Pain · Redemption · Regeneration: An Interpretation of Oedipus the King under Nietzsche's "Apollo-Dionysus" Paradigm

Yuxiang Deng

doi:10.62177/chst.v2i2.396

Authors

Yuxiang Deng Jiangsu University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/chst.v2i2.396

Keywords:

Apollonian Spirit, Dionysian Spirit, Nietzsche, Oedipus the King

Abstract

Sophocles' masterpiece, Oedipus Rex, is a timeless classic in the history of Western drama. Aristotle hailed it as the "perfect tragedy". The Birth of Tragedy is an important early work by Nietzsche. In this work, he proposed the theory of the opposition between the Apollonian and Dionysian dual impulses. This theory is of epoch - making significance. In this book, Nietzsche uses language full of metaphors. He not only talks about the aesthetic meaning of Greek art but also shows the metaphysical thinking about life. At the same time, Oedipus the King is a typical tragic art piece from ancient Greece. In this tragedy, the Apollonian spirit and the Dionysian spirit are mixed together. This combination helps to reconstruct the meaning of life metaphysically.

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References

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