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.
Simba, Mufasa’s son and Scar’s nephew, must seek justice against Scar for his father. The appearance of the ghost of the fathers who have died show up to their sons in both works. Moreover, the son is sent away in both of the works as well. Simba is sent to run away because he thinks his father’s death was his own fault. Hamlet is sent to England for killing Polonius.
“Where would a trace / of this old crime be found?” Oedipus asks – Laius was murdered many years ago (108-9). Creon speaks with a messenger who fled in terror from the roadside where Laius was killed. This messenger, in turn, reveals that …the robbers they encountered were many and the hands that did the murder were many; it was no man’s single power. (123-5) Oedipus swears to solve the murder, both as part of his duty as king as well as for the good of the city: ‘So helping the dead king I help myself’ (141). All soon exit, save for the chorus.
In the beginning of the play, Thebes is under a horrible plague and so Oedipus sends Creon, his brother in law, to ask the oracle how to end the devastating plague. Creon comes back with good news; once the killer of
Oedipus’ parents, Jocasta and Laius, sent Oedipus to die because of his fate. Oedipus survived and later save the city of Thebes from the sphinx. Oedipus is later found married to the queen of Thebes and is now trying to find out who killed the previous king, Laius. Regarding ignorance, Sophocles seems to say that ignorance can be anyones down fall. The first example is that Oedipus’ anger helps show how ignorant Oedipus is and how he even makes false accusations towards others.
He promises to tell Claudius all that he learns. When Polonius leaves, the king is alone, and he immediately expresses his guilt and grief over his sin. A brother’s murder, he says, is the oldest sin and “hath the primal eldest curse upon’t” (III.iii.37). He longs to ask for forgiveness, but says that he is unprepared to give up that which he gained by committing the murder, namely, the crown and the queen. He falls to his knees and begins to pray.
He pretends to be crazy and fools everyone. He does this to anger is step dad-uncle. In Sweeney Todd, Sweeney renames himself to be Sweeney Todd, from Benjamin Barker. Benjamin is sent away, and is forced to leave his daughter and wife. But he comes back as Sweeney Todd wanting to seek vengeance on the man who sent him away from his family.
Many of us know the story of Oedipus: as a younger man, he killed his father and married his mother, not knowing his true identity or that he fulfilled the prophecy the Lord of Apollo in Delphi told him. When he found out the truth, he dug out his eyes with his dead mother-wife’s dress pins, saying he did not deserve to see since all the once beautiful things he knew were gone with the truth revealed. But one must wonder if it was fate that caused this happened to Oedipus or if it was his own ignorance that caused his ill fortune. This is a very strong, debatable conversation. One like this can possibly lead to someone’s faith.
Hamlet was told to avenge his father’s death when the Ghost said that he had been murdered. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s lifeNow wears his crown” (1.5.38-39) and “Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, with juice of cursed hebenon in a vial” (1.5.61-63). What was Hamlet to do when he found out that his new stepfather, who is also his uncle, is the man who poisoned his father? The evidence he received from the
Act 1 Scene 5 opens with the ghost exposing to Hamlet, the protagonist that he is his father and asks him to avenge his “most foul, strange and unnatural murder”. He reveals to Hamlet that Claudius, his brother seduced his queen, an act of incest to him and then killed him by pouring the poison “Habenon” in his ear, while he lay sleeping in his orchard. The orchard, which is a microcosm of the Garden of Eden, is symbolic of the story of Adam and Eve, where, the malicious snake, (Claudius) manages to influence Eve, (Gertrude) and “kills” Adam (Old Hamlet), which builds up tension in the atmosphere. In this Scene, Shakespeare uses literary devices to build up tension. Themes such as appearance in reality, death, corruption, religion and power etc.