DISCovering Author Modules: British; DISCovering Augthors: Canadian; DISCovering Authors: Dramatists and Most Studied Authors; and Drama Criticism,Vol. 1.