Similarities Between Othello And Oedipus Tyranus

To absolve Oedipus and Othello of their sin on the grounds of intent (in the matter described above), one has to assume the natural understanding of the play; it is, however, possible to understand the characters as having far less noble intents. Sigmund Freud, for example, views Oedipus as having realized a universal sexual urge for a man to have sexual intercourse with his mother. Tayeb Salih notes that in colonial times readers saw Othello as a “convert who reverts to an essential and inevitable form of barbarism” (page 374). However, these views ignore the more sympathetic nature of the natural reading.

There is also an important distinction to be made between Othello and Oedipus. In Oedipus’ tragedy, as Albin Lesky writes, the “driving forces are not feelings” (page 128); in Othello’s, they are. By that qualifier is more inevitability in Oedipus then there is in Othello. However, one should then question if Iago is less capable then fate.

The second level of engagement is our engagement with the plot of the two plays, as well as the host of characters that …show more content…
They tell us the tales of two unwitting criminals who commit a terrible crime which leave them absolutely devastated. However, their guilt (as in culpability) is not necessarily directly correlated to their guilt (feelings of remorse), and might, in fact, be inversely correlated. Though Othello and Oedipus are in the core of their respective plays, they do exist in the context of their own plots. Like most of us, they feel guilt disproportionally to that context (perhaps figuring into the reason that they are sympathetic to the degree that they are). Furthermore, their guilt or innocence, may serve their respective playwrights only to make the exact opposite point. Finally we as an audience may, and are entitled to, reach a completely different conclusion from the playwrights about Othello and Oedipus’ guilt and its