In the play, when Creon states that Polynecies will not have a burial, the leader of the chorus, Choragos, replies by saying, “If that is your will, Creon son of Menoceeus, You have the right to enforce it: we are yours” (Scene 1, 174-175). This indicates that... ... middle of paper ... ...ttitude and inability to listen allows his life to spiral out of control and lose everything. Even though he made many mistakes, it is shown at the end of the play that Creon realizes what his actions have cost him. Creon is forced to live with his actions, and as a result, is the tragic hero of the play. Works Cited Nanda K. “Common Man as A Tragic Hero: A Study of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.” Indian Streams Research Journal [serial online].
When he discovers what he destined to do, he tries to avoid it because he realizes the tragedy of the prophecy. During Oedipus’ rule of Thebes, he was a benevolent king who only wanted to do the right thing for his people. Near the beginning of the play, Oedipus displays a large amount of care for his citizens: “I grieve for these, my people, far more than I fear for my own life.” (Sophocles 159). However Oedipus’ benevolence is set aside for his other ambitions, like discovering his past. When Oedipus discovers what really happens, he becomes distraught, and eventually punishes himself in many ways, but in doing so also reveals that he cares about doing what is right for his people, his children, and for
Through Sophocles’ use of foreshadowing in the play Oedipus Rex, certain truths are revealed to the reader, such as the fact that a lack of respect for fate can eventually bring on a person’s downfall, by driving them to delusion. Oedipus is looked up to by all his kingdom at the opening of the play, only to be thwarted by his own lack of intelligence-- and more by his lack of faith than even that. Oedipus, once the sanguine, yet slightly overbearing ruler of the people, is reduced to less than a sliver of a human being. When confronted by the prophet Teiresius, Oedipus feels most perplexed and even exposed. And so he rejects any possibility of validity in Teiresius’ prognostication, and, in doing this, signs his own sentence.
But his courage and strength help him endure the pain and suffering that come with knowledge of what he has done. Oedipus’ search for the truth leads him to the discovery that he isn’t a “child of Luck,” but a “man of misfortune.” His fate was determined years before his birth, as proven by the prophecy of the oracles. All he can do is live out his destiny, but he does this with such dignity and heroism that he shows there is nobility even in suffering and despair. Oedipus can be assume as a notable man for blinding himself and Macbeth was known as a taint villain. Oedipus has shown what it means to endure in the face of certain defeat.
The Character of Falstaff in Henry IV The character of Falstaff, in Shakespeare’s play Henry IV Part One, serves as an emblem of frivolity and carelessness within a world filled with social and political significance. Falstaff scorns the world of politics and moral decisions in favor of existing from moment to moment. Though he dislikes this "other world", Falstaff realizes he must sometimes come in contact with it. Falstaff’s famous speech in lines 127-139 of Act V shows us how he regards the Prince’s world of honor and duty. Through this speech, Falstaff places himself firmly out of any moral world concerned with justice or honor, instead living for no other reason than life itself.
While being afraid that the throne might be "stolen" by Malcolm, Macbeth is puzzled by his remaining faith. He even considers himself "[would] proceed no further in [murder] business" since "[the king] [has] [honored] [him]" for his loyalty (I. vii. 31-35). Even Macbeth reveals strong desire to reach the more noble pride and honor, his anxiety of losing the "golden opinion" and betraying the virtuous King Duncan holds him back from his vicious conspiracy. With the great struggle of emotion and values, Macbeth eventually goes insane and start to see illusions such as the ghost of King Ducan and the phantom of Banquo.
I believe that this flaw is Hamlet's idealism. While his idealism is a good trait, in this case, Hamlet's environment and his... ... middle of paper ... ...major sin, he also knows that he must avenge his father's death. He could not continue to live knowing that he was not able to put his father's soul to rest, "My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth." In fact, near the very end of the play, he does cast off all doubt as to his course of action, saying that "There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow." He now has a fatalistic viewpoint which he believes is right and promises to himself not to let his decision waver.
Hamlet also contrasts his father from his uncle saying that they have nothing in common like he does to Hercules. This could be an underlying denouncement of his own character, and by contrasting himself to Hercules – a symbol of strength in both body and mind, he suggests that he lacks self-worth or self-esteem. Nevertheless, it is apparent to the reader that Hamlet is suicidal, as he contemplates it within the first line of the soliloquy. In his next soliloquy Hamlet reveals his conflict: he knows he must avenge his father, but he hesitates to commit pre-meditated murder. He calls himself a “rogue and peasant slave” and states that he, the “player in a fiction, in a dream of passion,” is not hastened to his cause, and “can say nothing for a king upon whose property and most dear life a damned defeat was made.” He condemns himself and asks: “Am I a coward?
However this task is thwarted when Hamlet witnesses Claudius praying. His will is rationalized by the notion that Claudius' soul might escape eternal damnation. Hamlet finally address his "dull revenge" in his climactic soliloquy admitting," I do not know/ Why yet I live to say This thing's to do/ Sith I have cause and will and strength and means/ To do't" Here Hamlet finally swears against his previous inaction "O! From this time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth" Hamlet's overly intellectual mind inhibits him from taking decisive action and he concedes this in two very important soliloquies . First in the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet concludes, "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all/ And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied over with the pale cast of thought" While being exiled to England, hamlet thinks his procrastination is a result of " some craven scruple/ Of thinking too precisely on the event" His insightful mind examines his problems to such an extent that it creates dilemmas rather than solving them.
Betrayal could not be escaped no matter how Macbeth perceived the situation. He notices his “spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition” (I.vii.25-28). Duncan had been “so clear in his great office” (I.vii.18) and upheld virtues that a king would be expected to acquire. The soliloquy terminates with a mood of uncertainty because he still did not reach a conclusion of whether or not to murder Duncan. Macbeth recognizes the results of betraying Duncan, and knows that his reason to kill Duncan does not justify doing so, and would be caused solely by a personal craving to betray.