The film and play resonate, and the two are comparable in diverse perspectives such as setting, characters, and themes. The play enables the audience to view and appreciate the importance of theater and playwright's ability. Greek Mythology has played an essential role in the writing of literary works. Among the notable applications of the Greek influence is in the play, "Oedipus the King by Sophocles." The story of Oedipus the King is about the life of a person set to suffer because of his wrongdoings (Zachrisson, 2013). In the Kingdom, people are suffering because of political arrogance caused by the King’s failures. The King is always drunk and only concerned with his well-being. This essay compares and contrasts the film and literature of Oedipus the King based on the construction of characters, references, and language techniques.
The movie and play present a concise analysis of the story; King Oedipus, who is portrayed as a character with rage, has the leading role in the play. Oedipus is declared King despite the shortcomings of his personality. The video "Oedipus the King," was created in 1984 by Michael Pennington, Claire Bloom, and John Shrapnel. Directed and translated by Don Taylor., its setting is impressive because it displays a spectacular performance of all the characters, especially King Oedipus. The director applies features that draw attention to the techniques used in the video, including fog, sound, and light. Such expression creates a near reality of the situation. The film follows the expectation of Greek drama as the actors are dressed in costumes. The costumes used in the film portrayed the time and period. However, the leading character, King Oedipus, wore a white suit while other actors dressed appropriately (Zachrisson, 2013). Such a decision to change the dressing of the King was a mistake. Besides, the cast was made to apply various ideals of ancient Greece. For instance, they wore masks that resonate with ancient Greek.
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Murder is the central theme of both the play and film. The murder theme is expressed in the earlier scenes of the play and movie. It is mentioned that Oedipus was traveling when a misfortunate event occurred to him. There was a carriage comprising of two individuals, which almost ran over him. The two were a rich man accompanied by a companion. Oedipus and this other group got into a fight, and the rich man died. However, Oedipus is still alive and proceeds with his journey (Zachrisson, 2013). At a point, he finds Sphinx that has a riddle setting for one to proceed with the journey. Therefore, the riddle must be solved in a timely manner. He answers the Sphynx riddle correctly, and as a reward, he is crowned the King of Thebes. Oedipus managed to get through the riddle. As a result, the people decided to crown him as their King.
In the play, the audience can guess the outcomes through symbolism, characters, props, and customs. The language in the film is typical of ancient Greece. In the movie, there is a chorus that plays to enhance the speech of Oedipus's speech. The play was better than the film in different aspects. The play allows the audience to imagine various outcomes in the narration. The movie, on the other hand, shortens many of the scenes. In the play, Oedipus says that he is responsible for the murder of Laius. Further, some of the characters that are mentioned in the play were not included in the film. For instance, in the movie, characters such as the last King of Thebes, Polybus, Corinthian's King, and Kings, who were Oedipus step-parents, are not mentioned (Zachrisson, 2013). There as well scenes in the play that are not portrayed in the film. For instance, the point where Apollo, God, is going through the oracles is not shown.
Notably, the play comprises much of philosophy and analysis as compared to the film. The movie lacks the expression of grandeur and power. In the play, it is narrated that Oedipus curses Laius. He belied Laius was responsible for the afflictions of the Kingdom. He says, "I invoke this curse upon the murderer, either a single man or one a member of a group, may he grow old in a life of doom and misery! If I am to be this man, then I say this; I shall be the receiver of the curse. On you, I lay my charge to fulfill all of this for me, for the God, and for this land of our destroyed and blighted, by the God-forsaken" (Zachrisson, 2013).
In conclusion, both the play and film of Oedipus the King share the same theme of murder. Oedipus murders at some point in the story. Besides, the death of King Laius remains unsolved. In my opinion, the narration by the play is more vivid and accurate compared to the exhibition of the film. The story is accurate compared to the film. It engages readers more that the video is to viewers. For instance, the film ignores various scenes depicted in the play. The play, therefore, has a refined and detailed view of the occurrences more than the video. Besides, there are characters mentioned in the play who miss in the movie. The play original context resents a critical detail of the story. The film, however, is a partial portrayal of the play's contents. Therefore, the film is fantastic, but it cannot, in any way, replace the original play by Sophocles.
References
Zachrisson, A. (2013). Oedipus the King: Quest for self ‐ knowledge–denial of reality. Sophocles’ vision of man and psychoanalytic concept formation. The International journal of psychoanalysis , 94 (2), 313-331.
