Oedipus Rex And Religion Essay

The Use of Religion as a Literary Element in Oedipus Rex and how it Influences the Use of Religion in Modern Western Literature Famous novelist, C.S. Lewis, stated, “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become” (“Literature Quotes”). Specifically, religion is a significant literary element in several different genres and time periods. In Ancient Greece, plays were the most popular form of literature. Sophocles, the famous Greek playwright, wrote a series of plays called the “Oedipus Cycle”. As a part of the “Oedipus Cycle”, the story of Oedipus Rex, also known as, Oedipus the King highlights the life of a

There are many biblical allegories found in modern literature. Stories such as the Garden of Eden, the serpent who led Eve into temptation by eating the fruit of knowledge, Jonah, the prophet who ran from God’s order to go to the dreaded city of Ninevah and was punished lived three days in the belly of a big fish are well known and often adapted stories in the modern Western literature. Other popular stories are of Cain and Abel, Cain’s jealousy overfills him and he commits the ultimate crime, Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors, a devoted father favors one son over the other brothers and bestows a beautiful robe to his favored son however, consumed with jealousy, the brothers sell Joseph off to