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- Sophocles The Theban Plays Summary
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∞π≠ THE THEBAN PLAYS Antigone Antistrophe B (823–38) Like that story I heard of our Phrygian guest, the daughter of Tantalus—of how, on the peak of Sipylus, she was enclosed 825 and hedged about, as ivy clings to a wall, by a stony accretion; and how, they say, the. Europower pmh3000 manual. Potty racers hacked unblocked.
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(The Theban Plays #1–3)
The heroic Greek dramas that have moved theatergoers and readers since the fifth century B.C.
Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, the three plays that tell the story of the fated Theban royal family—Antigone, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus—are among the most enduring and timeless dramas ever written. Robert Fagles's authoritative and acclaimed translation conv..more
Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, the three plays that tell the story of the fated Theban royal family—Antigone, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus—are among the most enduring and timeless dramas ever written. Robert Fagles's authoritative and acclaimed translation conv..more
Published January 3rd 2000 by Penguin Books (first published -450)
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May 23, 2017Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition Shelves: 5-star-reads, ancient-greece, classics, plays
The Three Theban Pays are the absolute pillar stone of ancient Greek drama, and in my opinion they contain two of the best plays ever written: Oedipus the King and Antigone.
Oedipus the King- because sometimes life's a real bitch.
Fate is unavoidable in ancient Greek Tragedy. Trying to avoid it will only lead to it, and doing nothing will lead you there too. So if a God tells you that you will die at the hands of your son, and that he will then go on to steal your wife, you’d best do nothin..more
Apr 09, 2012Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another editionOedipus the King- because sometimes life's a real bitch.
Fate is unavoidable in ancient Greek Tragedy. Trying to avoid it will only lead to it, and doing nothing will lead you there too. So if a God tells you that you will die at the hands of your son, and that he will then go on to steal your wife, you’d best do nothin..more
Shelves: greece, plays, ancient, classic, literature, mythology, drama, 05th-century-bc
Oidipous epi Kolōnōi = Oedipus tyrannus coloneus and Antigone, Sophocles
Oedipus at Colonus (also Oedipus Coloneus, Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, Oidipous epi Kolōnōi) is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles' death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و ششم آگوست سال 1974 میلادی
عنوان: سه نمایشنامه : اودیپوس شاه، اودیپوس در کولونوس..more
Apr 15, 2018Elise (TheBookishActress) rated it it was amazing · review of another editionOedipus at Colonus (also Oedipus Coloneus, Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, Oidipous epi Kolōnōi) is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles' death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و ششم آگوست سال 1974 میلادی
عنوان: سه نمایشنامه : اودیپوس شاه، اودیپوس در کولونوس..more
Shelves: faves-of-2016, faves-of-2018, marked-as-audiobooks, 5-star, books-read-2018, favorite-characters, favorite-friendships, genre-literary-nonfic, books-released-1900setc
Two years ago, I read the Theban plays in my ninth-grade class. I liked them. I promptly forgot every single thing I thought about them. [I have a terrible memory.] So when audible offered a free audio of the plays with a full-cast narration… I went for it. And of course loved it again.
The narration helped: this audio stars the excellent Jamie Glover as Oedipus and the always-talented Hayley Atwell as Antigone, but casting choices such as Samantha Bond as Jocasta, Michael Melone as Creon, and..more
Jul 26, 2014Jasmine rated it it was amazingThe narration helped: this audio stars the excellent Jamie Glover as Oedipus and the always-talented Hayley Atwell as Antigone, but casting choices such as Samantha Bond as Jocasta, Michael Melone as Creon, and..more
Shelves: translation, classical-antiquity, penguin-classics-edition, plays, 2015, favourites
'Take these things to heart, my son, I warn you.
All men make mistakes, it is only human.
But once the wrong is done, a man
can turn his back on folly, misfortune too,
if he tries to make amends, however low he’s fallen,
and stops his bullnecked ways. Stubbornness
brands you for stupidity – pride is a crime.
No, yield to the dead!
Never stab the fighter when he’s down.
