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Philosophy of sophocles
Characters and characterization a doll's house
Characters and characterization a doll's house
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Individual Responsibility in Oedipus Rex and A Doll's House
In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Ibsen's A Doll's House, the main characters - Nora and Oedipus, are both constructed to illustrate flaws in society. Oedipus' psychological evolution sees him begin as an all-powerful, righteous king, who seemingly through no fault of his own murders his father and marries his mother. His evolution ends with his self-blinding, an action which Sophocles' uses to establish the true freedom of the individual before divine authority. In A Doll's House, the development of Nora Helmer leads her from believing that she is happily married to realizing that she is a mere possession for her husband's entertainment. By her decision at the end of the play to leave her family and explore her own self-identity, Ibsen is insinuating that concern for oneself is far from selfish; it is in fact a supreme duty. Both plays introduced new waves of thought into society, and proved that freedom and justice are essentially matters of individual decision and responsibility.1
King Oedipus is introduced in Oedipus Rex as the charming, courageous, and all powerful king of Thebes. In the opening sequence of the play, Oedipus is approached by his citizens, led by a priest, who asks him to find the source of the plague which is devastating their city. He praises Oedipus as "King of the land, our greatest power,"[ln. 15] and then goes on to describe the dire situation the townspeople find themselves in, which includes stillborn babies and pestilence. Sophocles uses this conversation between Oedipus and the priest to establish Oedipus' grandeur, as can be seen in by the Priest's plea to Oedipus:
Now we pray to you. You cannot equal the gods, your chi...
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...g. 138
5 Knox, Bernard. Sophocles - The Three Theban Plays. Pg. 139
6 Ibid. pg. 138
7 ln. 269-279
8 ln. 469-474
9 Salome, Lou. Ibsen's Heroines
10 Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Pg. 30
11 Salome, Lou. Ibsen's Heroines. Pg. 48
12 Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Pg. 54
13 Salome, Lou. Ibsen's Heroines. Pg. 48
14 Ibid. Pg. XV
15 Ibid. Pg. 63
16 Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House - Pg. XVI
17 ln. 1395-1405
18 MacFarlane, James. Ibsen and Meaning - Studies, Essays, and Prefaces. Pg. 248
19 Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House Pg. 99
20 Winnington Ingram, R.P. Fate in Sophocles. Pg. 134
21 Knox, Bernard. Sophocles - The Three Theban Plays. Pg. 149
22 ln. 1467-71
23 MacFarlane, James. Ibsen and Meaning - Studies, Essays, and Prefaces. Pg. 245
24 Ibid. Pg. 250
25 Ibid. Pg. 250
Oedipus is described as one of the greatest characters of all time in Oedipus Rex. "Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (Prologue) He solves the riddle of the Sphinx and has been very good to the people. So when this plague strikes that is killing the citizens of Thebes, they once again turn to the great Oedipus.
During the Ancient Grecian time periods, tragedy meant death because one defied against an outer prophecy. Modern day tragedy was simply realism, the unspoken way of life. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Ibsen's A Doll's House, the main characters - Nora and Oedipus, are both constructed to illustrate flaws in society and how naive people are. Ibsen and Sophocles both developed tragedy into a central idea that all people surreptitiously understand. Nora and Oedipus make incompetent decisions that assist in discovering their fundamental nature as tragic heroes and provoke sorrow and pity among the audience.
“Remember we are women, we’re not born to contend with men” (Sophocles, 18). The popular literary works, Antigone and A Doll’s House, written by Sophocles and Ibsen, are two famous tragedies that have been performed and read throughout the decades. Although countless audiences have been entertained by these well written plays, few would care to guess that many lessons and several unfortunate truths can be found with a less than tedious inspection of the characters and the reactions they give to their circumstances. The two main characters in these stories, Antigone and Nora, face adversities and problems that are amplified by their society’s views on the rights and abilities of women. The two main male characters in these plays, Creon and Helmer, cause the greater part of the struggle that the female protagonists face. The difficulties that Helmer and Creon create during the plot of these stories are the cause of three major characteristics of what one would consider typical to a headstrong man in a leadership position. The three features of Creon and Helmer that lead to the eventual downfall of Antigone and Nora, are pride, arrogance, and ignorance.
The story 'A View From The Bridge', is set in the 1940's in Red hook
Romeo and Juliet meet and instantly fall in love. Romeo no longer loves Rosaline and is
Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times. The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot). A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth. Travelling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.
On the beginning of the play, Oedipus describes himself to be a person that is willing to do anything to help his people (the people of Thebes). For instance, on the beginning of the play Oedipus says “Here I am, myself, world-famous Oedipus...You may count on me; I am ready to do anything to help...”(6). The theme of the play is Oedipus’s journey to self-discovery, this quote connects to theme by Oedipus, who describes himself to be a great force, a hero for the city; and so far seems to have done something to help the plague-stormed city. However, throughout the play, readers and Oedi...
Oedipus Rex is a Greek play written by Sophocles. The play is set in Thebes; Thebes is infected with a plague that is killing its crops and unborn children. This plague is caused by the prophecy. The prophecy states that Oedipus would kill his father and wed his mother. Laius threw out Oedipus when he was a baby to avoid this fate, but he failed because Oedipus was not killed. Oedipus was raised as a prince in Corinth. One day he was told the prophecy and feared that he would kill his father Polybus. While running away from Corinth to escape the prophecy, Oedipus killed Laius. When Oedipus arrived in Thebes, he freed the people from the sphinx. He was named king and married Jocasta. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus finds out that he had fulfilled the prophecy and is exiled from Thebes.
been so ready for the adoption of a new faith by the majority of the
The tragedy “Othello” is written by William Shakespeare in 1604. The story is based on revenge of two characters, Othello and Iago. Othello, the play’s protagonist and hero, who has great reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. However, his jealousy causes the major tragedy in his life. This tragedy is brought by a simple manipulation of Iago, the villain of the play. The jealousy led Othello to a path of constant questioning to his wife, and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play, he sinks deeper and deeper into his doubt and eventually that causes him to kill not only the love of his life, but also himself.
always mean that a person is good or bad and so by making Othello a
Conclusively, it is evident that in this Shakespearean tragedy, Othello’s downfall comes to be due weakness in his character, which comes into existence due to his major character flaws. Through his poor judgement, Othello can not figure out who is trustworthy and who he should find as not being loyal. Furthermore, jealousy overpowers Othello and his mindset, which fills him with thoughts of anger and hate. Likewise, Othello’s insecurity is a major flaw that bewilders him and causes him to be very distraught. Thus, with these points, it is unmistakeable that Othello faces a set of character flaws, that when found alongside each other, are almost impossible to overcome, which in the end lead to the tragic downfall and death of Othello in the end of this play.
Oedipus was a victime of fate, his futur was foretold by an Oracle, he had no way of knowing that his wife was his mother nor that the stranger he killed was his father. Oedipus could not prevent his own downfall. Oedipus was the king of Thebes, he became king when he cured the city of a deadly plague. He cured the plague by solving the riddle of the mythical creature, the Sphinkx. Now the city is suffering from another plague and as king Oedipus must solve the riddle of this one.
Of the 38 plays Shakespeare has produced over his lifetime, his tragedies are the most heart-wrenching, horrifying productions the theater has ever seen. In these tragedies, there are gruesome ideas such as lethal love, megalomania, and the absolute corruption of heroes that were originally considered to be wholesome. The latter theme can especially be seen in the play Othello. In this tragedy, there is an ongoing theme of corruption in a considerable amount of characters in the play, the most significant change being in Othello. Othello undergoes a shocking transformation, as he starts off as the storybook hero, a reputable soldier who illustrates great passion towards his wife, but transforms to become a twisted
Othello’s personality was shaped largely by war and his pride as a capable soldier. He was intelligent and strong enough to live through countless battles and lead troops into war with successful results. Even Iago, who hates Othello for passing him over for the lieutenant position, can not deny Othello’s noble yet naïve nature, which he explains to Roderigo, “The Moor is of a free and open nature” (Act 1 Scene 3 390). However, as Iago continually hints to Othello that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio, more of his negative personality traits begin to show up. Doubt, mistrust, jealousy and rage all grew with Iago’s hints and led him to believe that his wife had damaged his reputation by being unfaithful to him. In the beginning of Othello, Othello betted on his life that Desdemona loved him and would never betray him and by the end of Shakespeare’s story, he suffocates and kills his wife out of honor in order to preserve his reputation and sense of self. He killed her not only out of a sense of duty, but also because of how hurt and betrayed he felt about her perceived infidelity. Therefore, Othello represents the good and the bad side of human nature by being intelligent, loving, open, and honorable and the bad by doubting his wife, exhibiting jealousy, anger and