According to Shakespeare “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”. This quote means it’s not up to fate to decide what happens to you but it’s the choices and decisions that you make regulates the events in your life. In this essay the Tragedy of Macbeth and Oedipus the king’s tragic downfalls will be compared. Macbeth is a selfish man who wants to be king because of the prophecy given to him by three mysterious witches. On the other hand Oedipus is a caring man who tries to save his people from the plague in order to stop it he had to fulfill his prophecy. The terrible tales of Macbeth and Oedipus the two noblemen explore their fate into a deceiving death in this comparison the side of Oedipus is more convincing and sympathetic unlike the story …show more content…
Macbeth dies when Macduff suspects him of killing King Duncan in order to get the throne (which he did) and he killed Macbeth. Oedipus dies after he marries his wife Jocasta he discovers that she is really his mom. Jocasta finds out that her husband is her son she is so ashamed she can’t face the public so she hangs herself. Oedipus finds her and stabs out his own eyes only wanting misery for himself after what he discovers. Even though both of the kings started with power and being ambitious their fate has gotten in the way leading to their cause of death. Oedipus and Macbeth has two different plans for themselves. The caring Oedipus didn’t deserve his death the way he did but it was a death only he could stop. On the other hand Macbeth deserved his deaths after the two murders that he committed his death was very surprising. They had some similarities both of these men were curious of their prophecy wanting to know more about the future. As Shakespeare says “everyone has their fate and the more people try to avoid it, the more trouble they get
Instead of Macbeth being Thane of Glamis, he is a high-class chef of a well-renowned restaurant in the middle of London. The environment in Shakespeare Retold has changed from a Shakespearean era to the 21st century. Both Macbeth and Joe have high positions that will eventually lead to their downfall. Both the play and the film emphasize on the same values and they demonstrate how ambition and greed drive a human to their insanity and madness. For example, in Shakespeare Retold, Joe was introduced as a kind, jovial person who as a chef himself taught his fellow cooks how to properly make food. His desire to secure his throne, in this case, the main chef, made him disoriented and was breaking plates, and burning food, something he wouldn't do before. The loving aura changed and it was just filled with chaos, in which the environment was not a place where his workers wanted to be. The change of scenery from the kitchen to an ominous night was effective in such that viewers could see that it meant something bad was about to happened. Lastly, at the end of the film, the kitchen in a highly renowned restaurant was not as luminous as before. The lights were turned off by Joe, and this is where we could see that he was beginning to shut himself down.
“Leaders become great, not because of their power but because of their ability to empower others,” (John Maxwell). Dorothy and Macbeth are two characters in different pieces of fictional literature. Their method for solving problems is very much alike. They both reject their obstacles and display the same fault, pride. Macbeth puts all of himself into his pride and wanting for power, that in the end, he loses the crown and everything that he once loved. However, even though Dorothy has a sense of pride as well she is able to shift paths and gradually conquer her flaw by being there for a friend who before abandoned her, and give that same friend hope in a once thought of a hopeless situation. And by giving her friend a hand to hold she
The questions I asked “Does Oedipus’s dignity really lie in just finding and punishing Laius’s killer and Has Macbeth secured his sense of personal dignity” are important because these questions go beyond the plain understanding of what a tragic hero is. We define Oedipus and Macbeth as tragic heroes because the former killed his father and married his mother and the latter kills so many to secure his throne. Oedipus becomes a tragic hero because of the way he gains his personal dignity. As I stated before Oedipus fulfills his promise of punishing King Laius’s killer by punishing himself when he gouges out his eyes and then goes into exile. Macbeth does not do anything for his personal dignity. On the contrary, he destroys it through the countless killings to become king and secure his throne.
