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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page essay that contrasts and compares the characters of Hamlet and Oedipus. Despite being separated by the passage of centuries, as well as differences in language and culture, Sophocles’ portrayal of Oedipus and Shakespeare’s depiction of Hamlet bear similarities, as well as the innumerable differences that one would expect. The similarities revolve around themes common to both plays, such as incest and the use of symbolism, while the differences largely involve the specifics of characterization. No additional sources cited.
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4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khhamed3.rtf
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as the innumerable differences that one would expect. The similarities revolve around themes common to both plays, such as incest and the use of symbolism, while the differences largely involve
the specifics of characterization. Incest, of course, is pivotal to the plot of "Oedipus Rex," as the action hinges on the dire prophecy-i.e. that Oedipus would murder his father
and marry his mother--which both Oedipus and his biological father Laius endeavored to thwart. The issue of incest is handled by Sophocles in unequivocal terms. When Jocasta finds her suspicions
confirmed concerning Oedipus true identity, she commits suicide. Oedipus blinds himself with the steel tips of her broaches. However, to concentrate on the punishment is to miss the point of
the play, which is to thwart the will of the gods, that is, indulging in the hubris that it is even possible to thwart the will of the gods involves
the most dire of consequences. Sophocles is explicit that the original sin was not that of Oedipus, but rather committed by Laius, who violated the bonds of family fealty by
trying to murder his perfectly healthy newborn son. When Jocasta speaks of Laius killing her baby, she obviously does not consider it an act that should have no moral
consequence. Her grief is obviously great even though the event was decades ago. She tells Oedipus, "...my son/ he wasnt three days old and the boys father/fastened his ankles, had
a henchman fling him away/on a barren, trackless mountain" (lines 790-793). The grief that Jocasta expresses in these lines is almost tangible. The great tragedy of the play is not
that Oedipus unknowingly committed incest, but rather that men, in their pride, sought to thwart the will of the gods and broke ancient bonds of fealty and family. In "Hamlet,"
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