Characterisation is hugely important to a plot just for it to make some sort of sense. The characterisation of key figures in the plot, however, has huge significance as it helps you to understand why the characters perform certain, (often unthinkable,) actions. If we only have one dimensional characters described to us then we are unable to immerse ourselves into a highly complex plot. Intense characterisation makes us form connections with key figures and actually empathise with some of them, especially in the case of the “Thyestes.” As a rule, characterisation is vital to make any plot evoke any sort of feelings except the enjoyment of reading a pleasurable story. Methods of characterisation include appearance, personality and behaviour; which all can be split into two categories, direct and indirect. Direct characterisation is when a writer describes a character in a certain way, so they are ‘directly’ helping us to visualise the character in a certain way. Indirect characterisation is, for example, when the expressions of a key figure makes us expand on their personality. These techniques are needed to be used to help the overall impact of any plot, especially in the case of main characters. Seneca’s characterisation of Thyestes adds impact in many different ways, each of which I will now discuss in this essay.
The first impressions of Thyestes we have are quite late into the tragedy, in act 3. The first statement we hear from Thyestes is a lament to his home: “how I longed for my homeland, my house, and the wealth of Argos!” Some critics may say that, with the mentioning of the wealth in his hometown, Thyestes is actually more preoccupied on the fortune he will acquire when he arrives home. However, I see this statement almo...
... middle of paper ...
...properly understand him. If we did not hear about his conflicted subconscious then we probably wouldn’t understand why Thyestes almost automatically trusted Atreus. With his characterisation, we feel like we identify with Thyestes who only wanted the best for both of his sons. This makes the tragic murder even worse as we understand Thyestes must blame himself for putting his sons in a terrible position. The portrayal of Thyestes as a wise stoic also makes us have a warped admiration for Atreus, who managed to trick someone as clever as Thyestes. This adds to the impact of the plot because the cunning of Atreus makes us worry about what else he could do, having already performed one of the worst crimes possible. Intense characterisation, as seen with Seneca’s “Thyestes,” helps viewers or readers truly immerse themselves in a play, increasing the impact of it tenfold.
In Ithaca, the depth of Joyce's irony is displayed. The denouement of this odyssey is perfect for this story, while at the same time leaving us with the exact opposite of the resolution in the tale the book proclaims to emulate. Odysseus' public apotheosis parallels Bloom's private shame. The concise question and answer format which Ithaca adopts, found no where else in the book, is refereed to by many critics as reminiscent of a catechism. The description is well deserved given the overt religious themes in Ulysses. The almost mathematical precision of the text in juxtaposed with gut wrenching emotion surrounding infidelity. The parallels that one can draw between the characters of Ulysses and the Odyssey are perhaps the deepest in Ithaca while the themes and undertones of the work drift further apart.
If we take all the lines of one character out of context and consider them as a unit, we have always a useful body of information; but if, when we study Iago’s lines, we find that he consistently describes himself in images of hunting and trapping, we learn not only his plans of action but something of his attitude to occasions, to his victims, and to himself; and beyond that there is fixed for us an image of evil – one of those by which the drama interprets the human situation. (331)
Characterization has been established as an important part of literature as it allows authors to fully develop characters’ personalities, allowing readers to understand the characters and their actions. In the poem Judith, the author uses adjective phrases to describe Judith and Holofernes’ personalities. The diverse contrast in their nature highlights the heroic qualities in Judith, which teach the reader to have faith in God, as that is where her courage and strength stems from. Therefore, characterization can further be used as a technique to establish major themes in a work of
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
This illustrates the importance and influence of Seneca on the Elizabethan literature and especially his various contributions in the division of the play into five acts and the incorporation of various shocking yet familiar themes for the Elizabethans, mostly of the supernatural into his literary work. The most remarkable association between Seneca and most of the Elizabethan writers is the revenge tragedy, which is presented with a character;
This essay will illustrate the types of characters depicted in Sophocles’ tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, whether static or dynamic, flat or round, and whether protrayed through the showing or telling technique.
The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.
In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the tragic hero, Oedipus, tries to run from his fate and has a quarrel with other travelers and kills them and goes on his way. He ends up in Thebes, where he saves the city from the Riddle of the Sphinx, which was only one of their problems. The other problem was the plague that scared and frightened the city. Now, in order to stop the plague that terrors the citizens of Thebes he must rid the city of the murderer of the preceding king. So he immediately investigates the murder of the previous ruler of Thebes, King Laius, only to reveal ironically what the audience already knows, that he is the murderer he is looking for. Assuming the audience's knowledge of the investigation's result, it is what the progression of the investigation unveils about the character of Oedipus, as well as the anagnorisis and transformation Oedipus goes through, that manifests the meaning of the play. The process of the investigation reveals an inclination to archetypal "male traits" and a lack of an adequately developed anima. Carl Jung helps give an explanation on how Oedipus eventually balances his anima in the final moments of the play.
