Comparing A Doll's House and Oedipus Rex
Ibsen's drama "A Doll's House", serves as an example of the kind of issue-based drama that distinguishes Ibsen from many of his contemporaries. The play's dialogue is not poetic, but very naturalistic, and the characters are recognizable people. Given the sense of modernity which the play possesses it seems unusual to compare it to a Greek tragedy produced more than two-thousand years previously.
On closer examination however, there are certain similarities between the way in which "A Doll's House" is plotted and a tragedy such as Oedipus Rex. Both "Oedipus" and "A Dolls' House" depict disastrous events that occur to two very different characters. At the start of Oedipus, we
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Oedipus flees from Corinth falsely believing that Polybus and Merope are his parents, he hopes that this will make the oracle's prediction that he will murder his father and sleep with his mother impossible. This virtuous act is of course a massive error since it leads him to his real parentsIt is interesting to note that Nora only borrows money in "A Doll's House" in an attempt to save the life of her sick husband. Her act of kindness misguided as it may be, is the catalyst for the events that follow. The way in which the actions of both Nora and Oedipus backfire in such a tragic way is an example of what in Greek literary tradition is known as Peripitia. This word translates as a "reversal" and to gain an understanding of the tragic condition it is important that the theme of reversal is examined. In Oedipus there are many examples of reversal, when actions have the exact opposite effect to that which were intended. When Oedipus sends for the shepherd whom he hopes will allay his fear, over his parentage, his arrival has the exact opposite effect. In this respect the tow plays are very similar they employ many of the same dramatic devices to achieve their goals.
Reversal is key to both plays since by the end of both plays the social conditions of both Oedipus and Nora have changed completely. It is interesting to note that unlike a Shakespearean drama in which the tragic hero always dies, neither Oedipus nor Nora die.
To begin with, if Oedipus and Frogs are to be taken into consideration and the aspects of the plot dissected using the guidelines provided in Poetics, then based on Aristotle’s definition of plot as “organization of events,” it can be stated that the structure of plot is the same for the two stories of opposing genres, for both have “a beginning, a middle and an end” one following after the other resulting in a well-constructed plot not beginning or ending at any arbitrary point (Aristotle 10 & 13-14). However, while the character experiences a fall from good fortune to bad fortune in most tragedies, in most comedies the character experiences a fall from bad fortune to good fortune (Aristotle 21 & 22). Thus, in regards to Oedipus it can be noted that the story follows the general plot structure with Oedipus first facing good fortune briefly in the beginning of the play, as alluded to by the Elder who states that Oedipus “came to Thebes, saved us from the Sphinx,/ And without any help, derived us from despair/… Now, Oedipus, our master and greatest power” (Sophocles lines 35-36 & 40).
The myth of Oedipus’s incest and parricide has been retold many different times. The basic story line has remained the same. Oedipus leaves Corinth to try to escape a fate of incest and parricide. After he leaving the city, he ends up saving Thebes from the Sphinx, becoming king of the city and in the process fulfilling the prophecy. The character of Oedipus changes in each play to help support a different meaning to the entire myth. Cocteau’s The Infernal Machine and Sophocles’s Oedipus the King are both centered on the myth, yet their themes are different. By changing Oedipus’s personality, motive, relationship with Jocasta, his mother and wife, and his character
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows
Oedipus the King is Sophocles’ Greek tragedy about a hero’s demise. Unknowingly born to King Laius and his wife Jocasta, the play entails a self-fulfilling prophecy and the unravelling of the male protagonist. Originally a murder mystery, Oedipus the King gradually develops into a journey of self-discovery. The play Oedipus the King has a major reoccurring theme of the Divine and fate, and this is evident through the worship of the Greek gods, particularly Apollo, as well as the importance of the oracle’s prophecies.
*INTRO*The character Oedipus in the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and the character Othello in the play Othello the Moor of Venice by Shakespeare are both tragic characters. Oedipus ends up killing his father, and marrying and having children with his mother, whereas Othello ends up mistrusting and killing his wife. These two individuals have similarities and differences in several aspects such as the roundness of their characters, the retribution that they incur upon themselves and upon their respective wives whether directly or indirectly, and their horrors.
Oedipus and Macbeth are very similar they both went to their demise trying to gain more power and taking responsibility of their own actions. They both become king and was the highest in the land, but they were not able to keep their position. They both went through many conflicts, which help form what happened to them. Internal conflicts was prevalent in both plays, along with conflicts of other people. Both plays were written to teach the audience a
As the play continues, we start to see a shift in Oedipus’s personality. This was due to the conclusion he makes based on the conversation him and the prophet Tiresias has. It mentions how Kreon, Oedipus brother-in-law, is plotting against him. “So? You come here? You have the nerve to face me in my own house? When you’re exposed as its master’s murderer? Caught trying to steal my kinship?” (Sophocles 500). Now, Oedipus is arrogant, he blames Kreon based off of the conclusion he jumps too. He gets discouraged from his role as a leader, he is irrational, angry and hot tempered, whereas, in the beginning,
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Sophocles, Oedipus the King, both of the main characters conform to the same classic tragic hero formula. Oedipus suffers a life based on a pre‐birth prophecy, whereas Hamlet finds himself burdened with the task of avenging his father’s death. In both situations, two kings must leave their innocence behind as the truth leads them first, to enlightenment and then to their downfall. They battle between the light, the truth and the darkness, the lie. Both Hamlet and Oedipus are similar in that they both showcase their mental state and stability, they are able to make swift decisions, and they both deal with relationships with women. Despite similarities between Hamlet and Oedipus, it is Oedipus’ consideration to do what is best for his people and city that makes him the more honourable man.
Oedipus is a significant and noble human being, that is a King of Thebes. Due to Oedipus royal status, that tragic events that have taken place involving the welfare of his country and of the people. Unannounced to Oedipus his fate has been decided by the Gods, even before he Was born. Willy Loman is an older gentleman having trouble admitting that he is growing old. Loman is very disappointed with life after losing his job. His tragic event, unlike Oedipus does not move a nation, it only touches on his immediate household. Both plays intertwine scenes from the past and the present depicts events in a sequent that are unmatched with their chronological progression. In such a case the crisis scene, getting along later in the report is one able to redirect the play by playing out a decisive causal event for which anyone is liable. Traditional and modern characters differ in the style of words. Traditional language is primarily spoken in Latin, a language that we ordinarily do not speak. As far as Modern characters use language that is spoken in daily life. Modern drama uses symbolism to showing meaning beyond the everyday literal interpretation and expressionist as symbols for characters’ subjective emotions. Traditional plays have a five-part structure of most Greek tragedies: Prologue is the introduction of the play. Parados: is the chorus first song, offering an interpretation of the conflict learned in the Prologue. Episodia: is a series of scenes usually debates between characters, in which the action and events of the play are presented. Stasimon: is the Chorus’s interpretation and response to the proceeding act. Exodos is the conclusion scene, including the final lines of the chorus. The social background of Traditional plays was more spiritual and believing in higher Gods(deus), attending a play was more of worship for the traditional interview, then what we call
As outlined in the proposal, Oedipus is a tragic hero even though he didn't die because of the facts described by Aristotle satisfies the character of Oedipus. In this story the character's egotism and self-centrism has caused him a different fate, drawing attention of the audiences on the issues that the human behaviors directly affect the human emotions as Oedipus blinded his eyes by himself after finding out the truth. Here the hunger for the truth overshadowed by his grandiosity as explained by Miller has made Oedipus to find out what he hadn't expected. He was just willing to help somebody but as it was overcame from his confidence and proud, the story is able to manipulate the audience's feeling and make feel sorry for the character even though it is already known to the audiences that Oedipus was wrong, as seen from his confident and proud actions. While in Thelma and Louise, the feelings generated to the audience are different. Unlike Oedipus, in Thelma and Louise the human feelings were not played ironically but instead were diverted from characters actions from one wrong action to series of others. Oedipus ends in misery and sorrow of his past but Thelma and Louise ends up surrounded by the results of their wrong activities, which they tried to overcome by running away from it rather than facing it like Oedipus. At the end too, both tragedy shows the different perspective of life. One is with full of pride and
Oedipus Rex and King Lear are, as their titles announce, both about kings. These two plays are similar in theme and in the questions they pose to the audience. The kings in each play both fall from the pinnacle of power to become the most loathed of all classes in society; Oedipus discovers that he is a murderer and committer of incest, and Lear becomes a mad beggar. Misjudgments occur in both plays, and the same questions about the gods, fate, and free will are posed. In spite of these similarities, however, the final effects of these two plays differ greatly.
Ibsen also employs the use of many smaller themes within his play, A Doll House. Respect and reputation, love, lies and deceit, and money are just a few of these smaller themes. Respect and reputation are something that the men of this play are obsessed with. Some of the men have good standing in society and would do anything to keep it. While other men have lost their good name and would go to great lengths to get it back. Even though the play is set in a private home, the reader knows that the public eye is constantly peeking in. Another important theme that Ibsen puts in to this play is love. He uses the
A Dollhouse is Henrik Ibsen’s best known realistic problem play. It is about the debt a wife hides from her husband, and the escalation of problems surrounding it occurring around Christmas. The play shocked many viewers because it broke many cultural stigmas at the time. The names, symbols, and dialogue all contribute to the overall impact of the play.
In 1879, Ibsen wrote “A Doll House”. This play lets you get an understanding of what it was like back in that era. You get an eye opener to how much things for woman have changed since that era. Ibsen wanted us to understand that a woman cannot be herself in modern society since the 1879 era was and exclusively man society. He wanted us to understand how Nora, the nanny, and Linde all made scarifies for the ones that they love and over their own real wants. In “A Doll House” you get to travel through many different feelings. Throughout the play, we learn of struggles, secrets, self-deceptions and many others. Let’s breakdown the characters of this play, the plot that is going on, and how things for woman have changed from then to now.
exercising his free choice by making bad decisions . Oedipus certainly meets these portrayals of a tragic hero. The dialect of tragedy consists of two circles: one is a relative point and the other is impacted and the effect on its audience. Sophocles and Aristotle’s achieve that task with absolute clearness. The modern reader, coming to the classic drama not entirely to the enjoyment, will not always surrender himself to the emotional effect. He is apt to worry about Greek ‘fatalism’ and the justice of the downfall of Oedipus, and, finding no satisfactory solution for these intellectual difficulties, loses half the pleasure that the drama was intended to produce . In dramatizing stories, there will dependably blends of passionate sentiments, suspense, and fervor to discover what’s