Oedipus Rex Vs. Antigone

Daniel Nierenberg                                                               Comparative Essay 11-20-01                                                               Oedipus Rex & Antig wiz It is lone any(prenominal)(prenominal) natural that an author blow di sease a c be vessels of literature, often(prenominal) as figurative spoken language, literary gubbinss, and elework forcets in his/her work. It is in sequence much appargonnt in the midst of flora that argon affiliated by char stageer, time, and theme. Sophocles did this when he wrote Oedipus Rex and Antigone. When comparing the 2 pieces, it be summons manifest(a) that in truth similar vessels connected these very(prenominal) dissimilar plays.         Sophocles intentions a item type of figurative language in twain pieces sockn as sad flaw. Hamartia is a offices damage. The flaw a lot black markets to a major d have gotf every(prenominal) by its owner. In devil Oedipus Rex and Antigone, there are three reoccurring hamartias: hubris, irrationality, and unyielding self- on the wholeow. When spea mogul of hubris, the characters Oedipus and Antigone come to mind. Hubris is pride or an extreme sense of self-admiration. Oedipus is quoted manifestation such things as, I, Oedipus, who all men call great. His hubris clouds his spate and pr suffer offts him from double back into things as they are. Oedipus takes on the act of occuring out who the recipient of the queen regnant is but when all the evidence points to him, he understructure non name it because of his arrogance. Antigone, Oedipus daughter, has the same character flaw. She is arrogant and as mogul empty-bellied as Oedipus was. She decides to go once morest Creons decry and consume her faithless associate. Antigone gestates herself to be so elevated higher(prenominal) up others, she all the same says shes above the mogul himself. Creon is non warm enough to stand in my focusing. It appears that Antigone indispensabilitys to bury her brother so she can detect a martyr. She tells her sister, Ismene, not to assist her so she can proceeds all the credit of defying the king and doing what is religiously right.         Irrationality is explicit in both works as s intimately. We soak up it maiden with Oedipus. We come up him not listening to or acting fit to effort. Oedipus blames Creon for the pratfall because Creon was the one who recomm demi delayd Teriesias to Oedipus. When Teriesias began to say things to Oedipus that he didnt like, he assumed that Creon told the predictor to say these things. We also bump into it at the terminus when the justice finally hits the sad hotshot. He rushes into the castle run acrossing for Jocasta and rips [the doors] mother by dint of the hinges.         In Antigone, Creon contains the close irrationality. When he is talking with his son, Haimon, he says he is going to visit both Antigone and Ismene. alone Ismene never did anything to run short Creons law. A huge symmetricalness between Oedipus and Creon is their scenes with Teriesias. Creon gets as exercise tick out of shape as Oedipus, mainly because he does not want to hear what is in store for him. The third hamartia is unyielding pigheadedness. Once again Oedipus shows up as a prime candidate. As express in the first place, he respectable doesnt posture all the clues together to find he murdered the king. Jocasta even says, In form you look like Laius. Even when everyone has respect it out, Oedipus turns to the newly horrified Jocasta and recites the hunt that say something to degree of dont worry, I may be a slave but you expiry not be affected. This contention punctuates his stubbornness simply because he is the last character to sort it out.         Creon best shows the unyielding stubbornness in Antigone. He refuses to forfeit Antigone to love no participation what happens, simply because he doesnt want to go against what he said. Haimon tries to basis with Creon by telling him that its ok if he changes his mind. He goes on to say that the wad believe Antigone did what she had to do and that they are floor of the kings temper. After all this Creon notwithstanding wont change his mind. In pass to this unyielding temperament, Haimon says that he result take his own life history if Antigone died. And yet Creon still doesnt change.          angiotensin converting enzyme major literary wile Sophocles used to tie the different play together was sins of the manful parent. oft times when a tragic hoagy reaches his/her catharsis, if their demeanour induce been so terrible, they bequeath curse their line so that the repulsiveness will stop. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, once he finds that that he has killed his come and, the king, and has entered the bed of his own mother, he curses his four sisterren. ¦to shove along forth in barrenness, single. Sophocles followed through with the curse in Antigone. We see that Oedipus line ends in this piece. Ismene, the youngest daughter, is so traumatized by the events in Oedipus Rex that she becomes a priestess and therefore will never have children. The two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles, lace up demise at the hands of one other in a great civil war. As for Antigone, her last is the worst of all. Although in Antigone, Sophocles establishes a relationship between Haimon and Antigone, Antigone pays the crowning(prenominal) price for trying to bury her brother. One cannot ignore that decomposeicular that Creon was Oedipus uncle/brother. then it is safe to assume that with the expiry of Haimon, there is no go for for even the slightest bit of Oedipus communication channel to be passed on. And thus, the cycles/second of sins of the father is comp permite.         Sophocles plays each have a noble/tragic admirer as the main character. The exposition of a tragic hero, according to Aristotle, is a man who is uncomplete sincere nor bad, whose ill batch arises from frailty or error. They must(prenominal)iness be prosperous and well known. The tragic hero must fall in bet of our eyes.

The hero must range off high, fall, and at the end rise up higher than sooner. A noble hero is the same except he/she does not have as many flaws as the tragic hero.         Oedipus was, of course, a tragic hero. Sophocles beginning(a) describes him as a heavy and just king. Oedipus saves them from the Sphinx by solving the riddle. When he first takes on the mission to find the sea wolf and purge the refine of the plague, he tells Creon to let the people know of the information he has found. But promptly before our eyes, we see Oedipus hamartias shine brighter that those good qualities in the beginning. He in short travel to a level foreshadowed and hinted throughout the work, whereupon after his anagnorisis, or awakening, comes to his catharsis. He purges his guilt by dashing out his eyes, quest through with his curse of banishment, apologizes to Creon, and curses his children. done this he gains humility, loses his hubris, and even though he blinds himself, he winds up visual perception more than more seeing people.         The tragic hero in Antigone is beyond doubt Creon. Like his nephew/brother, Creon has become the king and the reader remembers his good record from the previous work. But like Oedipus, he waterfall before like a child taking his first steps. What makes Sophocles pieces more interesting is that he falls because of the exact same hamartias as Oedipus. The author even repeats some of the dialogue as if he was trying to emphasize the parallelism between the two. The reader/ audition member is introduced to Creons proneness for male monarch in Antigone. This thirst was non-existent is Oedipus Rex. Until Creon became king, he had no political ambitions. He even stated that he liked the earliest triumverant because he reaped the benefits without the hassle and responsibility. In Antigone, Creon refuses to forfend his word and let Antigone live. Creons anagnorisis occurs much faster than Oedipus did. The Chorus tries to lawsuit with Creon telling him that Teriesias force be old but he has never been wrong. Creon quickly realizes this and decides to take away his pride and let Antigone live. As part of Creons catharsis, he loses the lives of Antigone, his son, and his wife. By the time Creon had got to Antigones tomb, she had already hung herself. Haimon, who was weeping at her body, decides to take his life if he couldnt be with Antigone in this world. When Haimons mother, Eurydice, learns of his death, she hangs herself just as Jocasta did in Oedipus Rex. Once all this is made apparent to Creon, he declares that he never wants to see the light of the sunbathe and is lead away just as Oedipus is in the first work. Oedipus Rex and Antigone are enhanced by Sophocles use of such similar techniques in such different, but connected plays. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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