Oedipus The King And The Moor Of Venice - 1294 Words

Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles in 430 B.C, and Othello, the Moor of Venice was written by William Shakespeare in 1604. Both stories involve tragedies that occur to the protagonists. Tragedy’s definition, â€Å". . . presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth and depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death† (Meyer 1091). Sophocles’ play informs us, the protagonists arrogances and ego is the downfall of his blindness to his own tragedy, or known as hamartia. In Shakespeare’s play, the protagonist goes through range of emotions when he learns of his wife’s affair. The two plays are driven by choice of emotion, that leads to a deathful ending. The use of plot, exposition, dramatic irony, and characterization helps us to elaborate on the tragedies we have read. In Sophocles play, Oedipus had solved the riddle of the Sphinx and was rewarded the marriage of the queen of Thebes. Years after his marriage Oedipus faced the wrath of the plague that could destroy the city of Thebes. As Sophocles characterizes the protagonist, Oedipus to allow his arrogances and ego to be hubris. He attends to the chorus, who were praying to the gods to remove the plague that is killing the city of Thebes. Oedipus affirms the chorus, â€Å"You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers. / Come, listen to me- do what the plague demands† (Meyer 1100, line 245-246). We are also a witnessShow MoreRelatedEssay The Tragedy of Othello1292 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare masterfully crafted Othello, the Moor of Venice as an Aristotelian tragedy play. The main protagonist of the play, Othello, is the perfect example of a tragic hero. Shakespeare was influenced by Aristotle’s concept of a tragic hero and used Aristotle’s principles to create O thello. 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