Oedipus the King and Hamlet: Tragedies? Paper #2 Due: Thursday‚ November 14‚ 2002 Jeffrey Shelton C Lit 300 Oedipus and Hamlet: Tragedies? The plays of Oedipus the King and Hamlet‚ although written in different time periods concoct the same form of tragedy. The definition of a tragedy as stated by Aristotle includes a characters hamartia or tragic flow‚ the reversal of the situation‚ recognition‚ suffering‚ natural means‚ as well as pity and fear. Oedipus the King attains
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A tragic hero is defined as “a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake” (“Aristotle”‚ n.d.). Therefore‚ a tragic hero has some sort of tragedy that surrounds their life. A tragic hero also makes dramas more interesting and makes readers think. Dramas sometimes either exemplify or refute Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero. Oedipus by Sophocles exemplifies Aristotle’s definition
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One of the best examples of Greek tragedy is Oedipus the King‚ written by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. Oedipus Rex is about the downfall of Oedipus‚ the king of Thebes‚ and how his tragic faults affected that. Sophocles’ purpose is to demonstrate the negative effects of pride and other various personal reasons causing his downfall instead of just fate‚ as was told in his prophecy. Sophocles uses various tragic flaws and symbols to send this message to the reader/audience‚ the most important
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Since the inception of Sophocles’ Antigone‚ there has been an argument regarding the true tragic hero of the play. It is a commonly held certainty that Antigone must be the tragic character merely because she and the drama share the same name. This is‚ of course‚ a very reasonable supposition. Surely Sophocles must have intended her to be viewed as the protagonist; otherwise‚ he would not have given her the name as the play’s title. However‚ analytically speaking‚ Creon seems to fit the category
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A tragedy is a form of drama in which death‚ heartbreak‚ or any type of human suffering is inevitable. The origins where tragedies occurred were Ancient Greece‚ Italy‚ and Britain. An example of a famous tragedy are Romeo & Juliet and Mac Beth by William Shakespeare. A Shakespearean tragedy usually includes elements which are‚ having a ‘tragic hero’ who is noble‚ dramatic irony‚ hamartia‚ hubris‚ pathos and a restoration of social order. Dramatic irony is an element used in a tragedy. This element
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Living a life as a sovereign ruler is not always the peaceful‚ golden roads of glory one would think. In the tragic play of “Oedipus the King”‚ Oedipus completes a dreadful and long journey in which his respected and well-known position in the Greek city of Thebes crumbles because of his tragic flaw of ambition and hubris. The claws of the past are at the throat of the king and the audience begins to feel pity for Oedipus when his renowned name tragically falls down from grace. Sophocles‚ writer
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A tragic hero is defined as “a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that‚ combined with fate and external forces‚ brings on a tragedy” (Dictionary.com). This identity holds true for John Proctor. He is a valued and respectful man who has made a misjudgment while in a dark place. Sometimes a hero can make a mistake that leads to his or her downfall. Many tragic heroes have a flaw that leads to their tragedy and John Proctor’s gets the best of him. In Arthur Miller’s
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Troy Maxon represents a modern tragic character very well due this is fatal flaw‚ and downfall by the end of the play. Though he may not meet the requirement of being a character of nobility or of high class‚ all the other parts of the definition of a tragic character fit him very well. We see throughout the play that his authoritarianist behavior causes him to treat his family in a way that distances him from them. By the end of the story the tragedy ends with Troy dead‚ and without his family.
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Othello: A Tragic Hero? Considered by some to be one of the finest tragedies ever written‚ Shakespeare’s Othello tells the story of one man’s fall from happiness to utter despair. This is achieved by Othello’s fatal flaws – his jealousy and pride. Othello’s own fatal flaws lead him to his demise not Iago’s manipulation. This view point is supported in Professor Crawford’s article “Othello as a Tragic Hero.” In his article‚ Crawford conveys the idea that the misfortunes that befall Othello are cause
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According to Aristotle‚ “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also‚ as having magnitude‚ complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;… in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear‚ wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” This literary theory is used as a tool for analyzing Greek tragedy. The drama Oedipus the King by Sophocles could be considered a tragedy and Oedipus considered a tragic hero by Aristotle’s
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