सोफोक्लीज़: एक परिचय

Hareshwar Roy,
सोफोक्लीज़: एक परिचय

सोफोक्लीज़ एक अत्यंत लोकप्रिय प्राचीन यूनानी नाटककार हैं। उनका संबंध ईसा पूर्व पाँचवीं शताब्दी से है। उनके नाटक आज भी पूरी दुनिया में सराहे जाते हैं। उन्हें तीन महान यूनानी नाटककारों में से एक माना जाता है। अन्य दो हैं- एशिलस और यूरिपिडीज़।
सोफोक्लीज़ का जन्म एथेंस के पास कोलोनस नामक एक गाँव के एक धनी परिवार में हुआ था। उन्होंने कविता, संगीत, नृत्य और जिम्नास्टिक जैसे विषयों का अध्ययन किया और एथेनियन समाज में एक प्रमुख व्यक्ति बन गए। ऐसा कहा जाता है कि उन्होंने एक लंबा और सफल जीवन जिया। वे केवल एक लेखक ही नहीं थे। उन्होंने एक सेनापति, कोषाध्यक्ष और पुजारी के रूप में भी कार्य किया।
सोफोक्लीज़ ने कई नाटक लिखे। लेकिन उनमें से कुछ ही पूरी तरह से बच पाए हैं। उनकी सबसे प्रसिद्ध रचनाएँ ओडिपस चक्र का हिस्सा हैं। इस त्रयी में ओडिपस रेक्स, ओडिपस एट कोलोनस और एंटीगोन शामिल हैं। ये नाटक राजा ओडिपस और उनके परिवार की दुखद कहानी कहते हैं। ओडिपस रेक्स को अक्सर संपूर्ण त्रासदी कहा जाता है। यह एक ऐसे राजा की कहानी है जो अनजाने में अपने पिता की हत्या करके अपनी माँ से शादी कर लेता है। एंटीगोन ओडिपस की बेटी पर केंद्रित है। वह अपने भाई को दफनाने के लिए राजा के कानून की अवहेलना करती है। अन्य उल्लेखनीय नाटकों में अजाक्स, इलेक्ट्रा और फिलोक्टेट्स शामिल हैं।
सोफोक्लीज़ के नाटक भाग्य, न्याय और मानवीय पीड़ा जैसे सार्वभौमिक विषयों पर केन्द्रित हैं। एक नाटककार के रूप में सोफोक्लीज़ चरित्र-निर्माण में भी निपुण थे। उनके पात्र केवल भाग्य के हाथों की कठपुतली नहीं हैं। वे जटिल व्यक्ति हैं। वे अपने चुनाव स्वयं करते हैं। ये चुनाव उनके दुखद पतन का कारण बनते हैं।
सोफोक्लीज़ ने यूनानी रंगमंच को हमेशा के लिए बदल दिया। वे रहस्य और नाटकीय व्यंग्य के उस्ताद थे। उन्होंने इन साहित्यिक उपकरणों का कुशलतापूर्वक उपयोग किया। नाट्य नवाचार में अग्रणी के रूप में उन्होंने बहुत योगदान दिया। उन्होंने मंच पर एक तीसरे अभिनेता को भी प्रस्तुत किया। उनसे पहले, नाटकों में केवल दो ही होते थे। उन्होंने कोरस का आकार बढ़ाया और नाटकीय अनुभव को बढ़ाने के लिए चित्रित दृश्यों का उपयोग किया। इन परिवर्तनों ने अधिक जटिल कथानक और पात्रों को जन्म दिया।
निस्संदेह, सोफोक्लीज़ प्राचीन ग्रीस के महानतम नाटककारों में से एक हैं। उनके नाटक कालातीत हैं। वे मानव स्वभाव के गहरे प्रश्नों की पड़ताल करते हैं। वे दिखाते हैं कि कैसे अभिमान और अज्ञानता विनाश का कारण बन सकते हैं। उनके कार्यों ने अनगिनत लेखकों, कलाकारों और विचारकों को प्रभावित किया है।
*****
Location: B-37, City Homes Colony, Jawahar Nagar Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India
Dr. Hareshwar Roy beautifully connects global research with local literature. Born in 1964 in Jamuaon (Bhojpur, Bihar), he studied at Patna University and earned his Ph.D. from APS University, Rewa. Currently, he serves as Professor of English at Government P.G. College Satna, Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Roy bridges two worlds: in class, he explains international migration and literary history, while in his heart, he keeps the rich spirit of the Bhojpuri language alive. He has published over 45 research papers focused on Indian Diaspora Writing. As an author in English, he has written Diasporic Articulation in the Novels of M.G. Vassanji, A Study of M.G. Vassanji's Novels, Varieties of Indianity in the Works of M.G. Vassanji and Rohinton Mistry, Diaspora and Indian Diaspora: A Brief Study, Short Notes of English Literature - I and Short Notes of English Literature - II. Rooted in his soil, he is a celebrated Bhojpuri poet featured on 'Kavita Kosh' and in popular collections like Hamar Pahchan Ha Bhojpuri, Hamra Pyar Ho Gail, and Bhojpuri Kavitayein. Ultimately, his life and writings serve as an inspiring example of how academic scholarship and local roots thrive together perfectly.

