Characters that Reveal the Whole of Reality in Famous Literary Works by Sophocles, Kalidasa, and Shakespeare
In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, Kalidasa's Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection, and Shakespeare's King Lear, there are characters that help the hypothetical figure see the "whole of reality". In Oedipus the King the characters Jocasta and Tiresias allow Oedipus realize his tragic flaw. The same can be said of Kent in King Lear. Also, in Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection the ring that was given to Sakuntala is the catalyst that allowed King Dusyanta realize that Sakuntala was indeed his wife. These characters serve three important purposes in their respective plays (although a ring is not usually considered to be a character). First of all, they are crucial in shaping the plot of the play. Secondly, they are important in revealing to the audience the flaws of the main character. Lastly and most importantly, they are a symbol of truth and through them the ostensible figure is able to see the "whole of reality".
In Oedipus the King, Tiresias is introduced early in the play. At first he refuses to tell Oedipus what he knows about the death of Laius. He says, "Let me go home. That way is best, for you, for me. Let me live my life, and you live yours." (37). This is important in that Tiresias offers Oedipus a way to avoid the truth and suffering that
comes with it. If Oedipus would just accept this the truth would never be revealed. Instead Oedipus' true nature is revealed as he becomes angered and demands the truth that he should not want to hear. Tiresias then proceeds to openly accuse Oedipus of killing King Laius. He is the only character in the entire play to do so as he says, "I say you, ...
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... Because of this, King Dusyanta is unable to see that Sakuntala is his wife. She is desperately in need of something to jog his memory because the words she says have no
good result. The ring is the only thing that allows King Dusyanta to see the "whole of reality". Their love may have never been reconciled if the ring had not have been found.
These figures are crucial to the plot of the play. They help to reveal the flaws of the main characters to the audience, and symbolize the truth. Without these crucial characters the "whole of reality" may have never been revealed.
Bibliography:
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1978.
Kalidasa. Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection.
Penguin Books.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
28 June 1999.
Though calling Teiresias’ news as foolish deceit. Oedipus later learns that the murder of King Laios had been foretold. to be at the hands of his lost son, which he exiled and sentenced to. death when his son was still a baby. Knowing that the same prophecy was told to him by Apollo, Oedipus now knows that he is implicated in.
Trying to solve the mystery of who killed the previous King, Oedipus does not look at the facts around him. As a prophet, Teiresias explains to Oedipus that he is at fault for the death of Laius but Oedipus does not accept this as true, he embraces the darkness and his view of the truth. Teiresias goes further to convince Oedipus of his fault by saying, “Your clear eyes flooded with darkness. That day will come.” Oedipus has placed himself in a world that is suitable as the truth for him. He is not prepared for change or the opinions of others although he is directly seeking the answer to who killed Laius. This connects to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” because Oedipus is very similar to the prisoners. He is set in his way and the light of knowledge does not immediately impact him. Teiresias bluntly says to Oedipus, “You have eyes to see with, but you do not see yourself” (Sophocles, 42). He pushes and pushes Oedipus to understand that he killed Laius but with no luck. Once Oedipus learns more about how Laius was killed and figures out that he killed a man that way he goes into the light. His reality has now changed just as it did for the prisoner who was released from the cave. But for Oedipus, facing the truth is something he is not able to do with ease. Teiresias says to Oedipus that “wisdom is a curse when [it] does nothing for the man who has it” (37).
As the truth is getting revealed: "… You, Oedipus, are the desecrator, the polluter of this land." Oedipus does not believe (his choice). He (Oedipus) start to accuse Creon of truing to take his powers away (king). And still want to reveal whole truth. After talking to Jocasta Oedipus faces that he in fact might killed the king Laius. " There was s herald leading a carriage drawn by horses and the man riding in the carriage … The driver pushed.
