Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (the King) and Seneca’s Oedipus Essay -- compar

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (the King) and Seneca’s Oedipus    Contrary to Sophocles’ Oedipus that was written to the Greeks, a peaceful and wise audience, Seneca’s Oedipus was written to the Romans, a militaristic and violent community.   Seneca successfully appeals to the elements of Roman literature; therefore, Edith Hamilton in The Roman Way calls him the â€Å"Father of sentimental drama.†Ã‚   Seneca wrote the play in around 50 AD about 480 years after Sophocles’ production.   The Roman audience responded to a melodramatic plot rather than the tragic theme of the former Oedipus.   Seneca, in rewriting the play Oedipus makes significant adjustments to suit the Roman audience, particularly plot and style changes. Melodrama in this sense (compared to tragedy) draws forth more of an emotional, pitiful reaction and any evidence of fear is removed; on the contrary, the emotion of pity is exaggerated and stressed.   The Greek wisdom and their capability to see beauty in all life created a desire for tragedy which draws forth reactions of both pity and fear; according to the Greeks, tragedy portrays mankind at his finest, standing tall among suffering and capable of heroism by overcoming evil.   Edith Hamilton in The Roman Way says, â€Å" . . . the unfamiliar and the extraordinary were on the whole repellent to them (the Greeks) and they detested every form of exaggeration.†Ã‚   She goes on to say, â€Å"Greek tragedy had no appeal as the Romans understood the words.†Ã‚   The Romans viewed life as cheap, almost worthless; therefore, to appeal to this audience, Seneca made fate seem merciless, while Sophocles suggested a tragic flaw, indicating the partial fault of the character. The plot of Sophocles’ and Seneca’s Oedipus are much the same.   Oedipus... ...d concentration on fate, Seneca appeals to the vicious Roman audience he writes to, as opposed to Sophocles’ pensive Greek audience.   The Roman audience desired more violent literature, and responded to the concept that fate and predestination were inescapable, while the Greek audience defined tragedy, including a tragic flaw of the character, as mankind at his best because the character becomes wise.   Seneca in rewriting the original Oedipus tragedy, removes any indication of fear, completely concentrating on the emotion of pity.   While Sophocles’ Oedipus can be called Greek tragedy, Seneca’s Oedipus exaggerates pity and disgust and must be classified as melodrama.   Instead of arousing pity and fear from the audience, Seneca uses plot and style changes and simply appeals to the emotion of pity to adhere to his Roman audience.