Popular Posts

The Wonder that was India by A.L. Basham

Hareshwar Roy,
Hindu civilization will, we believe, retain its continuity. The Bhagavad Gita will not cease to inspire men of action, and the Upanishads men of thought. The charm and graciousness of the Indian way of life will continue, however much affected it may be by the labour- saving devices of the West People will still love the tales of the heroes of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and of the loves of Dusyanta and Sakuntala and Pururavas and Urvasi. The quiet and gentle happiness which has at all times pervaded Indian life where oppression, disease and poverty have not overclouded it will surely not vanish before the more hectic ways of the West Much that was useless in ancient Indian culture has already perished. The extravagant and barbarous hecatombs of the Vedic age have long since been forgotten, though animal sacrifice continues in some sects. Widows have long ceased to be burnt on their husbands' pyres. Girls may not by law be married in childhood. In buses and trains all over...
Read more

On the Rule of the Road by A.G. Gardiner: A complete Study

Hareshwar Roy,
On the Rule of the Road: A.G. Gardiner A. TEXT: A stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and with no small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for foot-passengers, but she replied: "I'm going to walk where I like. We've got liberty now." It did not occur to the dear old lady that if liberty entitled the foot-passenger to walk down the middle of the road it also entitled the cab-driver to drive on the pavement, and that the end of such liberty would be universal chaos. Everybody would be getting in everybody else's way and nobody would get anywhere. Individual liberty would have become social anarchy. There is a danger of the world getting liberty-drunk in these days like the old lady with the basket, and it is just as well to remind ourselves of what the rule of the road means. It means that in order that the liberties of all may be p...
Read more

Abhigyan Shakuntalam: A Summary

Hareshwar Roy,
Abhigyan Shakuntalam: A Summary Introduction: Kalidasa is a major poet and playwright in classical Sanskrit literature. It is he who composed Abhigyan Shakuntalam . This play starts with a Prologue. This Prologue consists of benediction and a conversation between the director and an actress. The benediction is performed before the beginning of the play. The benediction is an invocation to Lord Siva. The actor-manager and the actress talk about the play of the day. The readers are informed that a new play by Kalidasa is going to be staged. On the request of the manager, the actress sings a romantic song about the summer season for the audience. Act One: Act I of Abhigyan Shakuntalam begins with the description of the summer season by the narrator. He also introduces king Dushyanta who is on hunt. Chasing a deer king Dushyanta enters the ashram of sage Kanva in his chariot. He has bow and arrow in his hands. The king aims at the deer but an ascetic forbids him to hunt in the premises...
Read more

CCE Questions for MA Eng. Lit. Sem I (NEP) [PG 2 Year] - 2026

Hareshwar Roy,
CCE Questions for MA Eng. Lit. Sem I (NEP) [PG 2 Year]- 2026 Note: Attempt any two questions from each paper and submit separate answer sheet for each paper on 16th Nov 2026 between 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM in the Dept. of English. Paper I: Poetry 1. Write a note on Chaucer's use of satire in his Prologue to Canterbury Tales . 2. Discuss John Donne as a metaphysical poet. 3. Write a critical appreciation of Elegy written in country churchyard. Paper II: Drama 1. Discuss Hamlet’s madness. 2. Give a character sketch of Barabas. 3. Discuss The Way of the World as a comedy of manners. 4. Give a character sketch of Tony Lumpkin. Paper III: Fiction 1. How do Behn’s Oroonoko and Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe reflect or critique the dynamics of European colonialism? 2. Discuss the Gothic elements in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights . 3. Write a note on the Victorian women protagonists prescribed in your syllabus. 4. Write a note on the ri...
Read more

Longinus: Sources of Sublimity

Hareshwar Roy,
INTRODUCTION: Longinus is one of the greatest Greek critics. His position is only next to Aristotle. His 'On the Sublime' is an immortal critical document of great worth and significance. It deals wit h the principle of sublimity in the world of writing. Here Longinus discusses the meaning, the nature and the sources of sublime. He distinguishes the true sublime from the false sublime. He advises how to overcome the vices of sublime. His suggestions are of permanent and paramount value. WHAT IS SUBLIMITY: Sublimity is a certain loftiness, distinction and consummation of excellence in language, expression and composition. It is the echo of a great soul. It raises style above the ordinary. Some persons are of the view that sublimity is a gift of nature. They think that it has nothing to do with art. But one should not forget that nature needs the help of art to control its wild impulses. In fact, both nature and art contribute to sublimity in literature. According to L...
Read more