Downfall of Oedipus and Othello
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The Tragic Downfall of Oedipus and Othello
In this paper, I will show how the downfall of Sophocles Oedipus Rex is the work of the gods and the downfall of Shakespeares Othello, Moore of Venice, is self-inflected and due to his own ignorance. Othello and Oedipus Rex were both courageous and respectable men that became the victims of two tragic downfalls that can be compared and contrasted with each other. Oedipus, in the play “Oedipus the King”, ends up killing his father and marrying his mother and having kids with her. Othello, in the play “Othello, Moore of Venice”, puts unfounded trust in his wicked, evil general, Iago, and ends up mistrusting his wife, eventually killing her.
Aristotle, the Greek critic, defines a tragic hero as a nobleman, prince, or a person of high estate, a person that must have a tragic flaw and weakness in judgment, and he must fall from high to low estate. The characters of both Othello and Oedipus have all the three requirements above. The background of Oedipus Rex; he is born initially to king Laius and his wife, Jocasta. King Laius receives a condemned prophecy about his newborn son by one of the gods, Apollo. As a result of that prophecy, King Laius and Jacosta give the baby to their servant so he could place the baby on a mountain to be killed. The servant could not do it and instead gives the baby to a shepherd who takes the baby and gives him away. Oedipus ends up growing up with another family, Polybus of Corinth. Later in Oedipus life, he hears rumors about his adoption and fate and confronts his mother and father. They initially deny it so he goes to a prophet who tells him of his fate; that he will murder his father, marry his mother and have children with her. I am sure he was appalled which is why he left Corinth, the town he was living in, to escape his fate. While walking from the town, Oedipus comes across some men on a road in which a fight breaks out and he kills the men. Unknown to him, one of the men he kills is his father. He then goes on to solve a riddle from a sphinx and becomes the next king of Thebes. He also marries the wife of the man he killed and has children with her and later finds out his wife is his mother. In Othellos background; he is a Moorish commander of the armed forces of Venice. He quietly marries Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, who is the senator of Venice. “Infuriated by his daughters elopement with the Moor, he appeals to the senate to recover her. Losing his appeal, he publicly casts her off and warns Othello that a daughter who deceives her father may well be a wife who deceives her husband. This warning plants a small seed of uncertainty in Othellos heart, which Iago waters diligently” (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters 1-2). “Iago, an ensign serving under Othello, Moorish commander of the armed forces of Venice, is passed over in promotion when Othello chooses Cassio to be his chief of staff” (Foster 1-3). In his revenge, Iago and his follower Rodriguez runs and tells Brabantio, Desdemonas father, that Othello has stolen his daughter and married her. Brabantio confronts Othello and Othello clears himself with the help and support of his wife, Desdemona. A very angry Iago then devises a plot of deception to turn Othello against Cassio and his wife Desdemona through manipulation and lies. He plants ideas of illicit relations in Othellos mind and creates jealousy in his emotions. Othello believes the lies of Iago, and through his manipulation, kills his innocent wife Desdemona. Once he learns the truth of what Iago has done, he tries to go after Iago but then takes a dagger and kills himself.
There are choices or what I would call steps that lead to the demise of both Oedipus and Othello. In Sophocles Oedipus story; “when Thebes is struck by a plague, the people ask King Oedipus to deliver them from its horrors.” “Creon, the brother of Jocasta, Oedipuss queen, returns from the oracle of Apollo and discloses that the plague is punishment for the murder of King Laius, Oedipuss immediate predecessor, to whom Jocasta was married. Creon further discloses that the citizens of Thebes need to discover and punish the murderer before the plague can be lifted. The people mourn their dead, and Oedipus advises them, in their own interest, to search out and apprehend the murderer of Laius” (Wiegel 1-3). Oedipus seeks out Teiresias, the ancient prophet, to find out who is the murderer. Teiresias is reluctant to tell Oedipus that he is the murderer. When he does, initially Oedipus does not believe him and goes back home to get the truth. The shepherd is found and the truth of the story is told about his being adopted and killing his father AND marrying his mother. His wife/mother kills herself when she finds out the truth and Oedipus takes pins from her garments and stabs his eyes out. He