In ancient Greece fate was very strongly believed in. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably falls upon a person. Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, is old Grecian literature that really makes the reader think about whether there really is such a thing called fate or free will. In Oedipus the King an unfortunate man, named Oedipus, is given a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Despite Oedipus’s tries to make sure his prophecy does not come true.
He leaves Corinth and travels to Thebes, and on the way he unknowingly kills his father during a quarrel. After saving Thebes from the Sphinx, he is given the hand of Queen Jocasta, his mother, for marriage and he becomes the new king of Thebes. One of the many reasons Oedipus is a coward is that he didn’t want to face his parent s again. His thought at the moment when he blinds himself is that if he killed himself he will see his real parents in the underworld, who he had committed those crimes against. Instead of repenting for his sins he escapes them.
Plot Outline Oedipus the King A plague has stricken Thebes. The citizens gather outside the palace of their king, Oedipus, asking him to take action. Oedipus replies that he already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle at Delphi to learn how to help the city. Creon returns with a message from the oracle: the plague will end when the murderer of Laius, former king of Thebes, is caught and expelled; the murderer is within the city. Oedipus questions Creon about the murder of Laius, who was killed by thieves on his way to consult an oracle.
Antigone is the continuation of the play Oedipus, in which foretold disaster strikes a king’s family. Oedipus is told that he will kill his father and marry his mother, so out of fear he flees his home. On the road he meets a man whom he kills and then proceeds to
He chose to kill Laius and find out what his real back round was instead of doing his regular routine. When he was blinded to the fact that he killed his own father it was the beginning of his fate becoming more possible. His fate determined his destiny even though Jocasta gave him away he still managed to find her and marry her like what the prophecy was
Instead of waiting to let things happen naturally, Macbeth goes in search of the witches, in that they might tell him how to defeat his enemies. Once he knows what he thinks to be the truth, he prepares for battle with England and Norway without a care in the world, only later to be killed. Because of his own pride and ambition, he dies in battle. Before Macbeth becomes the thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is a warrior in the king's army. He is ruthless and merciless.
Also, when the official who is telling the city of Thebes that Oedipus blinded himself he says, “He shouts for all the barriers to be unbarred and he displayed to all of Thebes, his father’s murderer, his mothers…no, a word too foul to say…”(71). Even though Oedipus didn’t know that Lauis was his father it was still his choice to kill him and marry Jocasta although it was his mother. In addition to Oedipus being responsible for his fate he is also endowed with a tragic flaw and is doomed to make a serious error in judgment. Oedipus is arrogant and stubborn and these flaws cause him to accuse people of things they didn’t do. For example, when Oedipus says to Tiresias,”Yes, you, you planned this thing, and I suspect you of the very murder even, all but the actual stroke” (20).He is accusing Tiresias of murdering Lauis when the actual murderer is Oedipus himself.
During the play, Oedipus realizes his own flaws while he investigates who the "true killer" of Laius is. The first character flaw is presented in the play Oedipus is Oedipus acting impulsively. When Oedipus first heard his prophecy from the Delphi oracle, he made an exodus out of Corinth as soon as he could. While on his journey to Thebes, a caravan cut him off. Enraged, Oedipus killed all the men except one.
The devil, or the evil spirits, take up many disguises, one of which is through Lady Macbeth. Our tragic hero does not realize that every murder will come back to haunt him. We begin to see the slippery slope Macbeth slides down as he promptly kills his best friend, Banquo, and attempts to murder Banquo’s only child, Fleance, without any outside influences. He was content killing his closest ally because he worries about the witches prophecy that “the seeds of Banquo’s kings, rather than so, come fate into the list, and champion me to the utterance…” (III.I.70-73). Even when you believe Macbeth cannot be any worse he slaughters Macduff’s entire family when he hears Macduff has fled to England; he said that he would “give to the edge o’the sword his wife, babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line”.
Nevertheless one murder didn't comfort him, he thinks he needs to secure his position. So he goes off and hires hit men to kill who he thinks is his enemy, the one who can take his power, Banqo. Soon enough he finds himself ordering the slaughter of a traitors family, which is when remorse never enters his thoughts. Macbeth’s greed and ambitions are the sheer motivators of his killings and that is evident throughout the journey of the play. As Shakespeare once wrote , “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (Act I, Sc.I, Line