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex introduced the one of the most important tragic heroes of Greek literature. First performed in the fifth century B.C.E., the play is centered around Oedipus, the king of the Greek city-state Thebes, and his struggle to conquer his emotions as he seeks out the true story of his life. This work, inspired by a well-known Greek myth, scrutinizes both the tragic flaws of Oedipus and his heroism. Examples of Oedipus’ tragic flaws abound in the play. In his condemnation of Tiresias and Creon, Oedipus is controlled by his emotions. However, the heroism of Oedipus is also an essential theme of the drama, though it is often downplayed. Despite this, careful analysis can uncover many instances in which Oedipus exhibits his heroism by attempting to control his emotions and discover the truth of his origins. In his finest moments, Oedipus is in complete command of his emotions as he searches for the truth, while at his nadir, Oedipus is completely controlled by his emotions and is absolutely unpredictable. This contrast is, in large part, what makes Oedipus a tragic hero. Oedipus, King of Thebes, is among the greatest Hellenistic tragic heroes because of his fight to overcome his greatest flaw, his uncontrollable anger, as he heroically searches for the truth.
Minor characters play a very crucial role in Shakespear's Hamlet. They serve as narrators for events that occurred outside the immediate play: the Dane's ghost. Distinct contrasts are created through the usage of the play's minor characters. The reader gains new perspective on Hamlet's character when he is compared with Laertes. The presence of these minor characters can also have a direct effect on the action of the play. The actors in the play within the play are used to expose the guilt of Claudius; Hamlet then has proof of the King's crimes. The expertise use of these characters - either to exemplify good and purity, or to spread the vile corruption which permeates Elsinore - is one of the main reasons for Hamlet's success as one of the greatest plays ever written.
In conclusion, Oedipus’ denial of justice especially to his eyes, Tiresias, and Creon, show that justice is an important theme in this book. Oedipus denies justice by not giving the full representation of the truth, and by hurting and blaming others for things he himself has done. By doing this, he fails to be the fair king he strives to be by trying to track down Laius’ murderer, and becomes the complete antithesis of what he wants to be. If Oedipus wants to be a just king to his people, then he should take the punishment meant for him—death—because it is fair that since he is the source of the corruption of the land, that he should die in return.
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.
“What followed; snatching from her dress gold pins Wherewith she was adorned, he lifted them, And smote the nerves of his own eyeballs; saying Something like this, they should see no more” (45). As such, Oedipus becomes the full focus of irony, as he now knows the truth, while wishing that he never knew it. Oedipus could not see the truth when he had his sight. As such, Oedipus went on a search to cure his ignorance, while Tiresias was fully aware of the truth (12). However, searching for the truth reveals that Oedipus is the problem, and it was hidden in plain sight. Lastly, Oedipus’ life comes to full circle as he now accepts the role of one who knows, while wishing he doesn’t know. A question to investigate is how Oedipus’ character changes throughout the play, which is revealed by changes in his
When the title of a play is a character's name, it is normally assumed that the character is the protagonist of the play. In Sophocles' Antigone, most people probably believe Antigone to be the tragic heroine, even after they have finished watching the play. It may be argued, however, that Creon, not Antigone, is the tragic character. When we examine the nature and concept of the Greek Tragedy and what it means to be a tragic character, it becomes clear that Creon is indeed the tragic hero of the play Antigone.
The characters in a novel or play are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The opinions one might form of a character are based on these; therefore, the characteristics suggested by an author are intrinsic to the reader having a complete and subjective understanding of a work. Characteristics are often displayed through a character s actions, in what is said about them, and what they themselves say, which shall be the focus of this essay. Both Oedipus, in Sophocles' King Oedipus and Odysseus, in The Odyssey of Homer, oftenare spoken of by others, but their own words are telling, as certain emotions and traits can be seen. Traits of a character can often be masked or distorted by favorable or unfavorable descriptions by others, but their own speech, however calculated or controlled, often clearly shows character flaws and attributes that one might not come across otherwise. Strict narration often polarizes a character, casting them as black or white, good or evil. However, in most writings, and certainly in The Odyssey and King Oedipus, the speech of a characterallows us to see the various shades of grey, thus portraying the character more fairly. One might see Oedipus and Odysseus as being in some ways quite similar, but their speech and the characteristics revealed therein is what sets them apart.
Oedipus finds out that he is the killer of King Laius and will become the archetypal sacrificial scapegoat for the city of Thebes. Throughout this passage from the play, Oedipus is continually gathering incriminating evidence against himself from the source of his own wife and mother, Jocasta. He discovers through her attempted reassurance that his quest from Corinth set his fate to be the killer of his biological father and the sacrificial scapegoat for the welfare of the people and land of Thebes.
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