Comparison Between Macbeth And Oedipus

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Oedipus was similar to Macbeth because both Oedipus and Macbeth were confronted and destroyed by a set of circumstances, Oedipus by fate and Macbeth by the witches and their prophecies. Oedipus the king is given the throne of Thebes because he answered the riddle of the sphinx correctly. Oedipus unknowingly killed the king of Thebes and took his place and ruler. When he was young, Oedipus received a prophecy that he would eventually kill his father and marry his mother. Sickened by this prophecy, Oedipus ran away from home to prevent these horrid events from occurring. Even though he thought he was getting away from them, yet he was actually running right to the prophecies . Since fate played a big role in this play, it was inevitable that Oedipus would fulfill the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus could not control what happened to him, he strived to overcome the prophecy but failed. Oedipus was a caring person from the beginning of the play. When his people started getting sick and dying he sent his brother in law, Creon, to “To ask of Phoebus, in his Pythian shrine, by word or deed how shall I rescue Thebes?” Creon came back and explained that the former king, Laius had been murdered and He fell. Apollo Chargeth us to strike his murderers, whoe'er they be, with vengeance.. Oedipus went on to question the chorus and curse the murder, which is ironically himself. He then calls for Teiresias, an old blind man who can see the future, and Teiresias tells Oedipus that he is the murderer, but Oedipus doesn't believe him because an eye witness said it was a band of thieves that killed Laius. As the play nears an end a messenger from the city of Corinth comes and tells Oedipus that the man he believes is his father is dead. Oedipus is overjoyed because for the prophecy to come true Oedipus would have had to kill him, but Oedipus was in Thebes

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