Comparation of Themes, Meanings, Characters of Hamlet With Oedipus - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast Their Themes, Meanings, Characters of “Hamlet” With “Oedipus” Both Hamlet and Oedipus are men from two different eras; therefore, they have different cultural differences as in they way they think, worship or live. Oedipus grew during the time of the Greek gods. The gods did not hesitate to show their anger, and this is witnessed in their destruction of the Titans. Contrary, Hamlet grew up during the catholism, therefore he was greatly shaped by the teachings and policies of the time (Jones 110).

The theme of tragedy exists in both Oedipus and Hamlet. Both Oedipus and Hamlet was protagonist in their stories. In both the tragedies that befell them, Oedipus and Hamlet were exclusively good. However, they both took decisions that caused the tragedies that led to the sufferings and insights on their side (Jones 113). In both Hamlet and Oedipus, there is also the theme of disease in both stories. Both Hamlet and Oedipus encounters many problems which almost cost them their lives. Since they are both seeking out the killers of the fathers, they lack free will in their case and they were facing inner turmoil coming from family members.

An example is that in Hamlet, there are things which are considered as rotten and those that are considered as incestuous. These when translated refers to the diseases which was eating up the community. In both stories, Oedipus and Hamlet are viewed as father figures. The characters share many similarities with each other, but what is eye catching is the relationship that exist between them and their fathers. They were led by the decisions and conflicts made by their fathers and this were responsible for their own demise.

In addition, they suffered because of their father’s decisions as their fathers had a strong will overt their personality. The impact of their fathers had a great impact on the lives of both Oedipus and Hamlet corrupting their lives and those who loved them. Therefore, they are considered to have father figures as all their actions were shaped by the deeds of their fathers. Oedipus was passionate while Hamlet was pensive. Oedipus was an individual who was quick to react on decisions and was also temperamental.

Therefore, when compared to Hamlet, Oedipus was a man action as he did not hesitate before carrying out his actions. He was a proud and selfless man, but he gave a lot of consideration to his image than hamlet. On the other hand, hamlet paused and pondered before giving out his reaction on anything and this was the case when he was hesitant to kill Claudius. He was also a very sensitive person who thought of the impacts his actions would have on him and those around him. He also did not care about his image ad this is why he pretended to be a mad man just to avenge his father’s death (Jones 188).

This makes him different from Oedipus who greatly cared about what people thought ad said about him in the society. Work Cited Jones, Ernest. Hamlet and Œdipus. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1954. Print.