Sophocles' Oedipus, from Shakespeare's Othello - Research Paper Example

Sophocles Oedipus, from Shakespeares Othello al Affiliation Sophocles Oedipus, from Shakespeares Othello Introduction Othello of Shakespeare and Oedipus of Sophocles can be regarded as tragic heroes since they experienced the six elements of tragedy according to Aristotle. These elements are prophecy, tragedy, catastrophe, position, recognition, flaw and reversal. It is at the downfall of the individuals that their greatness is realized. The greatness of Oedipus and Othello are established at their last moments despite the lives that they led. The downfall of Oedipus as seen in the play by Sophocles is attributed to the work of the gods while the downfall of Othello as portrayed in the play written by Shakespeare, is self-inflicted. This paper discusses the two characters in light of their tragedies. Both Oedipus and Othello are differentiated from others by their nobility. While Oedipus is distinguished both by birth and deed, Othello is distinguished by career. Oedipus is son of king Laius who married Jocasta. He is the son of the king and queen of Thebes according to Vickers (1996). Owing to an oracle which prophesied the murder of King Laius by his son, Oedipus is left to perish in the mountains. However, Oedipus remains noble during his birth and in his upbringing. On the other hand, Othello is proud of himself; his achievements and of the honorable appearance that he commands. Othello’s desire is to appear influential, proficient, and ethical at each potential instance. When denied his pride makes him become more powerful. The Downfall of Oedipus is the Work of the Gods At the beginning, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has all the adoration and acclaim he ever desired. People come to him for assistance to find a solution to their ailments. Oedipus shows his confidence by thinking that he can handle the plague by himself to prove himself a tragic hero. At the end, Oedipus comes to his senses and admits the truth which he had all along been escaping. Using Oedipus as a perfect model, Aristotle describes a tragic hero as an important and powerful person who makes error and suffers from the consequences of his actions. In his Story, Sophocoles clearly argues that the whole mess that faces Oedipus toward his downfall is the work of the gods. In the story, Oedipus attempts lividly to avoid his predicted fate and outmaneuver the gods and their godly will. By approaching the confines of human borders, the delicate relationship linking god and man becomes more visible. At the start of the play, Oedipus encounters all manner of challenges in Thebes, the city he later rules. These include dying children, blighted crops, diseased herds and the plaque which is sweeping the whole population (Sophocles 420BC). According to the gods, the torments affecting the city results from the curse on its people for their failure to establish who murdered the king. This was the intrusion of gods in Oedipus’ Thebes. Oedipus originally shows his respect to the gods’ will by sending his uncle to the oracles to find the advice of Apollo. His uncle, Creon, returns and proclaims Apollo’s command that the defilement nurtured in the land should be cleared out. Predictably, the advice of the oracle is haunted and this marks the beginning of Oedipus downfall. As a result, Oedipus begins to accuse Tiresias of plotting against him. He also accuses Creon of intending to conquer him dismissing Jocasta’s and the shepherd’s warnings. Additionally, in attempting to escape his fate, Oedipus contends with the gods. It is in physical blindness that Oedipus can see the truth without the frown of detectable reality as noted by Cherson (2010). The horrible act of self mutilation denotes Oedipus defeat or compliance to the gods’ power. His grave mistake is to imagine that he can avoid destiny or godly will as he had vowed to find the murderer of Laius and bring him to justice while he knew that he in fact, was the murderer. Accidentally, in his pursuit of the murderer of the king and his personal identity, Oedipus crosses the right human limits of behavior. He however, becomes very determined to discover mysteries that ought not to be discovered. He blinds himself to the results of his discoveries, hence his downfall. The Downfall of Othello is Self Inflicted The downfall of Othello is accounted for by weaknesses within himself. Although, Othello sometimes portrays a good character, his tragic mistake of being self-centered leads to his final despair and downfall. Othello is perceived as a noble man with the ability to serve women. He also has the characteristics of a military leader according to Rosenberg (1998). His heroic personality creates interest in many people. Since Othello is an honest and reliable person, he believes that he can make others be like him. Othello is respected by people due to his military achievement, abilities and the trust people bestow in him. His words portray his confidence and dignity hence he is a honorable and heroic figure in the play. Othello, however, makes a tragic mistake out of his jealousy, leading to his downfall. This is because, though trusting others is a good virtue, it can be also a tragic mistake. It is Othello’s personality to develop trust towards others easily owing to his military experience. As a result, he oversees Lago’s wickedness and cruel acts. This is based on fact that during his military experience, he trusted Lago who was also in the military. With this trust, Lago is able to manipulate Othello hence fulfilling his revenge against him as noted by Nicoll (2002). It is clear from the above arguments that Othello’s down fall was self-inflicted as he built a lot of trust in all people. Othello’s trustful character makes him jealous and it is this jealousy that mainly contributes to his downfall. Jealousy is a very powerful trait that possessed Othello. This is because it takes him over, making him lose self control. He ends up messing up and making wrong judgments. The depiction of Othello’s jealousy is the key mark that represents the evil in the play. His jealousy never gives him the time to apply logic in order to avoid tragic flaws which lead to his downfall. It is self-inflicted jealousy that makes Othello unable to realize his manipulation by Lago. Moreover, due to the same, Othello becomes angry and brings himself to his death according to Shakespeare (n.d). Othello is presented as a strong, noble person in the play but his self-inflicted mistakes of trustfulness and jealousy lead to his downfall making him the tragic hero. His mistakes were within his control. However, the mistakes went so far that they were beyond his control thus bringing him to a downfall. In conclusion, Oedipus and Othello are two different tragic plays written by different authors in different periods and from two totally different cultures. As discussed above, the two plays are characterized by tragedy flaws which later lead both characters to their downfall. Their downfalls come through entirely diverse channels to where they are accounted for their actions. On one hand, Othello’s downfall comes when he appears no longer able to handle the strength of his character hence depending on others. On the other hand, in his downfall, Oedipus is condensed to a blind, homeless beggar by the prophesy which was foretold before he was born. Both Oedipus and Othello are still great men, but they suffered from the human situation. References Sophocles (420 BC) Oedipus the King. Retrieved from: http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/sophocles/OedipustheKing.htm Shakepeare, W. (n.d) Othello. Retrieved from: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/shakespeare-play-othello.htm Nicoll, A. (2002). Shakespeare Survey, Volume 14. Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press. Rosenberg, M. (1998). Shakespearean illuminations: essays in honor of Marvin Rosenberg. Newark: University of Delaware Press. Cherson, A. (2010). Lucubrations From the Labyrinth of Letters. New York: Greencore. Vickers, B. (1996). William Shakespeare: the critical heritage. New York: Routledge. Read More