Oedipus Rex And Hamlet Analysis

In the stories Oedipus Rex and Hamlet a lot of tragedy occur. These stories are good examples of tragedies according to Aristotle because both the characters show a lot of pride in doing what they think is best in order to satisfy their own ego, both stories show the main character to be “must be doomed from the start” making it another reason on why they are good representations of tragedies (Aristotle), and lastly because both Oedipus and Hamlet have action in their stories.
In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is the king and his city has been infected by a plague. He sends a messenger to go and find out how he can cure his people. The messenger tells king Oedipus that in order for the plague to end he must figure out who killed the former king of Thebe, …show more content…
By him solving the case of the murder of the former king, Laius; he will feel superior. To contribute to my previous statement, in the story Oedipus says “And justly you will see in me an ally, a champion of my country and the God” (Sophocles). This quote from the story shows how he believes that if he achieves his mission, he will become honored in the highest levels which all will give him a greater pride within himself. Even in “An Overview of Oedipus Rex”, Jennifer Lewin agreed that the king Oedipus was a man of dignity and pride, she stated how he is admired “especially for demonstrating, as a responsible leader”. In the story Hamlet, the former King Hamlet was killed by his brother and then reaches out to his son Prince Hamlet as …show more content…
In the story Oedipus Rex, Oedipus was destined to tragic given that he was married and had kids with his mother in which he was to later find out in the ending. Oedipus states “Why did you receive me? Why having received me did you not kill me straight?” (Sophocles). This quote shows how at that point he realized that since the start his life should have just ended because he is ashamed of the person that he was cursed into. In the article “An Overview of Oedipus Rex” by Jennifer Lewin, she stated “He blinds himself in an act of self-punishment” which shows how he couldn’t even bare to live with himself due to the truth he found out about. In the story Hamlet, Prince Hamlet was ruined since the beginning because his own uncle killed his father and then married his mother and he never knew who the murder was. Hamlet states as a respond to the revealing of his father’s truth, “That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain” (Shakespeare). This quote shows how he now realized that the man who always showed happiness towards him was actually the killer of his father. In the article “Hamlet Overview by Lee”, Michelle Lee it states “Prince Hamlet, undergoes as he struggles with the idea of vengeance” which means that Prince Hamlet felt betrayed because he couldn’t quite