Oresteia And The Odyssey Essay

First, the author states, “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,/Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” (Prologue.3-4). Shakespeare attributes the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet as stemming from “ancient grudge”, which is the long-lasting feud between the two families. He then suggests that it is the “civil hands” or family members, who brought them to their deaths. In addition, Shakespeare gives the spoiler that, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.”

From reciting my Act III, Scene I. Lines 58-133 performance I was able to identify the meanings of the two complex passages in my opinion, written by Shakespeare, as well as identify theme, personality, and events the turning point leads to. Though this play was very complex it was easy for me if you just re read it, use context, and listen; not just for understanding the writing, even for the turning point, theme,

At the play’s conclusion, Oedipus gouges his eyes and banishes himself from his land. In this quest for truth, Oedipus leads himself to many revelations, all of which cannot be described

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare’s most notorious play, depicts the story of a young man who lives in Denmark and sets out to avenge his father, killing his uncle who is now king, which was told to him by his father’s ghost: “The serpent that did sting thy father 's life/ Now wears his crown” (1.5). The play is set up to make a cast of characters, through foils, give the character of Hamlet more life and thus enhance the play. Fortinbras and Laertes are the predominant foils to Hamlet; they will be analyzed and compared in the following essay, weighing out the importance of this foil effect to the plot & the effect of the play. Prince Fortinbras of Norway and Laertes depict the exact opposite of Hamlet’s character. All of these characters seek revenge for the death of their fathers by taking the matter into their own hands: Fortinbras seeks war against Denmark (former King Hamlet killed Fortinbras’ father), while Laertes returns from Paris to Eslionor to fight for his dead father 's honor.

In Sophocles’ Antigone, Polynices never appears directly, but is one of the significant presences in the tragedy. Polynices is the reason for the downfall of the tragic hero, Creon, who is also the King of Thebes. Not only has one character been affected, but Polyneices’ death is the root of the preeminent conflict. Stated in the prologue, Polyneices has already been killed by his brother, Eteocles. This piece of background information is crucial because his death has generated a tremendous force on the plot and themes of the play.

At the end of the play, the tragic flaw is unveiled to the tragic heroes in what is called a moment of recognition or anagnorisis. In this play “Antigone” there were two central tragic heroes, Antigone and Creon, with both similarities and differences. Antigone’s tragic flaw was relatively due to a positive quality, which is extreme loyalty to her brother in addition to another negative quality, which is being revolutionary. On the other side, Creon’s tragic flaw had a negative motive of extreme tyranny and stubbornness against the laws of nature and gods and human emotions, which caused tragic effects that could not be reversed despite his efforts at the end; consequently, Antigone and Creon’s characters meet at the point of recalcitrance. In this artistic drama, the writer delivers a significant message that utmost obstinacy and pride results in harsh punishments known as “the blows of fate” which are surely acute for anyone to

In the tragedy Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles, King Oedipus was destined to a tragic fate. He was prophesied to kill his father, King Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. Throughout the story, many symbols reveal hidden meanings related to the ignorance Oedipus displays towards his fate. Sophocles uses Oedipus Rex to convey that ignorance cannot alter fate. The symbols of light versus dark and sight versus blindness help to reinforce this theme.

Through personal experience or word of mouth, one often hears of those that suffer due to forces outside of their control and influence. One such person would be the titular character Oedipus in the Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. In the play, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, seeks aid for a plague ravaging his city. He finds out that the plague is due to the unsolved murder of the previous king, and so he then seeks the regicide. Through a series of prophecies, Oedipus learns that he himself killed the king, who is his father, and married his mother, the queen.

Blame is a mechanism in which responsibility of a situation is placed onto another person or object. The action of blame is usually resorted to in order to allow a person to avoid repercussions as well as to make them feel better about something they might have done. In the tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, blame can be placed on multiple people and situations throughout the duration of the story due to the fact that there were many factors contributed. They main factors in the death of the young lovers include, the actions and plans of Capulet and Friar Lawrence.

“Hamlet does have a tragic flaw, for being the principal character in a tragedy, written within the template of a classical tragedy, Hamlet was expected to share this trait with all other noble, tragic characters.” (Tatu, 126). Hamlet had a fundamental weakness that he couldn’t overcome until the end of the story. Hamlet was responsible for his own downfall. He felt like he was obligated to defend his father when finding out the truth behind his death.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is widely known as a horrible tragedy about two teen lovers whose death bring their feuding families together. While there may be a dramatic ending to the play, it starts off as a funny and delightful comedy. To divert the audience’s attention from the cruel reality of the play, Shakespeare focuses on the parts that make it entertaining for the audience. If humor was not added, Romeo and Juliet would have been a very tiresome romance about love and death.

The Oresteia: The Metaphorical Portrayal of Men and Women The Oresteia is a collection of three tragedies written by Aeschylus for an Athenian tragedy competition in 458 BCE. This trilogy tells the story of a family who is caught up in a whirl of death all caused by the same motivation: revenge. All the dramatic murders end up leading to a civilized justice system being created instead of having people take matters into their own hands. Throughout the plays, Aeschylus portrays women characters as evil and powerful and male characters as weak, which eventually causes their death.

Book Twenty-Four of The Odyssey opens with an interesting scene between the ghosts of Achilles and Agamemnon, in which Agamemnon describes the death and the funeral of Achilles. In this encounter, in which Agamemnon relates the death as well as the funeral of Achilles, Agamemnon demonstrates the Achaeans’ value of honor and glory in death. Homer reveals this value through Agamemnon’s praise of Achilles death in battle as well as through the character’s disdain with his own murder at the hands of Aegisthus, which did not bring any glory to Agamemnon. Furthermore, this scene also demonstrates the importance of a proper funeral, as Agamemnon dwells on the games that Thetis held in honor of her son, Achilles, a privilege that Agamemnon did

When observing the series of events that transpire throughout the course of The Oresteia, the three plays, we do see something of a fixation on revenge, taking vengeance for being wronged in many different scenarios, many of them resulting in deaths. In many of these situations, vengeance serves as their form of justice, though whether they are one and the same is the question. The expression goes that "An eye for an eye makes the world go blind" but another saying says that "Justice is blind". Do these people truly feel that revenge is justice? “Agamemnon” is the first of the trilogy and tells the tale of the return of King Agamemnon from the Trojan War.

Is Achilles selfish or self-preserving? He can be both from different points of views. In one way he is shown not wanting to go to war because he is upset about Agamemnon taking a woman from Achilles and since that happened he is being a jerk and not want to fight for him. On another side, he is shown doing that right thing a giving Agamemnon what he deserves, losing the war and/or dying in the process. Though one person might things that he has one side more than the other, another person says the opposite.