Fate Versus Free Will in Oedipus the King by Sophocles

In Sophocles' “Oedipus Rex”, the theme of irony plays an important part throughout the play. In the play, Oedipus Rex believes that if he leaves Corinth he will be able to avoid his fate. The oracle says the Oedipus will kill his father and bear children with his mother. Eventually, he unknowingly kills his father in a chance meeting and married his mother. Oedipus remains clueless that the oracle’s prediction has come to pass.

Edmund’s hatred was continued by the reminder that he was only the bastard son of Gloucester driving him to lie to both of them ultimately ruining his father’s eyesight and his brother’s identity. Goneril and Regan got rid of their father while retained his power by lying about who loved him the most and took away his knights. From King Lear, Shakespeare concluded that greed and power are capable of ruining a family. Works Cited shakespeare, King Lear

Hamlet knows that having the correct facts is so important because without hard evidence he may unjustly kill his uncle and have to d... ... middle of paper ... ...set with Hamlet for murdering his father, Polonius, and conspires with King Claudius against Hamlet. After all these tragic events it gets worse, Hamlet’s two very best friends plot against him, it drives him mad. It all starts with an act of insanity, then there is less acting involved and it finally ends up as Hamlet’s reality and tragedy for all. In conclusion, Hamlet could be considered insane, it is not just an act. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet is acting mad in order to avenge his father’s death, therefore he is able to gain vital information regarding King Hamlet’s death.

His task is twofold, he wants to avenge the murder of his father and he wants his mother to reveal her guilt about her hasty and incestuous marriage. Finally, Hamlet does not truly know who he is, and what he is to do until the very last act of Hamlet. This essay aims to explore why Prince Hamlet has trouble becoming a moral agent. When we first encounter Hamlet, his concerns are about his mother's remarriage to his uncle Claudius so soon after his father has died. The Prince is angry because Gertrude is not adequately mourning old Hamlet's death, and due to the insistence of Claudius that Hamlet consider him his father and king: O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourn'd longer-- married with my uncle, My fathe... ... middle of paper ... ....

Oedipus' pride pushes him toward his tragic end in the initial journey, when he kills his father, in the episode of the sphinx, and in his adamant search for truth. Pride like that of Oedipus has been the downfall of many great leaders. Oedipus is blinded by his arrogance and won't accept the fact that he can't avoid his fate. His pride first affects him when he is told about what his fate has in-store for him. Oedipus explains to Jocasta that he was told that he "was fated to lie with [his] mother and show to daylight an accursed breed, which men would not endure, and [he] was doomed to be murderer of the father that begot [him].

The young prince eventually accomplishes his prophecy without even knowing he is doing it. He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate. It is clear to see that Oedipus is an impulsive and passionate man, which causes Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy that haunts him. He flees the kingdom of Corinthian in order to avoid his fate.

    Shakespeare uses the revenge plot to create conflict between Laertes and Hamlet by having Laertes avenge his father's and sister's death which Hamlet is responsible for. After learning of his fathers unnatural death, Hamlet decides that he can no longer trust anyone, except for Horatio. While acting out his madness, he visited Ophelia and cut off his ties with her because of his distrust for everyone. In Act III, when Hamlet talks with his mother, he notices that he is being spied upon. Thinking that it is the king, Hamlet mistakingly kills Polonius who was hiding behind a big rug, which for some medeval reason, was hung on the wall.

Then, Oedipus's pitiless murdering causes several subsequent tragedies such as the incestuous marriage of Oedipus gets into the flight with Laius. However, Oedipus's characteristics after Laius's death imply that Oedipus could avoid the fight as well as the murder of his father, but did not. Ultimately, Oedipus gets what he deserves due to his own characteristics that lead him to murder Laius: impatience, delusion, and arrogance. One characteristic that leads Oedipus to flight his father is impatience. Oedipus?s impatience is obvious when Creon reports news from Apollo.

After speaking with Tiresias, Oedipus had a contention with his wife's brother, Creon. Oedipus had proclaimed Creon the assassin of Laius and created the plot of Creon's supposed wrongdoing. Oedipus exclaimed, "Then leave me alone-get out!"(198). Oedipus would not accept any other idea than Creon being the killer, so when Creon tried to defend himself, Oedipus grew impatient and sent Creon away. Oedipus' impatience was the spark for his paranoia.

He spends so much time persuading the murder that he does not realize that it was him all along. Oedipus hubris personality gets in his way by putting a curse on him and ends up blinding himself because of it. The role of hubris controlled Oedipus fate because he did not listen to Tiresias’ prophecy, avoided Apollo’s prophecy, and he blindly tries to pursue Laius murder without realizing he killed Laius. In the end of the play, Oedipus is seen as a tragic hero who led himself to his tragic down fall because of his excessive pride. When Oedipus realizes his true identity he could not bear the truth and ask Creon to sends him into exile.