“Oedipus Rex”, by Sophocles is a play which perfectly follows the template of tragedy where Oedipus is in search of his own identity. “A Doll’s House”, By Henrik Ibsen is not necessarily a tragic play although it does contain a tragic hero. Nora Helmer and Oedipus are both considered tragic heroes in their own different ways but they come to realize the importance of self-knowledge. To compare and contrast Nora and Oedipus, the analysis can be broken down into 3 stages; both characters statuses at the beginning of the play, their own experience of their downfall and the similarities for the knowledge that they have gained. In the beginning of both plays, Oedipus and Nora’s initial status can be characterized as high status, both in different …show more content…
The following quotation from the priest depicts Oedipus high status. “You are not one of the immortal gods, we know; yet we have come to you to make our prayer as to the man surest in mortal ways and wisest in the ways of God. You saved us from the Sphinx, that flinty singer, and the tribute we paid to her so long; yet you were never better informed than we, nor could we teach you: a god’s touch, it seems, enabled you to help us.”(Prologue.35-42) The fact that the priest is referring to Oedipus as an immortal god really shows how much of a great leader he is towards his people. For this reason, his initial status is considered as high status. In the case of Nora, she’s a housewife who is taking care of her kids. At the start of the play, she speaks with excitement and she’s really glad to hear that her husband, Torvald got a new position at the bank and will be making a lot more money. Everything is going well for Nora and she doesn’t mind that Torvald is treating her as a doll. Instead, she responds affectionately towards Torvald’s teasing, indicating that she’s happy. Nora’s doll-like …show more content…
Nora and Oedipus react similarly to their own downfall. They both want to leave their own family but for different reasons. Oedipus wants to be exiled from Thebes because he can’t digest the truth that has been revealed to him. As a punishment, he takes away his own eyes. “This punishment that I have laid upon myself is just. If I had eyes, I do not know how I could bear the sight of my father, when I came to the house of Death, or my mother: for I have sinned against them both so vilely that I could not make peace by strangling my own life.”(Exodos.139-147) Oedipus feels embarrassed at looking at his own family after realizing the act that he committed. He ends up leaving everyone that he loves such as his own city, his people and more importantly, his own family. From his tragic downfall, he finally comes to understand who he truly is. Therefore, the search of identity can also be related to Nora in “A Doll’s House”. One reason why Nora ends up leaving Torvald and her 3 children is because she realizes that life has more to it than simply being a wife and a mother. “I’m not fitted to educate them. There’s something else I must do first. I must educate myself. And you can’t help me with that. It’s something I must do by myself. That’s why I’m leaving you.”(Act.3) The preceding statement from Nora shows us how much she has matured from the beginning of the play. She was tired of living in a
The roles of the characters are particularly useful when comparing and contrasting Oedipus to Darker Face. Oedipus can be argued to be a sympathetic ruler of his people, "my heart must bear the strain of sorrow for all..." (4). He shows a strong desire to rid the land of its despair. Yet as the reader captures a more in-depth glimpse into Oedipus' soul, we find him to be a jealous, stubborn, "blind", guilty, and sinful man. Oedipus' character outwardly seems to want nothing more than to find the guilty persons involved in the murder of Laius, yet when given obvious clues he turns a blind eye, not wanting to know the truth behind the prophecy.
Oedipus becomes a more admirable character by the end of the play then during the prologue of the play. This is because his history is reveled and his fate seems to be less of his fault and more of something that was doomed to happen to him, also by his drive to help the city of Thebes shows that he cares for the city and his ability to accept his fate but to try and help others from suffering.
The Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus was written by the renowned Greek playwright Sophocles at around 404 B.C.. In the play, considered to be one of the best Greek dramas ever written, Sophocles uses the now broken down and old Oedipus as a statement of hope for man. As Oedipus was royalty and honor before his exile from his kingdom of Thebes he is brought down to a poor, blind old man who wonders, “Who will receive the wandering Oedipus today?” (Sophocles 283) most of the time of his life that is now as low as a peasant’s. Although former ruler of Thebes has been blinded and desecrated to the point where he is a beggar, he will not give up on his life and on the life of his two daughters Antigone and Ismene, and his two sons Eteocles and Polynieces who were supposed to help their sorrowful father like true sons and true men but instead they “tend the hearth like girls.”(304). Yet Oedipus still gives praise to those who have helped him, his daughters Antigone and Ismene, although he has no sight, is poor, and his life is of no meaning to him, he recognizes honor and loyalty when he sees it:
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.