The “Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare tells a tale of deceit, murder, and ambition, beginning with a cutthroat rise to power, followed by calamitous downfall. At the start of the play, Macbeth is a brave and loyal captain in King Duncan’s army, but after three witches prophesize that he himself will become the king of Scotland, and that those born of a friend, Banquo, will be king after him, Macbeth is overtaken by ambition and gluttony. Instigated by his wife and his own lust for power, he murders Duncan, assumes the throne, and subsequently sends mercenaries to kill Banquo’s sons. While awaiting battle, Macbeth addresses the death of his wife in Act V, scene 5. Throughout the
Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles and was is titled Oedipus Rex in Latin. It is one of the most well-known Greek tragedies. As is the case with Greek tragedies—or roughly most tragedies that make their way to stage—fate plays a key role in the events in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus discovers there is a plague on his city. The only way to lift the plague is by slaying the former king’s killer. As the play’s acts unfold one discovers about the prophecy concerning Oedipus. The prophecy states that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. But was this just by chance or his predetermined fate.
Even though they are both heroes there are many differences between Homer’s Odysseus and Shakespeare's Macbeth. Theses differences come from the fact that Odysseus is an epic hero, while Macbeth is a tragic hero. Common traits of a tragic hero are the hero is of noble birth the hero possesses a tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. The flaw offer has to do with excessive pride also known as hubris. On the other hand, epic heroes are larger than life and embody the values of particular society, an epic hero is superhuman. He is braver, stronger, smarter and cleverer than an ordinary man. Many times they are on a quest for something of great value to him or to his people. The tragic and the epic hero can both teach the reader
In the play Macbeth, ambition, strength, and insanity play major roles in how the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth behave and react. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth present all 3 of these behaviors at one time or another during the play. However, there behaviors progress in very different ways. While Macbeth gets stronger and more ambitious, Lady Macbeth does the opposite. She starts out strong and ambitious, but becomes weaker and more reserved.
There are many differences between interpretations of William Shakespeare's MacBeth. This essay wall contrast Shakespeare's original version and a movie version by Roman Polanski produced in 1970. Three major differences will be discussed.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Sophocles, Oedipus the King, both of the main characters conform to the same classic tragic hero formula. Oedipus suffers a life based on a pre‐birth prophecy, whereas Hamlet finds himself burdened with the task of avenging his father’s death. In both situations, two kings must leave their innocence behind as the truth leads them first, to enlightenment and then to their downfall. They battle between the light, the truth and the darkness, the lie. Both Hamlet and Oedipus are similar in that they both showcase their mental state and stability, they are able to make swift decisions, and they both deal with relationships with women. Despite similarities between Hamlet and Oedipus, it is Oedipus’ consideration to do what is best for his people and city that makes him the more honourable man.
Characters in plays begin to become influenced as their stories unfold. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, two prominent characters Macbeth and Banquo have certain differences and similarities, and as the play progresses, contrasting attributes of both characters begin to appear. Both characters uniquely develop in the play, portraying eminent leadership skills, while possessing contrasting attributes towards temptation, and relationships with their families.
In the play, “Oedipus Rex”, many ironies took place, as well as fate playing a huge part in the story. “Oedipus Rex” is a story about a man that tries to overcome adversity but cannot escape his prophecy. His parents took him to a hillside as an infant, sliced his Achilles tendons and left him there. A shepherd soon came to his rescue. “King and Queen of Thebes, gave their infant to a shepherd in with orders that he be left on the side of the mountainside to die” (Johnson 1205). As he grew older and much wiser, he went to see the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle informed him that his destiny was to kill his father and marry his mother. The main ironies in the play are the killing of Oedipus’s biological father, the odd relationship with his mother, and the inability of Oedipus to avoid his fate.
To understand Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth it is necessary to fully comprehend the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The differences between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are profound. Over the course of the play, Shakespeare skillfully changes the role of the two characters. Macbeth is frightened at the beginning then confident at the end while Lady Macbeth confident at the beginning and frightened at the end.
Villains are crafty and skillful while using their mastery of manipulation in an attempt to gain power. Shakespeare presents the tragedies, Macbeth and Othello as plays filled with plots driven by manipulation. Shakespeare uses the power of language in the characters Iago and Lady Macbeth by using influential rhetoric to sway those around them and also lead to the deadly downfall of Othello and Macbeth. In both of their cases, Shakespeare reveals the power of power because when things do not go according to plan, their own downfall is inevitable as well. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s actions show that women too can have the ambitions that men have and perhaps be just as devious and evil. It is this ambition and ease of cruelty that fuels her
A Comparison of Macbeth and Hamlet MACBETH stands in contrast throughout with Hamlet; in the manner of
Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.