The book, Oedipus Rex, has a full range of characters. The colloquy, activity and motivation circle around the characters in the whole story. We find Oedipus Rex trying to get away, from home, to flee the prophecy. The prophecy states that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He also tries to clear up a murder of the old king. Oedipus marries a widow named Iokaste. He also gets advice from a seer named Teiresias. The purpose of this essay is to show the three positive and three negative qualities about these characters in direct and indirect characterization. I will find the qualities of Oedipus, Iokaste and Teiresias.
Dramatic irony is a literary device that has been in use since the time of ancient cultures. Many works today also use dramatic irony. From cinematic creations to enchanting novels, dramatic irony grants the audience the knowledge of what will come before the characters themselves realize what happens. Among such works, Oedipus the King, a play written by Sophocles, uses dramatic irony to its advantage. Oedipus Rex uses dramatic irony to create suspense among the audience, thus guiding their anticipation throughout the play.
The predominant priority in characterizing Oedipus throughout the play is in describing his strengths. This priority can only be explained by Sophocles striving to convey that Oedipus is to be viewed as a good and righteous person in both character and action rather than the one who caused the tragedy. Oedipus’s dedication to his word leads him to banishing himself after he realizes he is the one who has brought misfortune upon Thebes. The chorus of the play also frequently honors him and laments his tragedy, feeling truly mournful that the savior of Thebes is forced to suffer. After he saves Thebes from the terrorism and rises to lead successfully and justly, the people are trusting of him and give more note to his successes. Still, it must be noted that none of these acts result in Oedipus’s downfall. Only the killing of his father and marriage to his mother can be seen as the actions that cause his undoing. All other destructive actions by Oedipus in the play can only be taken after he commits these two terrible
The time period of Greek theater’s popularity was a very influential time in our world’s history. Without knowing what Greek theater was all about, how can someone expect to truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth.
...ses may be read and interpreted separately, taken together rather than apart, the stories can be more effectively linked. The use of repetition throughout the work and constant symbolism in each tale help connect the stories. The entire work is in poetic form, and the literary techniques used are consistent with the time period. Common symbols are used throughout. A common motif is the stretching out of arms preceding metamorphosis. Also, the imagery of hunting coincides with that of sexual passion. Daphne is a huntress and is associated strongly with the forest and nature. It is fitting then that she is the character pursued by Apollo. The vocabulary of hunger and thirst, or devouring and drinking are associated with acts of violence. The constant repetition and the imagery in Metamorphoses are key to interpreting what Ovid is trying to convey to the reader. The power of change is the central issue in each story and in all the stories combined. Change as a vehicle of escape, punishment, or any means to an end is apparent in virtually every story in the book.
When Oedipus inquires “who is this man whose fate the god pronounces?” (1740) after this inquiry almost every statement made by Oedipus becomes ironic because he is referring to himself though he is yet to find out. The audience is aware that the more he looks into the murder of the former king Laius the worse it is going to be for him. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony keeps the audience one step ahead of the protagonist so they are able to see the errors made by Oedipus. Because the audience has had time to figure what the mistakes are, they are more emotionally invested in how Oedipus will react when he finally understands all the mistakes he has made through the play. As the play progresses the audiences attitude about Oedipus starts to slowly shift; the emotions start to become deeper and we start to see that though he is guilty of murder empathize with
Oedipus is a magnificent man. He is also the perfect example of a tragic hero. He solves the riddle of the great sphinx, which leads him to become the king of Thebes. This success suggests both good morals and the intelligence to put these morals to help those he now rules over. This event and morals cause the reader to develop an understanding or connection to Oedipus as a man more than a fictional character. This love for the protagonist is necessary for a tragedy to exist and in Aristotle’s The Poetics it states, “ In order for the audience to experience catharsis, they must believe in the character and be able to identify with him/her. Only then can the fate of that character cause the readers to experience pity, fear, sorrow, and—finally—purging”(Aristotle’s Poetics Summarize). Catharsis is necessary for a true tragedy to exist; these moments can be emotional or even spiritual for the reader. Aristotle is trying to portray that the reader must be able to connect with the protagonist or the catharsis will not be as great. A tragedy characterizes humans as having godl...