Where’s the glory, killing the dead twice over?”
(Tiresias, the blind prophet, to Creon, king of Thebes, uncle of Antigone in ‘Antigone..more
All men make mistakes, it is only human.
But once the wrong is done, a man
can turn his back on folly, misfortune too,
if he tries to make amends, however low he’s fallen,
and stops his bullnecked ways. Stubbornness
brands you for stupidity – pride is a crime.
No, yield to the dead!
Never stab the fighter when he’s down.
Where’s the glory, killing the dead twice over?”
(Tiresias, the blind prophet, to Creon, king of Thebes, uncle of Antigone in ‘Antigone..more
Sep 30, 2012Erin rated it it was amazing
This Robert Fagles translation is beautiful--far superior to other versions I've read (Fitts/Fitzgerald or David Greene's, for instance). The language is vibrant and compelling, an important asset for reading drama on the page. If you've not read Sophocles since a forced-and-indifferent slog during high school, I'd encourage you to rediscover it in a better light with this translation. Highly recommended.
This was my first time reading all three 'Oedipus plays' in succession, and I appreciated th..more
This was my first time reading all three 'Oedipus plays' in succession, and I appreciated th..more
Sep 15, 2013Roy Lotz rated it it was amazing
Alas, alas, what misery to be wise when wisdom profits nothing!
Great books do not reveal themselves all at once. Old classics must be revisited from time to time, at different stages of life, in order to experience the many resonant frequencies of the work. This time around I chose to listen to these Theban plays as an audiobook, with a full cast; and it was far preferable to the mute page.
Reading, listening to, or watching the Greek plays may be the nearest we get to time travel. The works i..more
Wonderful. I know we need to read these in modern translations, but how amazing is it that we still have works from ancient Greece? These stories are not at all boring, or dated, or difficult to read. Pick the translation that suits you, whether poetry or prose or somewhere in-between and dive into some incredible drama.
Nov 19, 2016Julie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Of happiness the crown and chiefest part
Is wisdom, to hold the gods in awe.
This is the law
That, seeing the stricken heart
Of pride brought down,
We learn when we are old.
I felt an urge to return to the stories that set my mind on fire, way down the tunnels of time, and I chose blindly, or so I thought. Enjoying them even more today than I did the first two dozen times I read them, I nonetheless wondered why these plays .. and why now? In the middle of reading half a dozen other books, I still f..more
Apr 17, 2019WhatIReallyRead rated it really liked it · review of another editionIs wisdom, to hold the gods in awe.
This is the law
That, seeing the stricken heart
Of pride brought down,
We learn when we are old.
I felt an urge to return to the stories that set my mind on fire, way down the tunnels of time, and I chose blindly, or so I thought. Enjoying them even more today than I did the first two dozen times I read them, I nonetheless wondered why these plays .. and why now? In the middle of reading half a dozen other books, I still f..more
Shelves: owned, read-in-english, classics, fiction, audiobook, play, ancient, series, translated
When we face such things the less we say, the better
So my review will be brief. Picking this up I was quite a bit intimidated: 3 ancient Greek plays in English translation? I nearly expected not to understand anything at all or barely managing to follow the story. I worried in vain.
The whole time Sophocles made me go like this:
Nov 17, 2015Mia (Parentheses Enthusiast) rated it liked it · review of another edition
*Note: I only read Oedipus Rex and Antigone, not Oedipus at Colonus.
There is literally nothing I could tell you about these plays that you don't already know from the thousands of books and movies that have referenced or been influenced by Oedipus ever since it was first performed. Four stars for overall story and dramatic themes, two stars because I didn't find it a very engaging or enjoyable read, averaged out to a nice three. Five stars for literary importance, though.
The self-fulfilling prop..more
There is literally nothing I could tell you about these plays that you don't already know from the thousands of books and movies that have referenced or been influenced by Oedipus ever since it was first performed. Four stars for overall story and dramatic themes, two stars because I didn't find it a very engaging or enjoyable read, averaged out to a nice three. Five stars for literary importance, though.
