¶ … Tragic Hero begins with an examination of Oedipus Rex. But, while he is the archetype of this particular literary character, Hamlet is, perhaps, the most well developed and psychologically complex of tragic heroes. For the Greeks, all things in life are preordained, which is what makes for the tragedy of Oedipus - his attempt to make his own destiny. Over the course of time, however, while the form of the tragic hero did not change, the reason for his being tragic did. The social world of the Renaissance had shifted from a philosophy of determinism to one of individualism - that we all have the choice to accept or deny our relationship with God. This makes Hamlet a tragic hero who is punished not for a flaunting of destiny, but because he is mad. It is the purpose of this paper to examine both Oedipus Rex and Hamlet as tragic heroes who, because of their different social contexts, made for very different men. The first work to be examined, is Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. In brief, this is a story about a man who falls in love with a woman who turns out to be his mother, and kills a man who turns out to be his father. The plot of Oedipus follows the even longer-standing tradition of the mythological tale. The hero must be confronted not only with the conflicts of his external experience, but with his own fatal flaws, and in the end must succumb to both as inevitably as fate. According to Aristotle, in his Poetics, "the plot should be so constructed that even without seeing the play anyone hearing of the incidents happening thrills with fear and pity as a result of what occurs. So would anyone feel who heard the story of Oedipus (Aristotle, 49)." So, the classical tragic plot is firmly defined within this drama. The fall of Oedipus is brought about by his uncontrollable passions, his...
At every given step, he as a human possessing of free will, is actively making the choices that lead him to his tragic fall. Iocaste actually indirectly tells him of his fate when she yells, "You are fatally wrong! May you never learn who you are!" (Sophocles, 55). When Jocasta sees where Oedipus' action is leading: "In God's name," she cries, "if you want to live, this quest must not go on." Like Job, Oedipus turns a deaf ear to such counsel: "I must pursue this trail the end," (Sewall, 35). This man who was had been the vessel of hope for his people, who in their eyes could do no wrong. Yet, his anger, arrogance, and his temper prove to be his fatal flaw and bring down this great king. The violence of the classical dramatic tragedy is carried out ruthlessly in Oedipus. Oedipus kills his own father, marries his mother, and gouges out his own eyes. Sophocles' play certainly fits, then, within the definition of classic tragedy.
It recounts the travails of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus the former king of Thebes, who disobeys King Creon in burying the body of her slain brother. She knows that she faces death for doing this, but insists that she does not care, saying "For whoso lives, as I, in many woes, / How can it be but death shall bring him gain? / And so for me to bear this
Those with issues to overcome are always more heroic. Hector also becomes a hero when, after at first running from Achilles, he eventually stands up to him and dies a heroic death. The Iliad is primarily a war epic. In your opinion, is the Iliad condemnation of the it could easily be argued that the Illiad glorifies war, as much of the poem is spent portraying the warriors as brave
Othello, The Moor of Venice There are a number of very specific literary conventions that a dramatic work must have to adhere to Aristotle's multi-faceted definition of a tragedy. One of the principle components of this definition is that a tragedy chronicles the downfall of a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are well-renowned individual with a wonderful set of virtues descended from decidedly noble lineages who are plagued by one (and only
Marlowe's Faustus An Examination of Christopher's Doctor Faustus The Play in its Period The Play Personal Evaluation The Play in its Period Christopher Marlowe's play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus is a frightening adaptation of the German narrative of Johann Faust who traded his soul for knowledge and power. With its emphasis on intellectual pursuits, this play illustrates Marlowe's contribution to the Elizabethan drama. While much of Marlowe's life is
This makes his argument less-than-convincing and too vague and philosophical in tone. Even many of his citations merely note authors, rather than actual page numbers. He references the authors' general ideas, rather than specific evidence they present. And some of the sources are in German, which make it difficult to trace his sources or even read the titles of many of the articles used in writing his piece. The most
" Hard Target, 1993 -- His first Hollywood movie. Face-off, 1997 -- John Travolta and Nicholas Cage helped create Woo's first real Hollywood blockbuster on the third try. Mission Impossible 2, 2000 -- Tom Cruise. Pure, unadulterated action and thrills in true Woo style. Windtalkers, 2002 -- discussed earlier. Critically excellent. Not a big box-office hit. Red Cliff, 2009 -- his first movie back in Hong Kong after a long stay in Hollywood. Critically, perhaps
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