Oedipus the King

by Sophocles

Published 24 October 1972
The famed Athenian tragedy in which Oedipus’s own faults contribute to his tragic downfall.

A great masterpiece on which Aristotle based his aesthetic theory of drama in the Poetics and from which Freud derived the Oedipus complex, King Oedipus puts out a sentence on the unknown murderer of his father Laius. By a gradual unfolding of incidents, Oedipus learns that he was the assassin and that Jocasta, his wife, is also his mother.

This Enriched Classic Edition includes:
-A concise introduction that gives readers important background information
-Timelines of significant events in Greek history and theater that provide the book’s historical context
-An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations
-Detailed explanatory notes
-Critical analysis and modern perspectives on the work
-Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction
-A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader’s experience

Enriched Classics offers readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

Series edited by Cynthia Brantley Johnson

Oedipus at Colonus

by Sophocles and Nicholas Rudall

Published 1 June 1988
With this brilliant new translation of Oedipus at Colonus, Nicholas Rudall completes his presentation of the Oedipus trilogy. This play forms a bridge between the events in Oedipus the King and Antigone (both also available in the Plays for Performance series), completing the focus on Oedipus. It begins with the arrival of Oedipus in Colonus after years of wandering; it ends with Antigone setting off toward her own fate in Thebes.

Woyzeck

by Nicholas Rudall

Published 18 November 2002
In a new translation and adaptation by Nicholas Rudall. Sacrificed to powers larger than himself, Woyzeck is one of drama’s first anti-heroes. He serves a German captain and makes money by allowing a doctor to experiment on him, but his deeper morality leads him to a tragic end. Nicholas Rudall’s new translation, like all of his work in the Plays for Performance series, captures the power of the play for contemporary audiences through its masterly translation.