As Trump panic starts to set in, pundits are turning to literature to get an understanding of how it has all happened. This past week saw references to “Oedipus,” “Frankenstein,” “War and Peace,” and “Slaughterhouse Five.”
Tag Archives: Sophocles
Panicked by Trump? Turn to Lit
Jeb! Agonistes: An Unsettling Parallel
Does Jeb Bush resemble at the moment Samson Agonistes? His rivalry with Marco Rubio also resembles any number of Shakespeare tragedies. There’s an Oedipus parallel as well.
Germany vs. Greece, a Greek Tragedy
Novelist Tim McCarthy argues that the economic collision between Germany and Greece reenacts a number of the classic Greek tragedies, most notably “Oedipus” and “The Oresteia.” But Athena may not intervene in this instance.
Are the Gods Out to Destroy Manziel?
The epic fail in Johnny Manziel’s first NFL start invites Sophoclean analogies. Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus also comes to mind.
Oedipus in Iraq
America’s blindness in instigating the Iraq War, now proving to be an abject failure, resembles that of Oedipus.
Top 10 Hellish Child-Parent Relationships
Top 10 Literary Parent-Child Relationships from Hell.
Competing Heroic Narratives in Super Bowl
One Super Bowl narrative: Manning as the return of the king. Another narrative: Manning as Laius blocking the way of the next generation. Plus: Belichick-Welker in Oedipal drama.
An Ideal Mother
When I think of a mother-son relationship that most matches my own, I think of Betsy Trotwood and David Copperfield.