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Oedipus the King and Othello the Moor When you read the works of different authors you always seem to notice different similarities between them. Among those authors are Shakespeare and Sophocles who show many different similarities between their works. We will now use one of Shakespeare's and Sophocles plays, Othello and Oedipus the King, and discuss the similarities or / and differences they have between them. We will also compare, focus, discuss and explain the tragic endings, mood, plot, the concept of fate and destiny, and the qualities of the main characters, Othello and Oedipus and also the irony, and the themes in each play. The plays of Oedipus the King and Othello both compare when it comes to their tragic endings.
They both are seen as tragedies because of their tragic events and endings. In Oedipus the King, there are many events that happen during the play that are tragedies. Such events like the first event, happens in the beginning of the play. That event is the plague that has struck the city of Thebes. Our city reeks with the smoke of burning incense, rings with cries for the healer and wailing for the dead. (25, 4 - 5). Oedipus is describing what the play has done to his city and its people.
Even before this tragedy there was a previous one that had occurred before but was ignored and that was the murder of King Laius. This tragedy is very important and essential to this play because if it never happened the story would have been very different today. If Creon never returned with the oracles answer about the murder of Laius, he would have never tried to find out the truth about his past and connect this tragedy to the tragedy that he went through when he was young. The worst tragedy occurred at the end of the play when Oedipus is left with no wife, no sight and facing the fact that he are never going to see his children and Thebes ever again. This is a tragedy because there is death, sorrow and pain all throughout the play. From the beginning to the end we can see the signs that this play was going to be a tragedy.
Oedipus himself was a tragedy. Othello is also a tragedy, but did not have many tragic events as there been in Oedipus the King. One tragic event was when Iago with his sneaky ways, got Cassio drunk and then kills Montano so that he can blame it on Cassio who because of this event has lost his title as Oedipus general. The ending was also a big tragedy, just like Oedipus, Othello faced the truth which at the end hurt him so much and caused him to first kill Desdemona and then kill himself. He found out the awful truth like Oedipus did. O Spartan dog, More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea; Look on the tragic loading of this led; This is thy work. (514, 420 - 421) Lodovico here is describing how Othello has come to this tragic end.
The Mood of both plays is also somewhat similar. The Mood in Oedipus the King from the beginning to the end is devastation, destruction, and gloom because it begins with suffering from the plague that is going on in Thebes and the mystery of the unsolved murder of Links. The whole city of Thebes seems to suffer right along with Oedipus and the royal family. There is a somber, sad, and disturbed mood throughout the entire play. The mood in Othello throughout the play is somber and tragic. Iago is the person who causes this tragic gloom that is, until we see some comedy provided by Rodrigo and the clown.
The plots of both the plays are entirely different, the play of Oedipus the King is set in the city of Thebes and there is a plague that has swept the city because Laius murderer has gone unpunished as the play progresses, the drama begins to unfold. The plot begins to take a new turn when the messenger brings news that Polybus is dead. Because of this, Oedipus wants to find out the truth about his parents. The plot of Othello is in the classic form of a Shakespearean tragedy. It takes place at first in Venice and then at the end in Cyprus where all the action takes place.
The entire play revolves around Iago filling Othello's poor mind with lies. Othello easily falls prey to Iago who, manages to make Othello's jealous side come out. As a result, Othello loses his self-control and logic. From then on Othello starts to go down a downward spiral, with so much anger and grief inside of him. The concept of fate can be discussed in both of the plays. In Oedipus the King, the gods already set Oedipus fate.
No matter what Oedipus would have done, it would have turned out the same way at the end. The Gods knew about Oedipus ever since he was born and they seemed to be taking pleasure in watching Oedipus life fall apart. He was fated to perform such horrible acts and his behavior seemed to seal his fate. Othello on the other hand, made his own fate.
There was no one controlling him other than Iago who was messing with his mind. No one knew what would become of Othello after he is tricked to believe that his wife is cheating on him. Othello chose his own path; no one didnt choose for him what would happen to him in the future. The characteristics of each character are different and alike.
Oedipus is a character ruled by fate. He is very smart as we can see when he has the smartness to solve the riddle of the sphinx. He is also an intelligent man, good king, and an overall good human being with great qualities for a good man. He is an ideal king because he really cares for his city as we can see in the beginning where Oedipus is willing to do anything to save his city from the plague. He is an overall good human being because he is shows quality of caring, dependable, and many more. One bad quality that he has is that he is vulnerable.
When he first heard the rumor that he was going to marry his mother and kill his father that ate at him and this caused him to find out the truth no matter what. Othello is a very vuln era...
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