The self-fulfilling prop..more
Jan 25, 2018Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Ignorance of the Pa is No Defense
Mythical King Oedipus comes to the throne after unknowingly killing his pa. He later marries the woman who turns out to be his ma. In a brilliant and still-influential turn of irony, all the action in Oedipus the King occurs on the way he discovers that, in attempting to avoid his prophesied fate, he carries it out.
To atone, despite the fact that his appalling marriage to and bedding of his mother were acts committed in ignorance, he blinds himself with needles.
A..more
Jun 04, 2018Marquise rated it it was amazingMythical King Oedipus comes to the throne after unknowingly killing his pa. He later marries the woman who turns out to be his ma. In a brilliant and still-influential turn of irony, all the action in Oedipus the King occurs on the way he discovers that, in attempting to avoid his prophesied fate, he carries it out.
To atone, despite the fact that his appalling marriage to and bedding of his mother were acts committed in ignorance, he blinds himself with needles.
A..more
Shelves: legend-retellings, exceptional-characterisation, mythology-of-greece-and-rome, greek-and-roman-literature, rips-your-heart-out-and-eats-it, 5-stars, plays
Oedipus the King was the first Greek tragedy I read in my life, when I was still of a single-digit school age and not exactly because it was compulsory reading for my class (who wants to inflict uninentional incest on young children, anyhow?). I don't recall how old I was, besides too young, nor the exact circumstances that led me to pick up an 'adult' book, but I do recall the copy belonged to an older cousin of mine who was definitely reading it for school, and that I also read Homer's two epi..more
May 03, 2014Justin Evans rated it it was amazing
So.. not over-rated. Fagles' translation is solid, much clearer than his Aeschylus, though I actually prefer the opacity he brought to that text. Of course, that might have been in Aeschylus. I will never learn Greek well enough to tell.
Antigone was the earliest of these plays, though the last within the narrative. I can't help but read it with my Hegel glasses on: the clash between Creon and Antigone is an example of a failed conceptual grasp of the world, in which the claims on us of family/..more
Aug 24, 2011Jim rated it Antigone was the earliest of these plays, though the last within the narrative. I can't help but read it with my Hegel glasses on: the clash between Creon and Antigone is an example of a failed conceptual grasp of the world, in which the claims on us of family/..more
it was amazing
Shelves: plays, lifetime-reading-plan, author-classical, antiquity-greece, read-in-2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this translation of Sophocles Theban plays. Robert Fagles placed the plays in the order written, rather than in their dramatic chronology. At first I thought this was strange, but I followed his lead and read 'Antigone' first. Now, after reading Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus, I have a much greater feeling for Antigone's suffering and a much better understanding of Creon's perspective as well. Now I'm ready to re-read Antigone better armed with the facts of their re..more
Aug 21, 2016K. rated it liked it · review of another edition Shelves: setting-europe, classics, plays-verse-and-filmscripts, translated, own-it-hard-copy, 2016, disability-or-medical-condition, around-the-world-in-80-books, audience-adult
Alternate title: in which everyone stabs or hangs themselves.
Seriously, this book features a hell of a lot of suicide. And I get it - finding out that you've been banging your son for the past 15-20 years can't be a pleasant experience. But this just ended up feeling repetitive to me.
The biggest problem with this one for me, I suspect, is that all the action in the story takes place off stage. And I totally understand why that's the case, but it means that all the reader/viewer gets is recaps..more
Seriously, this book features a hell of a lot of suicide. And I get it - finding out that you've been banging your son for the past 15-20 years can't be a pleasant experience. But this just ended up feeling repetitive to me.
The biggest problem with this one for me, I suspect, is that all the action in the story takes place off stage. And I totally understand why that's the case, but it means that all the reader/viewer gets is recaps..more
Jan 16, 2019Monika rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Sadness seems to be a constant presence in my reading life these days. The didacticism and the role fate plays in Greek tragedies, I thought, were not my forte, but sylphs are the proof, how deeply I am in love with them now. The Theban Plays has been a great start for Greek tragedies. The helplessness and the doomed lives consistently made their presence felt.
