Hamlet would have been an exceptional king because of his character and his willingness to sacrifice for his country. His actions throughout the book can be described as brash and extreme but his decisions are not uninformed. The challenges he faces are unimaginable and difficult but he perseveres and acts in a way that he believes will serve his country best. These are the actions of a mature and able leader who is fit to run a country. Hamlet is aware of plots against him and he believes this will be bad for Denmark.
The play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles is a wonderfully written Greek tradgedy based on folklore and mythology. There are almost as many interpretations of the meaning of this play as there are versions of it that have been rewritten by other authors. Francis Fergusson and David Wiles both comment on the political aspects of Oedipus Rex and spend some time commenting on the chorus in particular (183). I feel that although Fergusson and Wiles choose different words to describe was the chorus is trying to say, that if you get down to basics, they are both trying to say something extremely similar. Fergusson describes a Sophoclean chorus as an important character or group personality, like an old Parliament or a Prime Minister (237-238).
Running head: PERSONAL MORAL AND ETHICAL REASONING 1 My Own Moral and Ethical Reasoning Gary D. Neer Walden University Abstract Personal Moral and Ethical Reasoning The development of my own moral and ethical reasoning was developed through diverse influences to which amalgamate shaping my moral and ethical perspectives. There are many different experience in life to which guide and direct are moral and ethical reasoning. Additional, there are many theories to which apply to the development of my moral and ethical reasoning. The following paper will overview a moral and ethical developmental theory, discuss family and social factor to which influence my own
Will Kim Ms. Odorico ENG2D1-07 3 April 2008 The Roles of Gods and Goddesses in The Odyssey Challenges are presented to endow hardships and lessons to the confronters. Everything in the play The Odyssey is determined through the wills of the gods. Different gods held different roles in the Odyssey, all driven by their own ambitions and motives. Although Odysseus’s journey seemed to be just an uncomplicated –but nevertheless difficult- matter of tests and trials, the gods set the flow of these events as they wished. In the play adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, gods of Olympus play the roles of catalysts in Odysseus’s epic journey back to Ithaca, supplementing and/or daunting his journey, granting Odysseus a valuable lesson to be learnt from the voyage.
After learning Malcolm is to become “The Prince of Cumberland”, Macbeth asks himself “That is a step/On which I must fall down or else o’erleap,/For in my way it lies” (I.iv.55-57). Macbeth’s decision brings up the motif that humans are able to choose from right and wrong. He is not a victim of fate because clearly, he has the ability to select his path. In this case, Macbeth follows the path of his prediction, not because he was told he will be king, but because his flaw of being ambitious pushed him towards the path he has chosen. Also, since Macbeth was presented with an opportunity to become King, he, like many others, took it by their own will.
Medea used dialogue when she spoke to Aegeus and told him to “Swear by the Earth on which you tread/Swear by the Sun, my father’s father dread/Swear by every god and godhead” to protect her. In the play there is also the use of song or melody, because Medea herself argues with the chorus multiple times; the chorus plays a very important part in the play because ultimately they help Medea make her final decision. The plot of the story is that Medea needs to escape from Corinth after the murders of multiple people. She then turned to Aegeus and who was willing to take her in Athens and protect her from harm, if she gave him children. Thought, as described by Aristotle is also demonstrated by Medea when she explained to Aegeus her plan to kill Jason’s new bride and her children, and the sheer hatred for Jason by Medea showed that anything is possible for a furious wife.
Guilt and shame are two feelings that everyone in modern times feels at one point in their life as did Oedipus in the play. An event like committing a crime in today’s society which would trigger the feelings of guilt and shame also made Oedipus feel guilt and shame in the play when he found out the truth of his life. Another big theme in Oedipus Rex which is also still socially relevant even after such a long amount of time is finding out the truth which we see when Oedipus is told about his life by the prophet. We are constantly finding out new truths as a
Oedipus Rex is the ideal example of an Aristotelian tragedy; Aristotle himself defines Oedipus in his Poetics as being “a definite example of the form and purpose of tragedy”. In tragedies the Greeks dramatized climactic events in the lives of heroes, and here through his use of various literary devices, Sophocles elicits fear and pity for Oedipus’ circumstance from the audience. Arguably the most tragic scenes in the play happen during Oedipus’ exodus. After Oedipus has revealed the true nature of the prophecy, he finds Iocaste dead after she has figured out what happened. Oedipus seizes the pins on her dress and gouges his eyes out with them, unable to look any longer upon the sin he has committed.
Aristotle’s Poetics is not only relevant to Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex Aristotle’s muse for the writings of his Poetics was Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex as well as works from other ancient Greek plays such as Homer, who Aristotle described as a ‘supreme poet of serious subjects’. This is indicative of Aristotle’s appreciation for the works of these ancient Greek playwrights, as Homer complemented him in his Poetics. Aristotle’s Oedipus Rex was the pinnacle of tragedies; he drew inspiration from several key components of this play to create his own great work that would contribute an enduring philosophy of theatre. This discussion will first seek to demonstrate the extent to which Aristotle drew directly from Oedipus Rex to highlight the key components of tragedy and the value of Aristotle’s principles in what makes a tragedy. I will also however, go on to examine how far Aristotle’s criterion for a successful tragedy has been applied to other genres of theatre, for instance the satire that became particularly popular in the eighteenth century.
It is the combination of these key ingredients and mysteries that make Macbeth so compelling. Indeed, one of the most compelling things in the play is Macbeth himself. As the plays titular character, one would expect him to play a large part but the ways in which he compels the plot and reader go above and beyond expectation. Throughout the course of the play, we see Macbeth’s journey from a highly regarded battle hero to a despised tyrant, from a level headed army captain to a cold impulsive King. We witness this through the comments of the other characters in the play.