In the beginning of the play, Thebes is under a horrible plague and so Oedipus sends Creon, his brother in law, to ask the oracle how to end the devastating plague. Creon comes back with good news; once the killer of
One simple trip to an oracle sets the outline of a great ancient Greek tragedy. This strong desire for information that these characters have only makes matters worse. The baby that was given away ends up being Oedipus, the prince of Corinth. Not knowing his true origin, Oedipus is approached one night at a dinner-party by a drunkard who seems to have slipped up and told Oedipus that he is not the real prince of Corinth. Oedipus, infuriated, goes up to his “parents” and asks them if it is true, but his “parents” deny that this is true.
Oedipus: What man’s bad luck does he accuse in this? Creon: My Lord, a king named Laius ruled our land before you came to steer this city straight. (Sophocles 100-104) They believe they must banish or kill the murder of their former king Laius in order to save the city. They were informed of this through an oracle that spoke to the god Apollo. Clearly the Greek people, including Oedipus, have a strong belief that this is the only way they can stop the plague and save the city since the rest of the actions of the play are in response to this message from the oracle.
Oedipus tries to avoid this by running away from his “parents”. Then he is confronted with the sphinx and solves her riddle. After he becomes king, he marries Jocasta (his mother).Tiresias gets tired of Oedipus’s arrogance and tells him the truth about the fulfilled prophecy. Oedipus doesn’t believe him so; he goes searching for the truth his self. Once he finds out this is true he blinds himself and banned his self from civilization forever.
The dead king’s sons (Simba and Hamlet), the protagonists, despise the kings and do not really know what they had to do with their father’s death. With the boosting help of an outside force they take up the courage to confront and successfully vow their father’s revenge. The ghost motive plays a key role in both stories, when the spiritual form of the protogonist’s dead fathers appear, but there are differences. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s father reveals that it was Claudius who killed him. In The Lion King, Mufasa convinces Simba to reclaim the kingdom.
He only obtained the throne after killing his brother and marrying his brother’s widow. King Claudius appears to the audience as a civil, diplomatic ruler and it is only until the ghost first appears to Hamlet that is revealed he killed his brother with poison. The betrayal of his mother marrying King Claudius within a month after his King Hamlet’s death leaves Prince Hamlet feeling angry, bitter and revengeful towards his mother. Also the fact that she married her brother-in-law was considered to be incestuous and sinful in that era. When Prince Hamlet hires travelling actors to perform an act to the King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, they notice the plot to be similar to the murder of King Hamlet.
The death of one’s father and a ghostly visitation thereafter are events that would challenge the sanity of anyone. The circumstances of King Hamlet’s death render it especially traumatic. The late King seemed to be an idol to his son; Hamlet looked up to him and aspired to have the same qualities. Hamlet doesn't like King Claudius and sees him as a swindling usurper who has stolen not only the dead King’s throne, but Hamlet’s as well(2.4). Hamlet shows Gertrude that she has lowered her standards by marrying Claudius, When he refers to old Hamlet as, “A combination and a form indeed / Where every god did seem to set his seal” (3.4.55-61).
Can it be said that arrogance is a sign of a good leader? In the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, the title character embodies qualities that foster his leadership but also bring about his demise. Oedipus Rex is a story of a king that must banish a plague from his city. During his efforts to accomplish this goal, he discovers his true identity, loses his innocence, and becomes forever blinded by the truth. Through the great tragedy Oedipus Rex, we can easily see how Sophocles personified the tragic hero.
Oedipus’ parents, Jocasta and Laius, sent Oedipus to die because of his fate. Oedipus survived and later save the city of Thebes from the sphinx. Oedipus is later found married to the queen of Thebes and is now trying to find out who killed the previous king, Laius. Regarding ignorance, Sophocles seems to say that ignorance can be anyones down fall. The first example is that Oedipus’ anger helps show how ignorant Oedipus is and how he even makes false accusations towards others.
Hamlet has been instructed by the ghost of his late father to avenge his death by killing King Claudius. This is what brings mistrust and eavesdropping into the picture. Claudius has suspensions about Hamlet’s peculiar behavior, and has summoned his school chums, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, to spy on him. Before they even start their expedition of eavesdropping, the King and Polonious have already made plans to hide being a wall hanging during Hamlet and Ophelia’s exchange of love gifts. King Claudius is determined to discover an alternative motive to Hamlet’s madness besides depression.