Oedipus In Folktale Tradition

This paper deals with one of the most famous narratives in Western civilization. Its fame is due primarily to Sophocles’ play ‘Oedipus the King’. The story tells about a royal couple who learn that their expected child, when reaching manhood, will kill his father and marry his mother. Accordingly,...

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Main Author: Hessa Said Zaid Al-Refai
Format: Article
Language:Arabic
Published: Qatar University Press 2021-01-01
Series:أنساق
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/ANSQ/article/view/1709
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author Hessa Said Zaid Al-Refai
author_facet Hessa Said Zaid Al-Refai
author_sort Hessa Said Zaid Al-Refai
collection DOAJ
description This paper deals with one of the most famous narratives in Western civilization. Its fame is due primarily to Sophocles’ play ‘Oedipus the King’. The story tells about a royal couple who learn that their expected child, when reaching manhood, will kill his father and marry his mother. Accordingly, they expel the newly born infant. The prediction, however, becomes a reality. At learning the horrific secret, the mother commits suicide, and Oedipus pierces his eyes. Many studies and theoretical assumptions in diverse fields of knowledge have been formulated around this tale, including Classics, Comparative Literature, Natural Sciences, Psychology, Anthropology, Linguistics and Folklore. Some consider the story of Oedipus as myth, while others look at it as legend. It is only Folklorists who would know that there are oral tales cognate to the Oedipus legend. Against this backdrop, the main goal of this study is to compare the ancient Greek legend to its counterparts in folk tradition. In order to do that, one should differentiate between two kinds of tales. One kind is the versions of Aarne-Thompson tale type 931, and the other kind is the tales which only have an Oedipus theme. Scholars believe that the second kind is probably an independent creation.
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spelling doaj.art-a9d6b884e70f4849adf99097a56356322022-12-22T02:23:34ZaraQatar University Pressأنساق2520-713X2520-71482021-01-013210.29117/Ansaq.2019.0098Oedipus In Folktale TraditionHessa Said Zaid Al-Refai This paper deals with one of the most famous narratives in Western civilization. Its fame is due primarily to Sophocles’ play ‘Oedipus the King’. The story tells about a royal couple who learn that their expected child, when reaching manhood, will kill his father and marry his mother. Accordingly, they expel the newly born infant. The prediction, however, becomes a reality. At learning the horrific secret, the mother commits suicide, and Oedipus pierces his eyes. Many studies and theoretical assumptions in diverse fields of knowledge have been formulated around this tale, including Classics, Comparative Literature, Natural Sciences, Psychology, Anthropology, Linguistics and Folklore. Some consider the story of Oedipus as myth, while others look at it as legend. It is only Folklorists who would know that there are oral tales cognate to the Oedipus legend. Against this backdrop, the main goal of this study is to compare the ancient Greek legend to its counterparts in folk tradition. In order to do that, one should differentiate between two kinds of tales. One kind is the versions of Aarne-Thompson tale type 931, and the other kind is the tales which only have an Oedipus theme. Scholars believe that the second kind is probably an independent creation. https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/ANSQ/article/view/1709OedipusMythFairytaleKilling fatherIncestMother's suicide
spellingShingle Hessa Said Zaid Al-Refai
Oedipus In Folktale Tradition
أنساق
Oedipus
Myth
Fairytale
Killing father
Incest
Mother's suicide
title Oedipus In Folktale Tradition
title_full Oedipus In Folktale Tradition
title_fullStr Oedipus In Folktale Tradition
title_full_unstemmed Oedipus In Folktale Tradition
title_short Oedipus In Folktale Tradition
title_sort oedipus in folktale tradition
topic Oedipus
Myth
Fairytale
Killing father
Incest
Mother's suicide
url https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/ANSQ/article/view/1709
work_keys_str_mv AT hessasaidzaidalrefai oedipusinfolktaletradition