Death has been an eternal problem, which human being faces all across history. Facing death requires enormous brave, furthermore, being responsible for death requires depth of wisdom. Back in centuries, individuals were deeply influenced by the ongoing beliefs, whether it was religious belief or just what people called the belief of the Ancient Greek, it manipulated them into acting in normal life and facing death to a large extent. As in texts “Hamlet” by Shakespeare and “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, their personality and behaviour have been dramatically and successfully shaped to reflect on how the conception of their belief changed the ways of dealing with the world in regard to the understanding after death. Both of them demonstrated …show more content…
Most people couldn’t face their life straight; they couldn’t bear the weight of their destiny and very often, they tended to avoid the punishment when they did something that was against the Gods. Oedipus on the other hand, at the Greek time, firstly believed as everyone else, that everything happened or will happen were all in their fate, it was destiny that controlled their whole life and nothing could be changed. From the part where Tiresias revealed the Oedipus Complex: his behaviour of killing father and marrying mother, the action of fighting against destiny for Oedipus started to show the influence of facing everything he had done, including causing the death of his own father. Irony is widely employed in the play, such as where the people of Thebes came to the king and asked him to rid the plague, but in reality himself was the origin of the plague. Also he cursed the murder who killed the old king but he was actually cursing himself. These irony reflected on his ignorance before noticing the truth, and created a hint for further comparison. He then “recognised what he misrecognises, namely, his desire, and his history, inasmuch as they are, both, unconscious.” Before when he challenged the Sphinx, the puzzle he was given was a reflection of humanity. How many legs do human use to walk is only a biological description and it is not enough to divide between human and other creatures. Oedipus believed he solved the puzzle, but he then also lost understandings in humanity. The mistake in ethics and humanity was made when he solved the puzzle, which then established a sense of certainty in making mistakes in the future. Everything he did after, including killing father and marrying mother, all followed this pattern, and is a tangible consequence of disobeying his own fate. Oedipus was a character that had braveness, unselfishness and wisdom all inside him,
The selfishness that Oedipus possesses causes him to have abundance of ignorance. This combination is what leads to his father’s death. After fleeing Corinth and his foster family, Oedipus gets into a skirmish with an older man. The reason for the fight was because, “The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord’s command” (1336). Oedipus is filled with a rage after being insulted by the lord and feels the need to act. The two men fight, but Oedipus ends up being too much for the older man, and he kills him. What Oedipus is unaware of is that the man was actually his birth father and by killing him, Oedipus has started on the path of his own destruction. Not only does Oedipus kill his father, but also everyone else, “I killed them all” (1336). The other men had no part in the scuffle, but in his rage, he did not care who he was killing.
Ironically, he initially became a King by solving a riddle and now he is trying to solve another to try and maintain his image and control his destiny. “Human happiness is built on an illusion” (Dodds 27). This quote is a good connection to the role of Oedipus, because while attempting to keep the Kingdom under control and keep his image unharmed, he is left in the dark by ignoring the signs. The irony of ignoring the past continues when “Creon brings the information that there will be no relief until the murderer of Laius is expelled from the city… [And] the murder mystery slowly becomes a quest for Oedipus ' identity” (Derrida). Building upon the investigation, Oedipus grows a keen interest for who he truly is. Is there any truth to the prophecies that which he and Jocasta have seemingly forgot about? At this point, it seems as though Oedipus must finally face his fear and discover the truth that he has been avoiding for so long. The only way for Oedipus to find out the lies he has been living is to seek for the only witness of his father’s murder, a shepherd. Only until Oedipus threatens to kill the shepherd does he tell the truth and reveal the tragic events which have been avoided for so long. In this moment before certainty of the past is brought to light, the relationship between self-control and self-image is linked and soon to be changed
"To be, or not to be: that is the question" (Shakespeare 1750). "Human beings have no part in the craft of prophecy" (Sophocles 1582). Both quotes are part of famous plays. Although the plays appear to be completely different they do have some similarities such as containing a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a character that makes a mistake and eventually leads to their defeat. A tragic hero usually contains at least 5 characteristics such as a flaw (hamartia), reversal of fortune (peripetia), character 's actions leads to a reversal, excessive pride, and the character 's fate is greater than what they truly deserved. Hamlet and Oedipus are both great examples of what a tragic hero is because they both contain flaws, reversal of fortune, and
Oedipus Rex”, by Socrates, is a play that shows the fault of men and the ultimate power of the gods. Throughout the play, the main character, Oedipus, continually failed to recognize the fault in human condition, and these failures let to his ultimate demise. Oedipus failed to realize that he, himself was the true answer to the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus ignored the truth told to him by the oracles and the drunk at the party, also. These attempts to get around his fate which was determined by the gods was his biggest mistake. Oedipus was filled with hubris and this angered the gods. He believed he was more that a man. These beliefs cause him to ignore the limits he had in being a man. Oedipus needed to look at Teiresias as his window to his future.
