Oedipus Rex: vii (Thrift Editions)

Prophecy and fate feature in key roles, and perhaps a moral of it should be – do not try and cheat your fate for you will fail, and fail disastrously. Oedipus – a man who should have everything including a loving wife, a palace, and a reputation for bravery – attempts to cheat the seers who prophecy he will murder his father and marry his mother. Although the cast is fairly small and the action is over a short time, with reference to past events, it pulls in the reader quickly. One soon begins to feel for Oedipus, although he is somewhat arrogant, and by the end of the play the tragedy is all pervasive. Death, shame, fate and the whim of the gods – just what a reader needs for perhaps one of the most well-known and tragic stories from antiquity, Oedipus Rex is a play of epic proportions.

A great budget edition, has everything you need as an interested reader, although perhaps academics and those studying at uni may need more detail. The layout is good and footnotes covered everything is was curious about.

present so can't comment but good book bit heavy

Nice version at a good price

Very cheap, and fast delivery! Ideal for English students like myself who don't have much money to spend on lots of books, so was surprised, thanks :)

Very interesting and my first time reading something like this. Still reading it at present. Really gets you to think that we are no different and still finding out how we would deal with lifes challenges!!!!

First Greek tragedy I have read. Loved it.

We are currently studying King Lear in my A level English class and have to use Oedipus Rex as a secondary text. This edition was handed out to us and was better than some of the others I've seen. The play itself was actually quite good; and surprisingly it hadn't gone 'out of date': the story was understandable and you are able to feel the tragedy and anguish of the characters.

Written before the common era. Still, the emotions it tells is fascinating. Great work

Fate or our decisions? Oedipus is a king facing a disease in his realm. A seer gives him the source, and he goes down a path he will soon regret. The beginning took a while to get used to the style but a good read, with a compact format. Good quick read.

great service and goods

The book arrived quickly. It is as described, good print and no missing page. After multiple uses, pulling out of school bag and tossing it around the book pages stay together and the cover is still in great shape.

This play truly is a tragedy..It's a bit sick and twisted as well if the reader understands old English. Laius is told by an Oracle that he will be slain by his son. Oedipus, is told some years later, that he will slay his father and marry his mother. Oedipus leaves his parents and travels far to avoid this prophecy from coming true. What I liked best about this play, is that it shows that even when one tries to avoid something, sometimes that thing just can't be avoided. The Fates are twisted and play sick games and this play just makes that all the more clear. It centers around Apollo as the god to look to, since Apollo was known to have the best seers in all of Greece, and it's two of his Oracles that deliver the tragic prophecies. The story is truly sad and it's a bit depressing when the reader thinks of all the things Oedipus endured in his life, just for his wife who seemed to have known all along to withhold the information he sought. I'm a big fan of the Greece myths and plays.. and I definitely want to delve more into the Theban Plays. I give this book 5 of 5 paws