Studying plays as Oedipus Rex and Hamlet is a vital part of studying literature since they are timeless works that teach many lessons. Moreover, they still have some concepts to be unmasked by critics of literature. According to Aristotle tragedy is ''a form of drama based on human misery that arouses in its audience feelings of pity and fear'' and each tragedy must have a tragic hero. Tragedy began in the ancient Greek theatre where tragedies were performed in late March to early April at an annual religious festival in honour of Dionysus.() One of the most famous tragedies in that period is Oedipus Rex which was written by Sophocles. Oedipus Rex represents some themes for instance death, revenge and fate. Similarly, the Elizabethan theatre had many tragedies, such …show more content…
Hamlet represents the theme of revenge because it was common in the Elizabethan era. Despite the fact that these two plays were written in two different periods of time, they share some concepts such as themes, language style, tragic flaw and setting .Thus the questions that needs to be answered are: what are the similarities and differences between these two plays? How are they different? And why they are different? Hamlet and Oedipus Rex are both sharing some common themes. '' self- destruction'' is one example of them. Oedipus's personality leads him to his self-destruction because he is '' a man of quick action and hasty conclusions who doesn't even attempt to foresee the consequences of his actions.'' () Similarly, Hamlet selfishness leads him to his own destiny. He didn’t think how his actions would affect others. For example, when he intensely began looking to find the
Hamlet and Oedipus share some common background, as in they both come from well-off families. Oedipus was born with the blood of gods and also raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope in Corinth. Hamlet was the prince of Denmark, soon to be king. They also have somewhat similar motivation when it comes to the the decision and need to kill the current king from each story. Hamlet’s motivation is the fact that he was questioning about his father’s death as well as his mom’s strange reaction since she had already moved on to a new marriage with Hamlet’s uncle.
Shakespeare questions the value of revenge as a means of finding closure and justice, suggesting that it often leads to more harm than good. To draw a conclusion, the tragedy of revenge in Hamlet is a prominent theme in the play, demonstrating the destructive nature of seeking vengeance. Hamlet’s relentless pursuit of revenge causes internal conflicts, brings about a cycle of violence, and ultimately leads to tragic consequences for himself and people around him. Shakespeare’s exploration of this theme raises profound questions about the nature of revenge and its deeper effects on both individuals and
Oedipus the King is a tragedy that was written by Sophocles that emphasizes the irony of an irony of a man who was determined to trace down, expose and punish an assassin who in turn became him. Oedipus the King is also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus. The art is an Athenian play that was performed in ages approximated to be 429 BC. Oedipus the King would later in the play fulfill the prophecy that he would kill his father and later on marry his mother. There is a twist of an event in the play where Oedipus is looking for the murderer of his father to bring to a halt the series of plagues that are befalling Thebes but only to find he is in search of himself (Rado, 1956).
he tragedy genre originated in ancient Greece for the worship of Dionysus or Bacchus. There were many grand festivals that were held for the revealing of many dissimilar tragic plays. One of the most well-known authors of the tragic genre was Sophocles. Sophocles presented many tragedies such as Oedipus, Antigone, Electra, and Ajax. Tragedies always have a tragic hero and a tragic flaw, some tragedies also have other important elements such as hubris, or parity.
The setting of the movie is the first obvious difference that can be seen. The movie was set in New York City, New York in 2000 while the play was set in Elsinore, Denmark in the late middle ages. This greatly affects the way the movie is viewed because it is essentially an entirely different world. In the movie there are video cameras, cars, phones and skyscrapers, all things that obviously weren’t around during Shakespeare’s time. Even if the movie and the play had been based in the same year, the story still would have been slightly different.
The world of literature offers many different works; some may offer similarities while there are differences between others. There are more similarities than differences between Odysseus and Oedipus. Two great examples of literature is the tragic play “Oedipus the King”, written by Sophocles and “The Odyssey”, an epic poem written by Homer who were both Greek poets. Both poets’ work shows similar examples of life altering changes that were ultimately controlled by the Greek gods.
Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, centers around Hamlet’s contemplation of killing his uncle in order to avenge his father’s death. His decisions and values determine his fate. However, Hamlet’s intended action to avenge his father’s death is continuously postponed due to his moral dilemma. However, this moral dilemma causes him to make the decisions he does, and therefore, demonstrates the theme of his uncertainty versus his faith. Not only does faith stop him from taking alternative routes to achieve his goal, but his uncertainty causes him to either delay his revenge or make the wrong decisions.
The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a story of betrayal, revenge, and intrigue. Hamlet, the title character discovers that his uncle killed his father and married his mother effectively stealing the throne. Hamlet decides he must kill his uncle Claudius as revenge for what he had done. However, as the new king, Hamlet isn't sure how to get to him, so he decides to fake madness, but his plan backfires as Claudius doesn't trust him and makes sure he is always watched. In his fumbled plan for revenge, Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, forces Polonius's son Laertes to seek revenge against him, and drives Ophelia crazy causing her to kill herself.
Although Homer and Shakespeare lived centuries apart, they both managed to write their own masterpieces that were well ahead of their time. Homer, an ancient Greek writer creates a very intelligent character, Odysseus, who experiences the highs and lows of life and identity formation. Similar to Homer, Early seventeenth-century English playwright, Shakespeare, tailors his main character to have similar attributes to that of Odysseus. Both characters are intelligent, quick witted and natural born leaders, and their creators both focused heavily on their wits and their moral didacticism, which is portrayed throughout both the Odyssey and Hamlet. When creating Odysseus, Homer didn’t leave him without any admirable traits.
Having been mentally distressed by the death of their loved ones, Hamlet and Maximus both undertake a challenging test to avenge the ones they love. First, both Hamlet and Maximus lose leaders they love due to greed for the throne. This is the main cause for Hamlet to get upset and pursue his plan for revenge and what causes Maximus to rebel against the new emperor. These scenes are arguably the most important in their stories and relates them closely together. In Hamlet, Claudius kills King Hamlet which upsets young Hamlet.
In ancient Greek literature, diseases and afflictions often play key roles within the story. In Sophocles 's tragedy Oedipus Rex, the presence and recurrence of afflictions are central elements to the plot. Oedipus and his city both possess conditions that determine the outcome of the play. The motif of ailments, like the plague and blindness, highlight the hubris and failures of Oedipus to demonstrate his reliance on the gods.
Revenge is a very strong and powerful theme found in stories across all ages and all cultures. During the course of this class two books have also held this theme, Shakespeare's Hamlet and Shelley's Frankenstein. Revenge seems to be such a large theme for both Hamlet and Frankenstein's monster because they both feel utterly betrayed by the people closest to them. In Hamlet, King Hamlet is murdered by his brother, his ghost reveals this to Prince Hamlet.
The stories "Hamlet" and "Death of a Salesman" are two of the most well known tragedy stories. The stories may have been in two completely different eras, and have different plots, but the main characters in the story, Hamlet in "Hamlet" and Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" compare in many different ways. Although the characters can be seen as very similar, there are differences between the characters as well. Hamlet and Willy compare and contrast in the ways as they are both tragic heroes, they both act insane, and both have trouble doing what they say they are gonna do.
Williams Shakespeare is recognized as the greatest English writer. One of his best works ever written is “Hamlet”, which is the most complex, confusing, and frequently performed play. The extreme complexity of the main character – prince Hamlet in this play contributes to its popularity until today. “Hamlet is supposedly the most quoted figure in Western culture after Jesus, maybe the most charismatic too” (Bloom 384). In the most famous revenge tragedy, his biggest weakness that he procrastinates completing his revenge for his father’s death by killing the murderer.
Through the outcomes of both plays, the audience is able to receive some hard truths and be confronted with reality. In their respective ways, the two plays reveal truths about the human experience in the way that the plays are symbolic of very real human or societal problems. Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex, has a fateful plot with a tragic ending. His play follows the conventions of tragedy, implementing plot, character development,