Numerous Greek screenwriters utilize the self-acknowledge of their characters to underscore the topics of their tragedies. Sophocles, for one, utilizes the character change of Oedipus, in coupled with the plot, to highlight the topic of his acclaimed work, Oedipus the King. As Oedipus develops in alarming self-information, he transforms from a prideful, brave ruler toward the start of the play, to a dictator trying to claim ignorance toward the center, to a frightful, censured man, humbled by his shocking destiny by the end.
When examining Hamlet through the lens of the Oedipus complex, it is critical to first define and thoroughly explain the Oedipus complex, then to apply it to Hamlet's relationships, before a final conclusion is reached. The Complexities of the Complex Before one can understand the Oedipus complex, one must understand Sigmund Freud's theory on infantile sexuality. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy points out that the roots of Freud's theory can be found in the work of an older colleague of Freud's, Josef Breuer. Breuer discovered that traumatic events in childhood could have destructive repercussions in adulthood. Freud generalized Breuer's discoveries and added that sexual experiences in early childhood were the most important factors in shaping adult personality.
The behavior of Oedipus is ironic, because he is not capable to grasp the truth that is being unrevealed before his eyes. Oedipus is blinded by his ignorance. He is a very confident man and powerful in the way he acts and talks. Oedipus is so blind to himself, that instead of relying on the oracles, he counts on his own knowledge to find out the truth. Oedipus is destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father.
Oedipus’ personality clearly reflects pride and determination throughout the play. When Oedipus heard the oracles’ prediction that he was to kill his father and marry his mother, he was determined to prevent the prophecy. Therefore he left his homeland of Corinth never to return. Then when he solved the Sphinx’s riddle, Oedipus’ pride rose to a new level. He was praised by the people of Thebes, resulting in his marriage to Jocasta, Queen of Thebes. Oedipus also shows his determination when in search of Laius’ murderer. He stated that he would avenge the King’s death as if Laius were his own father. He cursed the murderer, announcing “May he drag out an evil death-in-life in misery.” These characteristics of pride and determination, which Oedipus emanates throughout the play, may appear to be positive attributes to one’s personality. However, Oedipus’ actions, based on these characteristics, are what led him to his eventual downfall and suffrage.
In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is depicted as a morally ambiguous character; neither purely evil or purely good. Oedipus runs from his fate initially to prevent himself from pursuing what he believed was his fate; however, he is lead straight towards his real fate. He kills his biological father as he is headed to Thebes, where he takes the throne. Once he has taken the throne, he begins to try and save his city from the plague by looking for the murder of king Laius. However, what he does not know is that the prophet has told him who has slew the king; therefore, he presents his ignorance as a leader. Not only does his ignorance create the flawed character inside himself, but it also causes him to run from his fate. The significance of Oedipus being a morally ambiguous character is that he cannot run from his fate
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows their attempt is futile, creating irony. When Jocasta and Oedipus mock the oracles, they continue to suspect that they were right. Oedipus discounts the oracles' power, but believes in his ability to uncover the truth, yet they lead to the same outcome. His intelligence is what makes him great, but it is also what causes the tragedy. When he ridded Thebes of the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's saviour, but by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, he is its affliction, causing the blight that strikes the city during the opening. Meanwhile, the characters, especially Teiresias, mention sight, light, darkness, &c as metaphors, while referring to `seeing the truth'. However, while Teiresias knows the truth and is blind, Oedipus can see all but the truth. When he discovers the truth, he becomes blind. Also, he does not just solve the Sphinx's riddle - he is its answer. His birth is mentioned throughout the play (crawling on `4 legs'), and he never relies on anybody but himself (`standing on his own `2 legs'),...
