The Oedipus Rex of Sophocles (the King) and the Oedipus of Seneca peaceful and wise audience, Seneca's Oedipus was written to the Romans, a militaristic and violent community. Seneca successfully appeals to elements of Roman literature; this is why Edith Hamilton in The Roman Way calls him the “father of sentimental drama”. Seneca wrote the play around 50 AD, approximately 480 years after Sophocles' production. Roman audiences responded to a melodramatic plot rather than the tragic theme of ancient Oedipus. Seneca, in rewriting the play Oedipus, made significant adjustments to suit the Roman audience, particularly changes in plot and style. Melodrama in this sense (compared to tragedy) elicits more of an emotional, pitiful response and all traces of fear are removed; on the contrary, the emotion of pity is exaggerated and accentuated. Greek wisdom and their ability to see beauty in all life created a desire for tragedy that elicits reactions of both pity and fear; according to the Greeks, tragedy represents humanity at its best, standing in the midst of suffering and capable of heroism in overcoming evil. Edith Hamilton in The Roman Way says: “. . . the unknown and the extraordinary were generally repugnant to them (the Greeks) and they hated any form of exaggeration. She goes on to say: “Greek tragedy had no appeal as the Romans understood these words. » The Romans considered life cheap, almost worthless; therefore, to please this audience, Seneca made fate seem merciless, while Sophocles suggested a tragic flaw, indicating the character's partial fault. The plot of Sophocles and Seneca's Oedipus is almost the same. Oedipus... middle of paper ...... and focused on fate, Seneca appeals to the vicious Roman audience he is writing to, as opposed to the pensive Greek audience of Sophocles. Roman audiences desired more violent literature and responded to the concept that fate and predestination were inescapable, while Greek audiences defined tragedy, including a tragic character flaw, as humanity at its best because the character becomes wise. Seneca, in rewriting the original tragedy of Oedipus, removes any indication of fear, focusing entirely on the emotion of pity. While Sophocles' Oedipus can be classified as a Greek tragedy, Seneca's Oedipus exaggerates pity and disgust and should be classified as melodrama. Instead of arousing pity and fear in the audience, Seneca uses plot and style changes and simply appeals to the emotion of pity to connect with his Roman audience..

Essay / The Oedipus Rex of Sophocles (the King) and the Oedipus of Seneca peaceful and wise audience, Seneca's Oedipus was written to the Romans, a militaristic and violent community. Seneca successfully appeals to elements of Roman literature; this is why Edith Hamilton in The Roman Way calls him the “father of sentimental drama”. Seneca wrote the play around 50 AD, approximately 480 years after Sophocles' production. Roman audiences responded to a melodramatic plot rather than the tragic theme of ancient Oedipus. Seneca, in rewriting the play Oedipus, made significant adjustments to suit the Roman audience, particularly changes in plot and style. Melodrama in this sense (compared to tragedy) elicits more of an emotional, pitiful response and all traces of fear are removed; on the contrary, the emotion of pity is exaggerated and accentuated. Greek wisdom and their ability to see beauty in all life created a desire for tragedy that elicits reactions of both pity and fear; according to the Greeks, tragedy represents humanity at its best, standing in the midst of suffering and capable of heroism in overcoming evil. Edith Hamilton in The Roman Way says: “. . . the unknown and the extraordinary were generally repugnant to them (the Greeks) and they hated any form of exaggeration. She goes on to say: “Greek tragedy had no appeal as the Romans understood these words. » The Romans considered life cheap, almost worthless; therefore, to please this audience, Seneca made fate seem merciless, while Sophocles suggested a tragic flaw, indicating the character's partial fault. The plot of Sophocles and Seneca's Oedipus is almost the same. Oedipus... middle of paper ...... and focused on fate, Seneca appeals to the vicious Roman audience he is writing to, as opposed to the pensive Greek audience of Sophocles. Roman audiences desired more violent literature and responded to the concept that fate and predestination were inescapable, while Greek audiences defined tragedy, including a tragic character flaw, as humanity at its best because the character becomes wise. Seneca, in rewriting the original tragedy of Oedipus, removes any indication of fear, focusing entirely on the emotion of pity. While Sophocles' Oedipus can be classified as a Greek tragedy, Seneca's Oedipus exaggerates pity and disgust and should be classified as melodrama. Instead of arousing pity and fear in the audience, Seneca uses plot and style changes and simply appeals to the emotion of pity to connect with his Roman audience..

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