18.
Title: [Oedipus the King]
Author: Sophocles
Pages: 100 pages
Genre: Greek Tragedy
Medium: Anthology - [Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, & Writing]
Acquisition: Work Text
Date Completed: February 7, 2012
Rating:

It never loses its charm.

72.
Author: Ann K. Levine. Esq.
Title: The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert
publication: Kindle
Pages
Genre: nonfiction, law
Acquisition:
Date: September 11, 2011
Rating: *****

Ann K. Levine's The Law School Admission Game is a brilliant work which aims to help individuals navigate the nuanced and complicated world of law school applications. Experienced both as a student and working on Admission boards herself, Levine offers straight-forward advice in a clear (and often blunt) fashion that is easy to navigate. The text offers advice on everything from application dates to the personal statement, and Levine does not hesitate to share why she would dismiss applications as well as what kind of applications stand out best. Personally, I learned quite a bit, and felt that the information provided would help me prepare the strongest application possible.

It also helped me come to terms with the demands of both law school and the resulting career, ultimately forcing me to acknowledge that law is not a path I can pursue and still maintain the kind of home life that is most important to me. Despite a powerful interest and desire, the Monsters come first here; I'm just glad I realized that before putting in the time and money to apply to, and possibly attend, law school.

71.
Author: Sophocles
Title: Oedipus the King
publication: paperback
Pages
Genre: classical
Acquisition: work text
Date: September 11, 2011
Rating: no rating

My bi-annual reading of Sophocles' delicious tragedy, translated by Dudley Fitts.

82.
Author: Euripides
Title: Medea
Publication: Kindle E-Book
Pages:
Genre: Classical Drama
Acquisition: Intended to read it for years and years
Date Completed: October 16, 2010
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

While my experience with Greek theatre is far from extensive, I feel comfortable proclaiming a general interest in and enjoyment of the genre. I find the level of bawdiness in the satyr plays and comedies extremely entertaining, and I find myself moved and repulsed by the tragedies in such a way that I would never deny their literary superiority.

That is, until reading "Medea." Rarely do I come across a protagonist so static and repulsive in her inability to invoke emotion; Medea's actions, rather than her words or character, propel the plot, and the presentation of those actions is wooden at best. As a reader I felt myself moved only for the fate of her sons, and for that I credit my own maternal state over the development of the text.

As always, I am willing to shift some blame to the particular translation, because no translator can help but influence the text in his work. My desire to read Euripides has been sated. I'll return to Sophocles and Aristophanes with pleasure.

16.
Author: Sophocles
Title: Oedipus the King
Publication: included in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing.
Pages: 37 pages
Genre: Classical
Acquisition: Work text
Date Completed: February 14, 2010
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

In a play originally written for the Great Dionysia, Sophocles presents the tragedy that occurs when a man attempts to flee his fate, only to run into it head-first.

The original audience, like the modern audience, knew the conclusion before the production itself ever began. What makes Sophocles' drama so compelling isn't the narrative, but how he chooses to tell the story. Sophocles' Oedipus is at once a loving, paternal king and an insecure man with a violent temper. In Oedipus the King his character is carefully developed so that readers can understand how much a dedicated ruler is capable of slaughtering an old man and his company for a slight on the highway. While the citizens of Thebes raised Oedipus to godlike stature after the defeat of the sphinx, Sophocles reveals that Oedipus is just a man, and a greatly flawed one at that.

One of the aspects I personally find most interesting is the hierarchy of sin as presented in Oedipus the King. From the beginning the crime of murder seems to control the dramatic flow, as the oracle's proclamation points to the unavenged murder of King Laios as the motivation for Apollo's curse. However, as knowledge spreads throughout the principle cast it is revealed that incest is the greatest sin that can be laid at Oedipus' feet. His relationship with Jocasta takes center stage, and causes the greatest repugnance in the cast. In a twisting moment the Chorus shifts from condemning Oedipus to cursing Jocasta, and the tragic events of the play flow from mother to son.

Oedipus the King, as translated by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, is an elegant work of literature that treats audiences to the humanizing of myth, and the chance to witness a true fall from grace.

Challenges
75-Book Challenge: Book 16
1010 Challenge: Field-Related Book 2
Off-the-shelf: