Indecisiveness In Sophocles 'Oedipus The King'
Hamlets Indecisiveness compared to Oedipus’s Impulsiveness
Tragic hero’s always have flaws which set them apart from the rest of the characters within their respective settings,. In the plays Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the opposing nature of the two characters result in the method of action taken by the two tragic hero’s. It is in Hamlets nature to deeply think, reflect and make certain his reasoning before taking action whereas Oedipus is a more impulsive character whose decision making is very radical, which eventually results in him being unable to see the consequences of his actions, therefore making him a more tragic hero.
The two tragic hero’s have opposing approaches to situations which are displayed …show more content…
in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, where Hamlet is ignorant when taking action whereas in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is more considerate. To begin with, Hamlet acts without being selfless, as he is blinded by his deep necessity of avenging the death of his father and therefore does not care for what happens to the people around him. When he hears a voice behind the arras, Hamlet believes it to be Claudius spying on the conversation between himself and his mother and stabs at the arras without hesitation, only to find the dead body of Polonius lying on the ground with Hamlet saying, “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell./ I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune./ Thou find’st to be too busy is some danger.” (Shakespeare Act 3. Scene 4. Lines 32-34) Even though Hamlet comes to the realization that he just killed the wrong person, a man who has two children, both being related to Hamlet himself, he shows absolutely no remorse for his actions. He simply insults the dead body of Polonius, and is completely oblivious to the fact that Ophelia and Laertes will be destroyed once hearing of their beloved father’s death. Hamlet makes no attempt of trying to save Polonius by calling for help, or directly informing Ophelia and Laertes of the misunderstanding which led to their father’s death which could prevent any future misunderstanding if the two were not aware of the truth of Polonius’s death. This is an event which emphasizes Hamlets ignorance towards the consequences of his actions; even though he is known to thoroughly think before acting in any situation. Moreover, Hamlets unawareness results in massive retaliation which leads to his ultimate demise. After killing Polonius, Hamlets lack of respect for the death of Polonius enrages Laertes, who then seeks revenge against Hamlet. Laertes vows to the “blackest devil! / Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! / I dare damnation. To this point I stand, / That both the worlds I give to negligence, / Let come what comes; only I 'll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father.” (4.5.129-135) Due to the fact that Hamlet remains ignorant of his actions, Laertes begins to plan Hamlets death with Claudius. Hamlets ignorance is the fuel which drives Laertes into desperation for revenge, which influences him to make quick and rash decisions. These decisions eventually lead to the destruction of Hamlet and mainly the entire royal family, all due to the fact that Hamlet refused to take responsibility for his actions and constantly remained vulgar and emotionless throughout the entirety of this situation. Although Hamlet was continuously ignorant, Oedipus took on an opposing and more selfless perspective when taking action, and even during events which occurred as a consequence of his actions. Firstly, when Oedipus is exposed to the truth and consequences of the Oracle, he seeks to immediately prevent any of the prophecy from coming true and flees Corinth. Oedipus “sought to give the lie to the Oracle. He fled from Corinth, resolved never again to set eyes on his supposed father and mother as long as they lived.” (Sophocles pg24) The prophecy stated that Oedipus was destined to one day kill his father and marry his own mother, and once he learns of this he immediately takes action by fleeing from Corinth to prevent this from coming true. It is clear that Oedipus is being considerate with his actions, as even though he is forced to act quickly, his intentions are good as he hopes that by him leaving Corinth, his parents lives will be safe from embarrassment and danger. As opposed to Hamlet who remains ignorant and unaware of his actions affecting the people around him, Oedipus has good intentions at heart by taking the action and making the decision of leaving Corinth. He makes a conscious effort to ensure that the prophecy does not come true and to ensure the safety of his loved ones, but in the end this decision comes back to haunt him as fate already set a path to his imminent destruction for him, and him leaving Corinth is along this path. This is the reason why Oedipus is more of a tragic hero than Hamlet, due to the fact that unlike Hamlet he has very good intentions to ensure the safety of the people around him but in the end he is still destroyed. Although Oedipus had to act rash, he thought that the consequences of him leaving Corinth would be positive for his family, but due to fate controlling his life this action was just a step towards his imminent destruction. Therefore due to this, the audience feels sympathetic towards Oedipus, making him the more tragic hero. Furthermore, Oedipus is forced to search for the murderer of King Laius in order to save his city after the Gods put a curse Thebes, but in the end of his search comes to the realization that he is indeed the killer. Oedipus comes to the realization of the truth of Laius’s death, “Now, shedder of father’s blood./ Husband of mother, is my name;/ Godless and child of shame,/ begetter of brother-sons;/ what infamy remains.” (Sophocles 63) Yet again Oedipus gives his full effort towards finding the killer of Laius in order to save Thebes from imminent destruction. He takes action by making inquiries and sending his people to various locations in search of answers, but again all his good intentions lead to his imminent destruction as he finds that he is the killer, and that fate had determined an unavoidable pathway for him. Again in opposition to Hamlets actions, Oedipus continues to be thoughtful, and in this case he takes action instantly to find the killer in order to overcome the curse and save Thebes. Hamlets continuous ignorance and unawareness of the consequences of his actions leads to his destruction, which the audience feels he deserves due to the ignorance he displays. Whereas in Oedipus’s case, although he continuously tries to act positively with consideration for others, his destruction again stirs sympathy within the audience, again reinforcing the fact that he is indeed the more tragic hero. In the end, Hamlets constant display of ignorance and Oedipus’s more considerate methods of thinking emphasize that Oedipus is the more tragic hero.
In addition, in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet places himself in isolation thus giving him much time to think and act correctly, whereas in Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles, Oedipus is more vocal and more at the center of attention with matters.
First of all, Hamlet separates himself from the rest of the family since he feels that he is alone when defending his true father after Claudius murders him, pushing his friends and family further and further way in order to go through with his actions to gain revenge on Claudius. After meeting the Ghost and learning of the truth of his father’s death, Hamlet says to Horatio and the rest of the guard that, “It fit that we shake hands and part,/ You as your business and desires shall point you./ For every man has business and desire,/ Such as it is – and/ for mine own poor part,/Look you, I 'll go pray.” (Shakespeare 1.5.131-134) Here the Ghost confronts Hamlet and tells him of what happened at the time King Hamlet was murdered, which suddenly opens Hamlets eyes. This realization is so powerful that from this point onwards he begins to isolate himself from the rest of the characters, he lies to Horatio and Marcellus, keeping his motives a secret in order to strike at the correct moment, therefore this secrecy will give him more time to think and go about his methods of gaining revenge on Claudius. Moreover, Hamlet believes that his self responsibilities add to his isolation within the play. In his very first soliloquy Hamlet says, He says in his first soliloquy: “O, that this too too-solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! God! O God!” (Shakespeare 1.2 129-32). It is evident from this that Hamlet wishes to be dead since it is the easiest way out for him, but he remembers that he must stay alive in order to avenge his father’s death and let his soul rest in peace. This desire creates a more isolated and alone Hamlet
who throughout the entirety of the play continues to stay in this isolation, silently plotting against Claudius, wanting and getting no input from others but rather simply just pondering and thinking of various situations which would give Hamlet the chance to gain revenge on Claudius. In particular when he is alone and Claudius is praying, he thinks and thinks of killing Claudius, and has the perfect opportunity to do so, but instead continues to wait for the right moment. If he acted at the right moment here, and simply killed Claudius, all the further events of the play could have easily been prevented, but due to his isolation and lack of input given to him by others around him, Hamlet fails to act at a crucial point which results in the overall destruction of the royal family. Although Hamlet chose isolation which gave him much opportunity and time to take action, Oedipus made himself very vocal so that his actions and motives would be heard. To begin with, Oedipus takes the opposite approach of isolation which leads to him being arrogant as he is pressured by the Theban population and is forced to act quick to find the killer, and this pressure brings out his arrogance when making decisions in particular situations. Oedipus goes a little off topic when searching for the killer and begins to dwell on his past, but Jocasta tells him not to dwell and dig for his past but rather focus on the task at hand and Oedipus simply responds with “I must I cannot leave the truth unknown Jocasta…” (Sophocles 55) Jocasta advises Oedipus to stop pursuing the killer and to stop dwelling on his past, but rather to live in the present. She realizes the danger of Oedipus continuing to dig and dig for the truth, as she fears that he will eventually come to the realization that he is indeed the killer of his birth father, Laius. Oedipus before this realizes that it may not have been him who killed the king at the cross roads, but rather a band of robbers who were the murderers of the king, but he is driven by curiosity as he wants to make sure that this fact is correct. His arrogance is revealed here only because he is trying to do best for his city, he does not take Jocasta’s advice due to the fact that the Gods will not stop punishing Thebes until the killer is found, and his arrogance can be justified by this fact. Again as opposed to Hamlet who simply lies to his friends and slowly isolates himself from them, Oedipus actively continues to search for the killer even though he is being arrogant towards Jocasta. His arrogance is understandable because he is a man of action, and he cannot simply leave any stones unturned, therefore he needs to make sure that what he thinks, that robbers killed the king, is correct. This leads to his realization that he is indeed the killer of Laius, and brings upon his destruction. This exemplifies the fact that Oedipus is the more tragic hero, because as opposed to Hamlet who simply lies and isolates himself to give himself more time to think, Oedipus takes on a more active approach, and even uses arrogance to get to the eventual truth which turns out to be the cause of his downfall. Additionally, Oedipus announces to all of Thebes that he will actively search for the killer of Laius in order to stop the curse plaguing his beloved city. He states “I will start afresh; and bring everything into light…/ You will find me a willing an ally as you could wish / In the cause of God and our country. My own cause too-/ Not merely from a fellow creature will I clear this taint, / but from myself.” (Sophocles 29) Here Oedipus states to the entirety of Thebes that he will find the killer of Laius in order to save them from the wrath of the Gods. This sets the stage for the rest of the play since he now is very rushed to make decisions in order to find the killer as soon as possible, as he frantically sends people to various places in hopes of getting information. As opposed to Hamlet who through isolation was able to take his time to make sure that his actions were justified, Oedipus portraying himself like a saviour to the Theban population just places more urgency of finding the killer, therefore he is constantly rushed with his decisions and is unable to think twice before acting. Here is the perfect example of where Oedipus is a more tragic hero than Hamlet, as again Hamlet pushes everyone away in order to go about with his selfish actions, he is given more time as he is isolated and left alone to think of his actions and as well as the consequences of his actions, both of which he fails to do so. Oedipus on the other hand puts himself out there as the solution to his city’s problem, and since he does this he is constantly rushed with his actions as he needs to find the killer as soon as possible to save Thebes, therefore he is unable to think twice before acting even though he is trying to do good for his city, making him a more tragic hero.
The opposing natures of the tragic hero’s result in Oedipus being a more tragic hero, since Hamlets nature is to ponder and think before acting whereas Oedipus is a more impulsive character who is unable to see the consequences of his actions due to this impulsiveness. Hamlet is a more of an ignorant character regarding the consequences of his actions whereas Oedipus is considerate with his actions. Also, Hamlet uses isolation as the method of gaining time to think before acting while Oedipus does the opposite, he actively interacts with others in order to get to the ultimate goal of finding the killer of his father, therefore bring forced to make more rash decisions. Both plays display opposing methods of achieving ones goals, one more selfish than the other. All in all, it is evident that there are many options and methods of taking action to achieve the final goal where these methods are based off of one’s nature and personality.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Roemagill. Oxford University Press, 1992. Print.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex.
Tragic hero’s always have flaws which set them apart from the rest of the characters within their respective settings,. In the plays Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the opposing nature of the two characters result in the method of action taken by the two tragic hero’s. It is in Hamlets nature to deeply think, reflect and make certain his reasoning before taking action whereas Oedipus is a more impulsive character whose decision making is very radical, which eventually results in him being unable to see the consequences of his actions, therefore making him a more tragic hero.
The two tragic hero’s have opposing approaches to situations which are displayed …show more content…
in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, where Hamlet is ignorant when taking action whereas in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is more considerate. To begin with, Hamlet acts without being selfless, as he is blinded by his deep necessity of avenging the death of his father and therefore does not care for what happens to the people around him. When he hears a voice behind the arras, Hamlet believes it to be Claudius spying on the conversation between himself and his mother and stabs at the arras without hesitation, only to find the dead body of Polonius lying on the ground with Hamlet saying, “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell./ I took thee for thy better. Take thy fortune./ Thou find’st to be too busy is some danger.” (Shakespeare Act 3. Scene 4. Lines 32-34) Even though Hamlet comes to the realization that he just killed the wrong person, a man who has two children, both being related to Hamlet himself, he shows absolutely no remorse for his actions. He simply insults the dead body of Polonius, and is completely oblivious to the fact that Ophelia and Laertes will be destroyed once hearing of their beloved father’s death. Hamlet makes no attempt of trying to save Polonius by calling for help, or directly informing Ophelia and Laertes of the misunderstanding which led to their father’s death which could prevent any future misunderstanding if the two were not aware of the truth of Polonius’s death. This is an event which emphasizes Hamlets ignorance towards the consequences of his actions; even though he is known to thoroughly think before acting in any situation. Moreover, Hamlets unawareness results in massive retaliation which leads to his ultimate demise. After killing Polonius, Hamlets lack of respect for the death of Polonius enrages Laertes, who then seeks revenge against Hamlet. Laertes vows to the “blackest devil! / Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! / I dare damnation. To this point I stand, / That both the worlds I give to negligence, / Let come what comes; only I 'll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father.” (4.5.129-135) Due to the fact that Hamlet remains ignorant of his actions, Laertes begins to plan Hamlets death with Claudius. Hamlets ignorance is the fuel which drives Laertes into desperation for revenge, which influences him to make quick and rash decisions. These decisions eventually lead to the destruction of Hamlet and mainly the entire royal family, all due to the fact that Hamlet refused to take responsibility for his actions and constantly remained vulgar and emotionless throughout the entirety of this situation. Although Hamlet was continuously ignorant, Oedipus took on an opposing and more selfless perspective when taking action, and even during events which occurred as a consequence of his actions. Firstly, when Oedipus is exposed to the truth and consequences of the Oracle, he seeks to immediately prevent any of the prophecy from coming true and flees Corinth. Oedipus “sought to give the lie to the Oracle. He fled from Corinth, resolved never again to set eyes on his supposed father and mother as long as they lived.” (Sophocles pg24) The prophecy stated that Oedipus was destined to one day kill his father and marry his own mother, and once he learns of this he immediately takes action by fleeing from Corinth to prevent this from coming true. It is clear that Oedipus is being considerate with his actions, as even though he is forced to act quickly, his intentions are good as he hopes that by him leaving Corinth, his parents lives will be safe from embarrassment and danger. As opposed to Hamlet who remains ignorant and unaware of his actions affecting the people around him, Oedipus has good intentions at heart by taking the action and making the decision of leaving Corinth. He makes a conscious effort to ensure that the prophecy does not come true and to ensure the safety of his loved ones, but in the end this decision comes back to haunt him as fate already set a path to his imminent destruction for him, and him leaving Corinth is along this path. This is the reason why Oedipus is more of a tragic hero than Hamlet, due to the fact that unlike Hamlet he has very good intentions to ensure