Oedipus and Othello
When comparing and contrasting the character's Oedipus and Othello by
means of the different theatrical practices, one must take in account that there
have been many interpretations, and productions of each of their respected plays.
The differing presentations of each may lead someone to think differently about
the play than another would. In comparing and contrasting the dramatic
representation of the protagonists Oedipus and Othello, theatrical presentation,
costume design, and character will lead the reader, and viewer, to have a
greater insight into the theatrical practices of their times and their
approaches to the issue of verisimilitude.
The theatrical presentation of both plays are very similar. The two
plays would both be presented on a thrust stage, which is a platform surrounded
on three sides by the audience. Except for the backdrop which would have some
element of scenery, the stage itself would be bare apart from a few scenic
elements and props. Othello, like most of Shakespeare's plays, had what is
called an abstract setting. That is a setting in which the locale may change
rapidly, it may not be indicated by the script that it has changed, and was most
likely suggested by a few props. Abstract settings place more emphasis on the
language and the performer, which causes the spectator to use their imagination.
It also places more emphasis on costuming. This type of setting helped set up
the style of representational theater, which places high emphasis on the
realistic. The style used in classical Greece was presentational which, because
of the use of the mask, gave no illusion that this story is happening before
their eyes. The audience is reminded that they are watching a play, and not
merely observing life. Thus, the use of the thrust stage is the only similarity
of the two types of presentation. Othello is a purely illusionistic play,
whereas Oedipus Rex is one that when watched, the viewer knows that they are
watching a performance.
Costumes convey information about the character and aid in setting the
tone or mood of the production. Because most acting involves impersonation,
most costumes are essential to re-create historical or to the period in which
the production takes place. Costumes like that of William Shakespeare's Othello
maybe abstract, ever-changing, like it's setting. When using the costume design
of the latest film version of Othello, he is usually seen in a toga-like uniform
which may have stemmed from his moor background. Since costume elements were
formalized in classical Greek theater, the costumes would be that of everyday
dress with slight additions of colour, designs, all of which created a larger
Undoubtedly there has been a tremendous amount of speculation and dissection of this play by countless people throughout the ages. I can only draw my own conclusions as to what Sophocles intended the meaning of his play to be. The drama included a number of horrific and unthinkable moral and ethical dilemas, but I believe that was what made the play so interesting and that is exactly the way Sophocles intended it to be. The play was obviously meant to entertain and portray the author’s own insight. The underlying theme to the play is that no man should know his own destiny, it will become his undoing. This knowledge of things to come was presented to both Laius and Oedipus in the form of prophecies well in advance of it coming to be. The prophecies told of things that were so morally disturbing that they both aggressively did everything in their power to try and stop them from coming true. The story begins with Oedipus at the height of power as King of Thebes. His kingdom has encountered rough times and he has sent his nobleman Creon to seek help from the god Apollo to restore his land. Creon tells Oedipus that he must find the murderer of the previous King Laius and by finding this man and banishing him, his land will be restored. The murder occurred some time ago and King Oedipus sends for the seer Theiresias with his powers of prophecy to aid in the search for the murderer. Sophocles cleverly projects his feelings on wisdom and knowledge through Teirsias when he says “Alas, how terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the man that’s wise!”(23) Teirsias knows that this terrible prophecy has already been set into motion and the damage has already been done. There is really no point in telling it to Oedipus because it will only cause more harm than good. Oedipus provokes Teirsias into telling him the prophecy, “ Í tell you, king, this man, this murderer-he is here. In name he is a stranger among citizens but soon he will be shown to be a citizen true native Theban, and he’ll have no joy of the discovery: blindness for sight and beggary for riches his exchange, he shall go journeying to a foreign country tapping his way befor him with a stick.
Othello, takes place in Venice during an attack of the island of Cyprus . The
The purpose of the character, Tiresias, in both “Antigone” and “Oedipus the King” is to introduce new information to the audience. When the blind soothsayer makes an entrance, some truth will be revealed and the plot will take a new course. In both plays, the main characters, Creon and Oedipus are both overly confident and proud. At this time, some calamity occurs in the plot, and they seek a prophecy from the blind soothsayer. To their demise, both men challenge the foretelling, thus promoting the logical and and significant transformation to the plot.
In the plays Oedipus of Rex and Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus and Creon exert similar characteristics as leaders that ultimately result in their characterization as tragic heroes. Their overbearing determination, relentless pride, uncontrollable fate, and enormous grievances all portray the inevitable outcome. Sophocles writes that the characters in the plays are chasten not because of something they had done in the past but merely it is their fate. Oedipus and Creon can not stop their fate no matter what great lengths they go to. Revealing that catharsis is created when the audience has pity or fear when they see that bad things can happen to good people. For this purpose, neither Oedipus nor Creon where good leaders because both were hypocritical tragic heroes. Initially, both Oedipus and Creon exert an overbearing determination that can be the tragic flaw that destroys their lives. However, both have contrasting motives. Oedipus was determined to find the killer of King Laius saying, "As for the criminal, I pray to God- whether it be a lurking thief, or one of a number- I pray that that man's life be consumed in evil and wretchedness and as for me this curse applies no less…" (World Lit 316). Creon' s motive of determination was not to back down from his word and law. The law was whoever buries Polyneices would be publicly stoned to death, since Polyneices didn't deserve a proper burial for his actions in war. Creon later finds out that Antigone has buried her brother and Creon replies " She has much to learn. The inflexible heart breaks first, the toughest iron cracks first, and the wildest horses bend their neck at the pull of the smallest curb…Breaking the law and boasting of it. Who is the man here she or I, if this cri...
