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A Comparison Of Tragic Fate In Oedipus Rex And Othello

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Aristotle defines a tragic hero to be a man with outstanding greatness, but cursed with a tragic flaw. Tragic heroes have typically been linked to tragedies and two excellent examples of tragic heroes are: Oedipus Rex and Othello. In Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello is driven to his end by his irrational actions, and fate. Sophocles also presents his work Oedipus Rex to tell the pitiful story of Oedipus who was condemned by gods to a terrible fate. In both dramas, William Shakespeare and Sophocles presented tragic heroes that were led to their downfalls by the power of fate, and the consequences of their freewill actions. Through Oedipus, Sophocles shows that fate will control an individual’s life despite one’s actions to prevent it. For instance, Oedipus’s destiny was determined by the gods before he was even born. Oedipus was originally the child of Queen Iokaste and King Laius. However, once his parents heard about Oedipus’ prophecy, which claimed that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus’s father decided to kill Oedipus and abandon him. In a turn of events, Oedipus survived and was adopted by a royal family in Cornith. His adoptive parents lied to him his whole life by keeping the truth behind his birth hidden. Oedipus therefore, grew to believe that “Polybos of Corinth” was his father and his mother was “Dorian:Merope” (Oed. 2. 730-731). As a result, when he was informed about the incestuous future that awaited him he shun away the

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