the safety of the people around him but in the end he is still destroyed. Although Oedipus had to act rash, he thought that the consequences of him leaving Corinth would be positive for his family, but due to fate controlling his life this action was just a step towards his imminent destruction. Therefore due to this, the audience feels sympathetic towards Oedipus, making him the more tragic hero. Furthermore, Oedipus is forced to search for the murderer of King Laius in order to save his city after the Gods put a curse Thebes, but in the end of his search comes to the realization that he is indeed the killer. Oedipus comes to the realization of the truth of Laius’s death, “Now, shedder of father’s blood./ Husband of mother, is my name;/ Godless and child of shame,/ begetter of brother-sons;/ what infamy remains.” (Sophocles 63) Yet again Oedipus gives his full effort towards finding the killer of Laius in order to save Thebes from imminent destruction. He takes action by making inquiries and sending his people to various locations in search of answers, but again all his good intentions lead to his imminent destruction as he finds that he is the killer, and that fate had determined an unavoidable pathway for him. Again in opposition to Hamlets actions, Oedipus continues to be thoughtful, and in this case he takes action instantly to find the killer in order to overcome the curse and save Thebes. Hamlets continuous ignorance and unawareness of the consequences of his actions leads to his destruction, which the audience feels he deserves due to the ignorance he displays. Whereas in Oedipus’s case, although he continuously tries to act positively with consideration for others, his destruction again stirs sympathy within the audience, again reinforcing the fact that he is indeed the more tragic hero. In the end, Hamlets constant display of ignorance and Oedipus’s more considerate methods of thinking emphasize that Oedipus is the more tragic hero.
In addition, in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet places himself in isolation thus giving him much time to think and act correctly, whereas in Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles, Oedipus is more vocal and more at the center of attention with matters.
First of all, Hamlet separates himself from the rest of the family since he feels that he is alone when defending his true father after Claudius murders him, pushing his friends and family further and further way in order to go through with his actions to gain revenge on Claudius. After meeting the Ghost and learning of the truth of his father’s death, Hamlet says to Horatio and the rest of the guard that, “It fit that we shake hands and part,/ You as your business and desires shall point you./ For every man has business and desire,/ Such as it is – and/ for mine own poor part,/Look you, I 'll go pray.” (Shakespeare 1.5.131-134) Here the Ghost confronts Hamlet and tells him of what happened at the time King Hamlet was murdered, which suddenly opens Hamlets eyes. This realization is so powerful that from this point onwards he begins to isolate himself from the rest of the characters, he lies to Horatio and Marcellus, keeping his motives a secret in order to strike at the correct moment, therefore this secrecy will give him more time to think and go about his methods of gaining revenge on Claudius. Moreover, Hamlet believes that his self responsibilities add to his isolation within the play. In his very first soliloquy Hamlet says, He says in his first soliloquy: “O, that this too too-solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! God! O God!” (Shakespeare 1.2 129-32). It is evident from this that Hamlet wishes to be dead since it is the easiest way out for him, but he remembers that he must stay alive in order to avenge his father’s death and let his soul rest in peace. This desire creates a more isolated and alone Hamlet
who throughout the entirety of the play continues to stay in this isolation, silently plotting against Claudius, wanting and getting no input from others but rather simply just pondering and thinking of various situations which would give Hamlet the chance to gain revenge on Claudius. In particular when he is alone and Claudius is praying, he thinks and thinks of killing Claudius, and has the perfect opportunity to do so, but instead continues to wait for the right moment. If he acted at the right moment here, and simply killed Claudius, all the further events of the play could have easily been prevented, but due to his isolation and lack of input given to him by others around him, Hamlet fails to act at a crucial point which results in the overall destruction of the royal family. Although Hamlet chose isolation which gave him much opportunity and time to take action, Oedipus made himself very vocal so that his actions and motives would be heard. To begin with, Oedipus takes the opposite approach of isolation which leads to him being arrogant