In ancient Greece, the people believed that the gods ruled their lives and controlled their destiny. Their emphasis on fate was shown in their plays. This stands true to Oedipus, he could not c0ontrol his fate. Fate kept Oedipus alive through a murder attempt and to kill his father, and to marry his mother.
“We are most unwilling to accept mystery, what cannot be reduced to other and more intelligible forms. Yet that is what we find here: something irreducible, therefore perpetually to be interpreted; not secrets to be found out one by one, but secrecy” (Kermode 143). In the play Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, we see the difference between secrets and secrecy that Kermode talks about. In the play we see that those who pursue the truth, corrupt the uncovering of the hidden unknown with their assumptions and perceptions. When confronted with the mystery of Oedipus’s past, both the reader and Oedipus seek the truth, but come to a resolution that is tainted with their supposition rather than the truth. Oedipus and the reader evince the innate illusion of human thinking when encountering secrecy: forcing ones own preconception onto the truth. Through reading the play Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, the reader can determine that seeking the answers to secrets with the basis of human reasoning induces the resentment of secrecy: no truth stands today that has not been corrupted with some part of self-assumption.
Oedipus the King and Othello are both plays in which are known for their dramatic tragedies. Oedipus the King is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed in 429 BC. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, which was written in approximately 1603. These two plays do a profound job at making sure the audience understands the background of the main characters, however, there are minor characters who are just as important. Emilia, Othello’s wife, and Jocasta, Oedipus’s mother and wife, both aid in the understanding of the major characters throughout these plays. These two plays showcase the power of love and how destructive it can be.
In the play, Oedipus the King, blindness is used metaphorically and physically to characterize several personas , and the images of clarity and vision are used as symbols for knowledge and insight. Enlightenment and darkness are used in much the same manner, to demonstrate the darkness of ignorance, and the irony of vision without sight.
“I asked her to wear something revealing, so she showed up in a prophet's toga.”(CITE) Jarod Kintz’s words are an example of miscommunication, or failure to comprehend meaning. In this case, it is implied that one person misunderstood the message of another, but incomprehension also applies to problems other than falsely interpreted requests. Incomprehension can occur when people misinterpret another’s words or intentions, or when a person misreads situations or events. The outcome described in Kintz’s quote is unexpected and unintended, but there are instances of incomprehension that have consequences of greater severity. Perhaps a classic tragedy with a high body count falls under these parameters.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Desdemona’s marriage was doomed from the start. They did not start well; their marriage was controversial because of their race and Othello’s failure to follow proper etiquette while he was courting her. However these issues could have been overcome with time. The biggest problem is Othello’s attitude to Desdemona. Othello’s model of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. She becomes untouchable in Othello’s mind, and he begins to distance himself from her. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as “Alabaster”(5.2.5) he will never consider her capable of responding to his love.
Many times humans do things that contradict another thing they do. An example of this is one thing may be good but also bad at the same time. A person who has done this more then once is Oedipus in the writer Sophocles plays. Sophocles uses imagery like light verses darkness, knowledge verses ignorance and sight verses blindness.
In Hamlet written by Shakespeare and Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles there are similarities that both the writers incorporated in their plays that distinguish their success in the time period in which they were written. In having their similarities there were also differences that arose in the two as the following will determine in the comparing of Hamlet and Oedipus Rex. Hamlet and Oedipus Rex had similar minds, but differed in how to go about their dilemmas that presented themselves to the fledgling rulers eventually lead them to their self-destruction.
Shakespeare’s view of fate seems similar to that of Sophocles in Oedipus because their characters’ fates are connected to prophecies while their different views are expressed through the characters responses. For instance, Shakespeare and Sophocles views of fate seem loosely based on scripture, “…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (NIV Ps.139:16). Also, both prophecies are negative, resulting in death. For example, in Shakespeare’s play, Caesar tells Brutus about his wife’s dream:
Oedipus and Tiresias, characters of Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus," are propelled to their individual destinies by their peculiar relationships with truth. Paranoid and quick to anger Oedipus, is markedly different from the confident and self-assured Tiresias. In the dialogue between the two men, Oedipus rapidly progresses from praise of Tiresias as a champion and protector of Thebes in line 304, to blatantly accusing the blind prophet of betraying the city in line 331, to angrily insulting him in line 334. Rather than be intimidated by the protagonist's title and temperament, Tiresias draws strength from what he knows is true and is able to stand his ground.
rapidly, it may not be indicated by the script that it has changed, and was most