Both main characters are tragic heroes, with radically different perspectives placed on the definition of tragedy with two very different stories and backgrounds. Oedipus is of noble status, he has a demanding hubris, and is in conflict with an unknown opponent, revealed to be himself. These qualities classify Oedipus as an apotheosis of a tragic hero. Oedipus feels invincible and unparalleled, something in which that his cantankerous enthusiasm aids. This hamartia leads to his exile and pain. Meanwhile, Willy Lowman expresses unquestionable pride. His passion allows him to exert so much energy into becoming a successful businessman even though his pride and drive are very impractical. His failures of the past in his career as a businessman and father show no real foundation for motivat...
This analysis of Oedipus’s character shows how Oedipus, the protagonist and the antagonist against himself, dealt with unfortunate situations which sealed his fate. Oedipus was a strange round character that was really interesting and mysterious. Oedipus’s life was a good example of a true Greek tragedy; he worked himself up to be a great king and ultimately in the end he died with only his perception on life. Oedipus was once a man of power who falls impoverished. He goes from having much respect in his great position to being impure, blind, and expelled from the land that he once ruled.
“Oedipus Rex” is a famous play of a tragic hero full of hubris and stubbornness. The playwright took every chance he could to use irony and conflict to his advantage, and although the audience knows what will happen early on, one can still sense the shock of the ending. Due to his own anger, Oedipus goes from being a powerful king to a blind beggar. Of the seven surviving plays, it is no surprise why this one is one of the most famous.s Rex Conflicts And
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.
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows their attempt is futile, creating irony. When Jocasta and Oedipus mock the oracles, they continue to suspect that they were right. Oedipus discounts the oracles' power, but believes in his ability to uncover the truth, yet they lead to the same outcome. His intelligence is what makes him great, but it is also what causes the tragedy. When he ridded Thebes of the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's saviour, but by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, he is its affliction, causing the blight that strikes the city during the opening. Meanwhile, the characters, especially Teiresias, mention sight, light, darkness, &c as metaphors, while referring to `seeing the truth'. However, while Teiresias knows the truth and is blind, Oedipus can see all but the truth. When he discovers the truth, he becomes blind. Also, he does not just solve the Sphinx's riddle - he is its answer. His birth is mentioned throughout the play (crawling on `4 legs'), and he never relies on anybody but himself (`standing on his own `2 legs'),...
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
Sophocles’ Oedipus is the tragedy of tragedies. An honorable king is deceived and manipulated by the gods to the point of his ruination. In the face of ugly consequences Oedipus pursues the truth for the good of his city, finally exiling himself to restore order. Sophocles establishes emotional attachment between the king and the audience, holding them in captivated sympathy as Oedipus draws near his catastrophic discovery. Oedipus draws the audience into a world between a rock and a hard place, where sacrifice must be made for the greater good.
The concept of tragic hero is very important in the construction of tragedy. It is the main cause of pity and fear. The tragic hero is a character between the two extremes; he is neither virtuous nor evil. At the same time, this character is better than the ordinary men or audience, he has some good qualities. Moreover, as a tragic hero, he is moving from happiness to misery by his downfall at the end. In fact, this downfall is caused by an error or a flaw in his character not by a vice or depravity. Another feature in the tragic hero is that he has good reputation and he is a man of prosperity. It can be said that Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has all the previous mentioned characteristics and the whole play is a classical application of this concept.
The play Oedipus the King by Sophocles has often been described as the story of a “tragic hero.” This story is indeed tragic; however, Oedipus is not the only character stricken by tragedy. Equally stricken may be the character of Jocasta. She, as well as Oedipus, suffers many tragedies throughout the story. Shifting the story to a different perspective quite possibly may increase how we view it. The point is not to denounce Oedipus’ role as a tragic hero, but to denounce his role as the only tragic character.
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
Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error). Oedipus also evokes both pity and fear in its audience, causing the audience to experience catharsis or a purging of emotion, which is the true test for any tragedy according to Aristotle.