Essay On Symbolism In Hamlet, And Oedipus Rex

The belief that ideas stay on earth has been around since ancient times; as it has been hinted at in Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Oedipus Rex. A famous quote from Hamlet involves the idea that words without thoughts do not to heaven go. When further explained, the quote is understood to mean that for an idea to truly mean anything, it has to be back up with thoughts and actions. Furthermore, the truth means a universally accepted idea; which, is believed to be right above all other ideas. However, only when the idea is truly understood by all does it become the overall accepted opinion of the majority. In Antigone by Sophocles, the author employs dynamic characterizations and hidden symbolism to illustrate the message that the truth is not …show more content…
Polyneices’s body symbolizes what happens to the truth when no one truly takes care or nurtures it. The symbol parallels Creon’s characterization in the sense it is about abandoning the truth in times of need. The body is left in the battlefield unburied and, “for the birds and the scavenging dogs [to] do with him whatever they like” (1.36). Thusly, symbolism how if the truth is left alone, it is up to the savages of the world to do with what they please with the actuality of the situation. But then throughout the play the body is rough, buried by Antigone, which represents her attempts to use the truth even if they were thin and unplanned. Therefore, at the end when Creon finally decided to acknowledge the truth, it was too late. The truth – Polyneices’s body – is decayed and torn to shreds; resembling that when it is too late the truth means nothing in the grand scheme of life. Because in the end, the truth needs to be used from the beginning not just when it is needed or it would wither away to nothing in society. In the end, the truth is more important even when it seems that the truth can be skipped over without any