Character Analysis of Prince Hamlet in "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and Oedipus in "Oedipus King" by Sophocles In Aristotle's literary discourse, "Poetics," he discusses his theory of tragedy, wherein he introduces the concepts of tragic flaw or "hamartia," which serves as the catalyst for the protagonist's downfall or the tragedy of the story to happen. He determines a tragedy as a "drama" that brings about a "sorrowful conclusion, arousing fear and pity in the audience" (Roberts and Jacobs, 1998:1189). Tragic stories are identified through three (3) characteristics or elements: first, the protagonist, usually a male, must be of noble stature; second, the protagonist or tragic hero must possess a tragic flaw or "hamartia" that Oedipus is a paradox personified in the play, since Sophocles characterizes him as critical of Tiresias' predictions about his future in a remark that will become significant to him later. He criticizes Tiresias by saying, "In truth, but not in you! You have no strength, blind in your ears, your reason, and your eyes," which the prophet replies by saying, "Unhappy man! Those jeers you hurl at me before long all these men will hurl at you" (1206-7). From this exchange of lines between Oedipus and Tiresias, it becomes apparent that Tiresias' remark about Oedipus' blindness' illustrates the fact that despite Oedipus intelligence and good perception on things is in contrast to his attitude towards the prediction on his fate by the Tiresias. Despite the truthfulness of the prophet's prediction (another irony in the story, since the audience knows the truth and not the characters, leaving Oedipus and his parents unknowing about the things happening to them), Oedipus blindly refused any word of the prophet's statement, and this attitude finally resulted to Oedipus' fall as King of Thebes. In sum, the character analysis of both Hamlet and Oedipus shows that despite their being tragic heroes, they possess different tragic flaws that led to their downfall. Hamlet's weakness is his indecisiveness, while Oedipus flaw is the opposite
other such errors in it. Oedipus vs. Hamlet: A Character Comparison After reading Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is quiet clear that Oedipus is by far the more admirable character of the two. Aside from Oedipus' history and life experience, his superior character traits are also displayed in the way he handles several incidents throughout the play. One of the primary reasons Oedipus' is more admirable than Hamlet is just their history. Oedipus is a king. He got there…
Oedipus, King of the Thebes vs. Prince Hamlet of Denmark In the plays Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Oedipus and Hamlet have varied traits that can be contrasted. Written in two diverse eras, both Oedipus and Hamlet are protagonists of plays that involve a tragedy amongst their family. Oedipus grew up in the time of the Greek gods, gods who set their examples through abolition of the titans, depraved marriages with siblings, and impulsive actions that…
