A Comparison of Macbeth and Oedipus Rex
The objective of this essay is to compare the Shakespearian tragedy "Macbeth" to the Greek tragedy, "Oedipus Rex". Although the plays share similarities, it will be seen that the fall of Macbeth is very different from that of Oedipus. Macbeth's downfall is due to his own personal decisions while the downfall of Oedipus is due to fate and the will of the gods.
In Greek tragedy plot was always emphasized over character; everyone wore masks. These masks would seem to mask a person's character. This would make the character seem more universal. The mask-wearing protagonist lacks individual personality and character. This makes catharsis more relevant because the protagonist is not as individual but more universal; they could be anyone.
Macbeth is an individual person; he has no mask. This makes catharsis seem more irrelevant because Macbeth is more of on individual than Greek protagonists and therefore the audience doesn't feel that Macbeth is a representation of humanity and themselves. Instead they would set him apart as an individual person and therefore catharsis wouldn't apply as much.
Greek tragedies all feature some kind of religious aspect. The gods bring about the protagonist's downfall in "Oedipus Rex". Yet Shakespeare's production of "Macbeth" is not religious. Macbeth isn't portrayed as being religious in any way. However, Oedipus strongly believed in the Greek gods and they carved out his fate as proclaimed by the oracle.
The Greeks had no understanding of the way that the world works compared to what we, or even Shakespeare, now know. Volcanos were blamed on the gods because the Greek's didn't know the cause.
We now have scientific explanations for volcanoes...
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...of the effect of catharsis. When I read Oedipus Rex I didn't feel purged of my fears of existence because I don't believe that our lives are controlled by the will of fate. Catharsis is more relevant to the Ancient Greeks than to us because of the different belief system; we have one good, caring, all-powerful God and they have many gods who don't really care about the humans that much. I think that Shakespeare hasn't tried to apply catharsis to his tragedy as much as the Ancient Greeks did to their tragedies because he doesn't make the characters as universal as the Greeks but he gives them individualism by removing the masks and giving each character a personality.
Works Cited:
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.
Most people probably thought that Lady Macbeth did not have a humane side to herself and is self-centered. When Lady Macbeth was hiding in the bushes waiting for Macbeth to return, she was talking to herself. At the beginning of Act II scene 2, Lady Macbeth shows her sympathetic side by stating “He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.” Lady Macbeth is inherently a person with emotional attachment, but when it comes to her ambitious needs, she shows a different side of herself.
Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Elements of Literature. Sixth ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997.
Aristophanes denounces the importance of the gods' influence on the actions of mortals. In the usual tragedy, the gods play an extremely important role towards the actions of the mortal characters. Through fear of the alternative and examples of the past, Athenians carried out their everyday lives under the guidance of the gods' wishes. Aristophanes challenges the audience, and Greek culture as a whole, by offering a different view on the answers and directions of life, than that of the gods. He denounces the parables and explanations to answers in life that involve the gods. Instead he explains that such things as the aerial whirlwind, and especially the clouds, are the reasoning behind all of natures actions. On the surface these comments were seen as a mockery and very humorous. Underlying this humor is a scary truth, most likely ignored by the congregations witnessing this play. How many times has a character in a tragedy been so willing to contradict the gods? Dominant characters like Creon and Prometheus have blatantly disobeyed the gods. The alternative explanations serve a hidden truth in the hearts of many of the Athenian people. This truth is always again repressed by the end of each play, tragedy or comedy; because their was too great of a fear to upset the higher beings.
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The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
The first criterion that a tragic hero must comply to is that they must be above average. They must be Khrestos. Macbeth is khrestos. He is described as "valour's minion" 1-2 19. Valour's minion means bravery's favourite. Also he is spoken of as "brave" and "Bellona's bridegroom". Bellona was the goddess of war. Duncan, the king, describes Macbeth as "noble". And also uses a familiar term for Macbeth, as if he is in the kings family. "o' valiant cousin, worthy gentleman". These quotations from Duncan carry more weight as they are from the highest nobility, the monarch himself. These quotes evidence that Macbeth is khrestos. Everyone thinks highly of him and he is already Thane of Glamis, then he becomes Thane of Cawdor. The Thane of Cawdor is executed for being a traitor, so Macbeth inherits the label of a traitor, even though it is not known.
Sixteenth century play writers often focused on the tragic irony of fate. One such play-writer is Sophacles. In one of his later plays, “Oedipus”, he writes the tragic story of a man who can’t avoid his pre-destined fate, and that some things just can’t be changed by the people in your life no matter how hard they try. Oedipus, the main character of this tragedy, he is a protagonist ruled by conflict and fate. This is evident in the characters traits and motivations, interactions with others, and the characters language and what others say about him.
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As a family member participant in the service, little field preparation was needed. However, the observer did complete the following tasks in preparation for the observation:
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Wirtz Jochen, et al (2013), “Managing Brands and customer engagement in online brand communities”, Journal of service Management, Vol.24(3)