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Julius Caesar And Oedipus Rex

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Hamlet, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet are just a few examples of the many pieces of literature which are considered tragedies. A tragedy is a type of dramatic story which depicts horror and suffering throughout the events of the narrative. Oedipus Rex is one of these many tragedies which portrays Oedipus, the king of the land of Thebes seeking to unravel the truth about the murder of the previous king of Thebes: Laius. However, as he learns more about the murder, he soon realizes that everything is not as he expects. Oedipus Rex is one of the many examples that maintains the major characteristics of a literary tragedy. Based upon the ideas of Aristotle, Oedipus Rex is an outstanding example of tragedy because it depicts the suffering …show more content…

One of the essential reasons that Oedipus Rex is an elegant example of tragedy is because it renders the suffering of the main character, (Oedipus), who is of noble rank in society. Oedipus begins the story as king of Thebes, but soon realizes after an appalling truth that he is the man who killed his own father, married his own mother, and conceived children with her. Once he discovers that his wife/mother Jocasta has hung herself, he takes her brooches and gouges his eyes out screaming: “What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy” (Lines 1471-1472). Oedipus speaks these words and elucidates the reason for why he gouged out his own eyes. The reason Oedipus gouged his own eyes out is because he believes it’s better to no longer see the …show more content…

Oedipus as a king has hubris or excessive pride and sees himself as having superiority over all others. “I thought it wrong, my children, to hear the truth from others, messengers. Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Lines 1-6). This sets up the view that exactly from the beginning of the story, Oedipus is worshipped as this highly renowned king. This sets up the dramatic irony that even though Oedipus is praised, the people reciting the story are the ones who along with Oedipus will discover the truth about his life. Another explanation on the effects of hubris occurs when Oedipus is discovering more details about this foretold prophecy, and nothing will prevent him from discovering the truth, despite Jocasta begging him to halt his search. “Pride breeds the tyrant violent pride, gorging, crammed to bursting with all that is overripe and rich with ruin—clawing up to the heights, headlong pride crashes down the abyss—sheer doom!” (Lines 963-967). This surplus of pride being part of Oedipus’ downfall is one that is repeated throughout the entire play. Oedipus is an extremely proud man because he is commended as the King of Thebes and for defeating the Sphinx. However, it is his own pride and confidence that he is a good man who is favored by the gods that leads him to unravel the

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