as he is pressured by the Theban population and is forced to act quick to find the killer, and this pressure brings out his arrogance when making decisions in particular situations. Oedipus goes a little off topic when searching for the killer and begins to dwell on his past, but Jocasta tells him not to dwell and dig for his past but rather focus on the task at hand and Oedipus simply responds with “I must I cannot leave the truth unknown Jocasta…” (Sophocles 55) Jocasta advises Oedipus to stop pursuing the killer and to stop dwelling on his past, but rather to live in the present. She realizes the danger of Oedipus continuing to dig and dig for the truth, as she fears that he will eventually come to the realization that he is indeed the killer of his birth father, Laius. Oedipus before this realizes that it may not have been him who killed the king at the cross roads, but rather a band of robbers who were the murderers of the king, but he is driven by curiosity as he wants to make sure that this fact is correct. His arrogance is revealed here only because he is trying to do best for his city, he does not take Jocasta’s advice due to the fact that the Gods will not stop punishing Thebes until the killer is found, and his arrogance can be justified by this fact. Again as opposed to Hamlet who simply lies to his friends and slowly isolates himself from them, Oedipus actively continues to search for the killer even though he is being arrogant towards Jocasta. His arrogance is understandable because he is a man of action, and he cannot simply leave any stones unturned, therefore he needs to make sure that what he thinks, that robbers killed the king, is correct. This leads to his realization that he is indeed the killer of Laius, and brings upon his destruction. This exemplifies the fact that Oedipus is the more tragic hero, because as opposed to Hamlet who simply lies and isolates himself to give himself more time to think, Oedipus takes on a more active approach, and even uses arrogance to get to the eventual truth which turns out to be the cause of his downfall. Additionally, Oedipus announces to all of Thebes that he will actively search for the killer of Laius in order to stop the curse plaguing his beloved city. He states “I will start afresh; and bring everything into light…/ You will find me a willing an ally as you could wish / In the cause of God and our country. My own cause too-/ Not merely from a fellow creature will I clear this taint, / but from myself.” (Sophocles 29) Here Oedipus states to the entirety of Thebes that he will find the killer of Laius in order to save them from the wrath of the Gods. This sets the stage for the rest of the play since he now is very rushed to make decisions in order to find the killer as soon as possible, as he frantically sends people to various places in hopes of getting information. As opposed to Hamlet who through isolation was able to take his time to make sure that his actions were justified, Oedipus portraying himself like a saviour to the Theban population just places more urgency of finding the killer, therefore he is constantly rushed with his decisions and is unable to think twice before acting. Here is the perfect example of where Oedipus is a more tragic hero than Hamlet, as again Hamlet pushes everyone away in order to go about with his selfish actions, he is given more time as he is isolated and left alone to think of his actions and as well as the consequences of his actions, both of which he fails to do so. Oedipus on the other hand puts himself out there as the solution to his city’s problem, and since he does this he is constantly rushed with his actions as he needs to find the killer as soon as possible to save Thebes, therefore he is unable to think twice before acting even though he is trying to do good for his city, making him a more tragic hero.
The opposing natures of the tragic hero’s result in Oedipus being a more tragic hero, since Hamlets nature is to ponder and think before acting whereas Oedipus is a more impulsive character who is unable to see the consequences of his actions due to this impulsiveness. Hamlet is a more of an ignorant character regarding the consequences of his actions whereas Oedipus is considerate with his actions. Also, Hamlet uses isolation as the method of gaining time to think before acting while Oedipus does the opposite, he actively interacts with others in order to get to the ultimate goal of finding the killer of his father, therefore bring forced to make more rash decisions. Both plays display opposing methods of achieving ones goals, one more selfish than the other. All in all, it is evident that there are many options and methods of taking action to achieve the final goal where these methods are based off of one’s nature and personality.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Roemagill. Oxford University Press, 1992. Print.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex.