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Hamlet and Oedipus Rex

Introduction

The play Hamlet was written by William Shakespeare and cuts across several issues through the plot, use of characters, and in the manner in which the protagonists are portrayed. The play starts with disappointment by Prince Hamlet after being summoned to attend his father's funeral. His frustration heightened when he discovered that his mother was already remarried to his uncle Claudius, the brother to the dead king. At the beginning of the play, the key theme is family ties and social issues evident in the contemporary world. Hamlet recounts "Like Niobe, all tears- why she, even she God! A beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer married with my uncle; my father's brother, but no more like my father,” (Shakespeare, Act1 scene 2, 355). In addition, the plays also deliberate on the theme of power and leadership through the use of Claudius who had already crowned himself the king even though Hamlet was the rightful heir to take over his father's throne. The play also sends light on the theme of ravage and foul play and these propositions were confirmed when the King's ghost visited the castle.

The play Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex was written by Sophocles, who portrays a wide range of themes which are enhanced through the use of characters. At a glance, there is a mysterious plague at the city of Thebes, and the King commissions his brother-in-law, Creon, to investigate the cause of the predicament. However, there existed a long history regarding leadership and inheritance of power which lead to the killing of the former king, Laius. The community believed that for the plague to be rifted, the perpetrators who had killed the king had to be brought to justice for the community to live peacefully. Oedipus' wife, Jocasta had heard rumors that his husband was responsible for the killing of the former king. Traction arose between the King and Teiresias citing a possibility to conspiring with the community to provide false information concerning the death of the late King. "But just as only the impetuosity of Oedipus could make Teiresias speak out, so only his quick temper could make him ignore Teiresias' revelation.  Because he distrusts Teiresias, Oedipus suspects Creon and the quarrel between the men bring Locasta out to calm Oedipus by telling him the exposure, which did not after all prevent the killing of Laius” (Gould, and Gould, 78).

Hamartia of the Protagonist in the play Hamlet

Hamartia is a fatal fall regarding particular characters or character in a play and will normally lead to a lousy ending. Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, has several incidences of hamartia which befall the protagonist. In the play, the primary protagonist, who experiences the occurrences of hamartia is Hamlet and has been used by the author to allow the readers to contemplate deeply bring about clear themes and plot. Incidences that are used to show the life transition of Hamlet lead him to a tragic end after fighting many vices in his home, about his deceased father's leaders, and the community in general.

To begin with, Hamlet lack self-knowledge regarding his life, people around him, and more so, concerning his family; specifically, his uncle who took leadership throne undeservingly. Hamlet's inability to understand himself can be depicted in Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 557 - 614 where he demonstrates the tendency to react instead of acting along with other characters. Through this lack of knowledge, Hamlet is perceived as contemplative with the main of focus enforcing his ravage against Claudius and inability to go along well with Ophelia. In addition, the hamartia of lack of self-awareness and wisdom leads Hamlet to spend the best part of his free time courting Ophelia to a point where he does not have sufficient understanding of the political affairs and war at the beginning of the play. These downfall does not portray a regular ravage-seeking character such as Fortinbras, Laertes, or Claudius. Based on his true nature and the expected flow of the play, Hamlet would most likely not have a non-tragic end...