Hamlet’s “Oedipus Complex” “Hamlet is another of the great creations of tragic poetry. What is it that inhibits him in fulfilling the task set him by his father’s ghost?.Hamlet is able to do anything—except take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father’s place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of childhood realized. Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish. ”- Sigmund Freud.
In conclusion, Oedipus has a very messed up story of how the combination of his ignorance and his epic flaws of desiring justice and passion for his people led to his downfall. Although his actions are done out of ignorance and seem fine at the time, he is still responsible for them and their long term effect. You can never escape fate and the penalty for your actions. This tragedy is quite ironic: at the beginning of the day, he is a fiery man ready to bring justice to a killer. By the end of the day, he is a miserable man, ready to join his wife/mother in
From the very beginning, Oedipus was destined to fulfill Apollo's prophecy of killing his father. Even though King Lauis tries to kill Oedipus to stop the fulfillment of this shameful prophecy, fate drives the Corinthian messenger to save Oedipus. What the gods fortell will come true and no human can stop it from happening, not even the kings. Oedipus is once again controlled by this power when he leaves the place of his child hood after he hears that he is to kill his father and marry his mother. "I shall shrink from nothing...to find the the murderer of Laius...You are the murderer..." Oedipus tried to stop the prophecy from coming true by leaving Corinth and only fate can make Oedipus turn to the road where he kills his true father. Leaving Corinth makes Oedipus lose his childhood by making him worry of such issues young people should not have to worry about and becoming a king of a strange land. Last of all, Oedipus carries the last part of the prophecy out, marrying his mother. " I would... never have been known as my mother's husband. Oedipus has no control over the outcome of his life. Fate causes Oedipus to have known the answer to the Sphinx's riddle and win his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. Had fate not intervened, the chances of marrying Jocasta would have been small since there is an enourmous number of people and places to go. Oedipus loses his sense of dignity after he discovers he is not only a murderer, but also that he had committed incest.
Oedipus The King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles warning about the dangers of arrogance and power, as well as the power of fate and the Gods. Oedipus is the tragic hero of the plot who was destined from birth to kill his father and marry his mother, which prompts his parents, the King and Queen of Thebes, to send him to the mountainside to die. However, the King and Queen of Corinth save him from death. As a man, he returns to Thebes, in order to not fulfill the prophecy against his parents, but he does not know about his origins. On his way to Thebes he kills a man, and at Thebes he solves the riddle of the Sphinx which earns him the title of King and marries the queen. When the murder mystery of the previous king, King Laius, resurfaces, it is discovered the Oedipus killed King Laius without knowing he was king or his father and married his mother, this fulfilling the prophecy. Full of misery and guilt, the queen Jocasta, commits suicide and Oedipus blinds himself. Due to Oedipus’ excessive hubris, he creates his own misery throughout the play and his downfall. The notion of hubris is introduced when Oedipus reopens the murder case of King Laius, followed by his blindness to the truth, and the end of his reign and banishment from Thebes.
Throughout the play, Oedipus tries to change his fate. When he confirms through two messengers and an oracle that he is destined to marry his mother and kill his father, he completely panics. He knows that is something he definitely wants to avoid, so he decided he would attempt to change his fate. But at that time, he did not realize that your fate is your fate and it will not change.