The Theban Plays is essentially a collection of three plays by Sophocles: King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone (sequentially). W..more
Feb 11, 2014sologdin rated it liked it · review of another editionThe Theban Plays is essentially a collection of three plays by Sophocles: King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone (sequentially). W..more
Shelves: of-best-sentence-and-moost-solaas, ancient, impermissible-consanguinity
Nutshell: dude screws his mother in order to give psychoanalysis a set of master narratives.
Not a true trilogy, and written out of the order of this presentation, these texts commence from the unlikely proposition that Oedipus is somehow guilty for having scum parents--for the fact that 'before three days were out / after his birth King Laius pierced his ankles / and by the hands of others cast him forth / upon a pathless hillside' (Oedipus Rex ll. 717-20) and thereafter, not knowing his father,..more
Not a true trilogy, and written out of the order of this presentation, these texts commence from the unlikely proposition that Oedipus is somehow guilty for having scum parents--for the fact that 'before three days were out / after his birth King Laius pierced his ankles / and by the hands of others cast him forth / upon a pathless hillside' (Oedipus Rex ll. 717-20) and thereafter, not knowing his father,..more
Jul 03, 2016Daniel Chaikin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
42. Sophocles I : Oedipus The King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (The Complete Greek Tragedies)
published: 1954 (my copy is a 33rd printing from 1989)
format: 206 page Paperback
acquired: May 30 from a Half-Price Books
read: July 3-4
rating: 4
Each play had a different translator
- Oedipus the King (circa 429 bce) - translated by David Grene c1942
- Oedipus at Colonus (written by 406 bce, performed 401 bce) - translated by Robert Fitzgerald c1941
- Antigone (by 441 bce) - translated by Elizabeth W..more
published: 1954 (my copy is a 33rd printing from 1989)
format: 206 page Paperback
acquired: May 30 from a Half-Price Books
read: July 3-4
rating: 4
Each play had a different translator
- Oedipus the King (circa 429 bce) - translated by David Grene c1942
- Oedipus at Colonus (written by 406 bce, performed 401 bce) - translated by Robert Fitzgerald c1941
- Antigone (by 441 bce) - translated by Elizabeth W..more
Feb 13, 2013Dayla rated it really liked it · review of another edition
So, what did we learn? Circle one
1. Embrace any prophecy, as fighting against it will only make it come true
2. Always give way to anyone playing chicken with you on the road
3. Stay in school and pay special attention to 'riddles,' because only smart people end up with a good career as a king
4. Don't marry the widows of any king, unless you have her DNA checked
5. If you accidentally marry your mother, don't tell her because she will hang herself
6. If you have two brothers, don't break the law in..more
1. Embrace any prophecy, as fighting against it will only make it come true
2. Always give way to anyone playing chicken with you on the road
3. Stay in school and pay special attention to 'riddles,' because only smart people end up with a good career as a king
4. Don't marry the widows of any king, unless you have her DNA checked
5. If you accidentally marry your mother, don't tell her because she will hang herself
6. If you have two brothers, don't break the law in..more
Jan 03, 2017Alan rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Star missing because I don't know Greek, and this translation is older than I am. I read Antigone in trans as a college freshman, taught Oedipus a couple dozen times, always applicable to the current epidemic--AIDS/ HIV, or whatever, first scene, citizens prostrate before the ruler who brought on the disaster, unbenownst. NOW we have a BENOWNST disaster-bringer to prostrate ourselves before--the Swamp-Drainer with his Cabinet of Swamp Monsters. And the Congress, the Full Swamp, has just eliminat..more
Aug 30, 2016Akemi G. rated it it was amazing
As always, I am torn among the many translations. I have this Penguin edition, translated by Robert Fagles (1982), and the older (1949) translation by Dudley Fitts & Robert Fitzgerald.
Fagles' translation reads well, but so does Fitzgerald's. Fitzgerald breaks down the play to scenes, which I like--even though these are short plays, I find Fagles' no-break translation rather tiresome. (I have no idea which style is more faithful to the ancient Greek original.)
Sometimes the two translations..more
Aug 15, 2015Sincerae rated it it was amazing · review of another editionFagles' translation reads well, but so does Fitzgerald's. Fitzgerald breaks down the play to scenes, which I like--even though these are short plays, I find Fagles' no-break translation rather tiresome. (I have no idea which style is more faithful to the ancient Greek original.)
Sometimes the two translations..more
Shelves: greek-tragedy, plays-dramas, greek-mythology
I had to read Antigone, the third play in The Oedipus Cycle, in the 9th or 10th grade. The teacher filled us in about the occurrences in Oedipus Rex, but our starting point was only with Antigone. My memory fails to recall which grade exactly, but I certainly remember how my English teacher made it deathly boring. I can't remember which teacher, but it still clings to my memory his or her words about Oedipus' 'fatal flaw.' This was repeated over and over I guess to sound like an expert. One of t..more
Jan 14, 2018Steve rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Sophocles The Theban Plays Summary
These plays are world class literature. I originally read them a long time back (during an early 'Classics' phase), and liked them well enough, though at the time I was sort of checking off boxes of Books-I-Must-Read. Reading these now, later in life, they have much more impact. I'm sure an additional boost came via Fagles' potent translations. An added plus are the outstanding introductions preceding each play, which create necessary historical and literary contexts to further enhance the plays..more
Mar 15, 2018h. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition Shelves: my-fives-exceptional-reads, fantastic-reads, poetry, kids-dig-it, for-a-good-time
Oedipus Rex: A.K.A. The Shittest Day EVER
“But all eyes fail before time’s eyes/All actions come to justice there” (1163-1164).
I'm creating a new shelf entitled 'Kids Dig It,' and to it I will add works kids of all ages dig --- bedtime stories like the Pokey Little Puppy and stories like Oedipus, which I am currently reading with 11th grade IB students.
It is bull shit to think teenagers don't like the classics. I'd like to bake a bull shit pie and slam it in the face of all such negative Nellies...more
“But all eyes fail before time’s eyes/All actions come to justice there” (1163-1164).
I'm creating a new shelf entitled 'Kids Dig It,' and to it I will add works kids of all ages dig --- bedtime stories like the Pokey Little Puppy and stories like Oedipus, which I am currently reading with 11th grade IB students.
It is bull shit to think teenagers don't like the classics. I'd like to bake a bull shit pie and slam it in the face of all such negative Nellies...more
Aug 04, 2011Edward Waters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Most English translations of, say, the Greek New Testament are shepherded by a conviction that the original words had divine inspiration and so are best rendered verbatim wherever possible. At the same time, there generally is a concession (for good or ill) to the reality that if what results is not sufficiently lofty and reverential in tone, the faithful are unlikely to accept it. Attempts at classical Greek drama and poetry tend to be guided by rather different considerations: The translator's..more
Oct 08, 2017Trish rated it really liked itSophocles The Three Theban Plays
· review of another edition Shelves: greece, family, mythology, government, theatre
I was surprised I didn't like this as well as the others, simply because it was more elegant in style and therefore marginally harder to read for meaning. Antigone didn't come across on a quick read with the raw spirit I perceived in the other plays. What I did love about this translation: the lessons taught to Creon by Tiresius and even by his own son Haemon were so elegant and expansive:
'It's no disgrace for a man, even a wise man,..more
to learn many things and not to be too rigid.
You've seen trees
That. Was. Awesome!
