In an essay calling Chinese activist Chow Hang Tung “the Antigone of Hong Kong,” Wendy Gan compares herself to Ismene.
Tag Archives: Sophocles
Are You an Antigone or an Ismene?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged activism, Antigone, authoritarianism, Chinese repression, Chow Hang Tung, Hong Kong, Oedipus in Colonus, political dissent, Power of the Powerless, Tiananmen Square, Vaclav Havel Comments closed
McCarthy a Greek Hero? NOT!
Kevin McCarthy is no tragic hero. He does resemble a minor figure from “Julius Caesar,” however.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ajax, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Kevin McCarthy, Oedipus, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Got a Problem? Call a Poet
Tragedy, it turns out, is a powerful literary form for dealing with posttraumatic fear.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aeschylus, Agamemnon, Angus Fletcher, Aristotle, bibliotherapy, catharsis, literary technique, Oedipus, philosophy, posttraumatic fear, PTSD, Rhetoric, Sigmund Freud, sophists, Wonderworks Comments closed
First They Came for Toni Morrison, Then…
In the right attacks Toni Morrison novels, does this mean that Homer, Dostoevsky, Milton, and Sophocles are next?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beloved, Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky, GOP, Homer, Odyssey, Oedipus, Toni Morrison Comments closed
The Afghan Debacle, a Greek Tragedy
There’s an element of Greek tragedy in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, starting with arrogance and ending with fate.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Afghan War, Afghanistan withdrawal, Joe Biden, Oedipus Comments closed
Freud: Lit Leads to Self Mastery
A Freudian analysis of why we are drawn to literature and what it does for us.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Bruno Bettelheim, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Interpretation of Dreams, Joseph Conrad, Oedipus, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sigmund Freud Comments closed
A Partial Defense of Plato’s Poet Ban
Perhaps Plato banished poets from his ideal society because he appreciated the destructive potential of stories. He’s relevant in light of today’s conspiracy theories.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 1Q84, Aeschylus, conspiracy theories, Donald Trump, Euripides, Haruki Murakami, Homer, philosophy vs. poetry, Plato, QAnon, Republic Comments closed
How Tragedy Made Greek Lives Better
Aristotle saw Greek tragedy as teaching citizens the process of deliberation.
Post of the Year: Plagues in Literature
A survey of literature through the ages that has dealt with plagues.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aeneid, Albert Camus, COVID-19, Daniel Defoe, Emily St. John Mandel, Journal of the Plague Year, Katherine Anne Porter, Louise Erdrich, Margaret Atwood, Oedipus, Oryk and Crake, Pale Horse Pale Rider, plague, Stand, Station Eleven, Stephen King, Tracks, Virgil Comments closed