This story (Antigone) was so beautiful, but awful and tragic. (I know it's a tragedy, but God its depressing) (°ω°`)
The characters were all really developed and even though at the beginning I disliked Creon, I felt utterly awful for him at the end. I'm confused to where Ismene went at the end of the play, and what her reaction to xxxxxxxx's death was, and I didn't really get Tiresias' prophecy either, but that didn't effect the story for me. (I must stop rambling)
In conclusion..more
This story (Antigone) was so beautiful, but awful and tragic. (I know it's a tragedy, but God its depressing) (°ω°`)
The characters were all really developed and even though at the beginning I disliked Creon, I felt utterly awful for him at the end. I'm confused to where Ismene went at the end of the play, and what her reaction to xxxxxxxx's death was, and I didn't really get Tiresias' prophecy either, but that didn't effect the story for me. (I must stop rambling)
In conclusion..more
Mar 20, 2013Katie R. Herring rated it really liked it
Towering over the rest of greek tragedy, these three plays are among the most enduring and timeless dramas ever written. Robert Fagles' translation conveys all of Sophocles' lucidity and power: the cut and thrust of his dialogue, his ironic edge, the surge and majesty of choruses and, above all, the agonies and triumphs of his characters.
'I know of no better modern English version.' -Sir Hugh Llyod-Jones, Oxford University
'I know of no better modern English version.' -Sir Hugh Llyod-Jones, Oxford University
Apr 20, 2019Lindsey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I read these for acting and theater classes. I loved them.
May 25, 2009Steven Peterson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The Theban plays are extraordinarily rich in their observations on the human condition; let us consider lessons to be drawn from these.
The first tragedy, King Oedipus, begins with the city of Thebes suffering great afflictions. King Oedipus swears that he will find the cause of the evil and improve the lot of the Thebans. His uncle, Creon, found that the pestilence would be lifted when the murderer of the previous king, Laius, was brought to justice. Oedipus immediately ordered that the killer..more
The first tragedy, King Oedipus, begins with the city of Thebes suffering great afflictions. King Oedipus swears that he will find the cause of the evil and improve the lot of the Thebans. His uncle, Creon, found that the pestilence would be lifted when the murderer of the previous king, Laius, was brought to justice. Oedipus immediately ordered that the killer..more
topics | posts | views | last activity |
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Goodreads Librari..:Corrections | 3 | 21 | Dec 15, 2018 12:34PM |
All About Books:Oedipus Cycle by Sophocles (Gill, Pink, Greg, Leslie, Beth, Portia, and others?) | 136 | 48 | Jun 14, 2016 05:24AM |
Carlson 2341.06 F..:*Prophecy in Oedipus the King | 45 | 28 | Sep 04, 2015 10:14PM |
Goodreads Librari..:Please revise book description | 3 | 17 | Aug 04, 2015 08:39PM |
Greek Plays are very epic | 3 | 16 | Aug 31, 2014 12:37PM |
Goodreads Librari..:Editions - combining | 3 | 11 | Apr 10, 2014 01:48PM |
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The Three Theban Plays Penguin Classics Pdf
Sophocles (born c. 496 bc, Colonus, near Athens [Greece]—died 406, Athens), (Greek: Σοφοκλής; German editions: Sophokles, Russian: Софокл, French editions: Sophocle) was an ancient Greek tragedy playwright. Not many things are known about his life other than that he was wealthy, well educated and wrote about one hundred and twenty three plays (of which few are extant). One of his best known plays..more
The Theban Plays(3 books)
The Three Theban Plays Sparknotes
More quizzes & trivia..
“If through no fault of his own the hero is crushed by a bulldozer in Act II, we are not impressed. Even though life is often like this—the absconding cashier on his way to Nicaragua is killed in a collision at the airport, the prominent statesman dies of a stroke in the midst of the negotiations he has spent years to bring about, the young lovers are drowned in a boating accident the day before their marriage—such events, the warp and woof of everyday life, seem irrelevant, meaningless. They are crude, undigested, unpurged bits of reality—to draw a metaphor from the late J. Edgar Hoover, they are “raw files.” But it is the function of great art to purge and give meaning to human suffering, and so we expect that if the hero is indeed crushed by a bulldozer in Act II there will be some reason for it, and not just some reason but a good one, one which makes sense in terms of the hero’s personality and action. In fact, we expect to be shown that he is in some way responsible for what happens to him.” — 61 likes
“All men make mistakes.” — 27 likes