The Coward Oedipus Is “A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit”. This quote by Thomas Jefferson portrays Oedipus because throughout ‘Oedipus Rex’ he quarrels with everybody about he truth and becomes blind to it. By blinding himself Oedipus becomes a coward because he doesn’t want to face his crimes. It all started when Oedipus hears a dreadful prophecy that he will murder his father and sleep with his mother. He leaves Corinth and travels to Thebes, and on the way he unknowingly kills his father during a quarrel.
“So excellent a king.” (Act 1, Scene 11, Line 149) this proves how much he wanted to be like him. Hamlet’s mother marriage with King Claudius, makes Hamlet upset because King Claudius was his father’s brother. “ Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebona in a vial.” ( Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 61-62) Hamlet finds out that Claudius killed his father to take the throne when he talked with his father’s ghost. This gave reason to Hamlet to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet makes his first move against King Claudius by telling the actors to play a tragic play by which he can see King Claudius’s reaction.
A tragic flaw is a flaw in a character that is the cause of a downfall of the tragic hero in a tragedy. A great example of an awesome tragic hero is Antigone in Sophocles play “Antigone.” In “Antigone” Antigone s a girl whose uncle (Creon) is king. Her brother, Polynecies, has died in a war and King Creon made a decree that no one should bury him. Well, Antigone disobeys Creon and buries her brother. She says that she did it for a higher cause.
'I do believe the creatures both are mad, one lately crazed, the other from her birth' (Sophocles 141) In this quote Creon is calling both Antigone and Iseme crazy for feeling sorrow for their brothers death.This displays hubris because he is being ignorant as he is filled with excessive pride. Creon was so insolent towards the two sisters tjay he didn't even understand that they lost a member of their own flesh and blood. Creon also portrays hubris toward the blind prophet. “Do you forget to whom you say it?” (Sophocles, 154) In this quote Creon is asking Teiresias If he forgets who he is talking to. Creon shows hubris because he asks this to Teiresias because he is king and has excessive pride.
To begin with, the battle between the Montague’s and Capulet’s caused the death of Mercutio and Tybalt. To illustrate the point, Tybalt killed Mercutio because he was close to the Montagues, which he despised, and Mercutio had challenged him to a duel. Before Mercutio died in 3.1 he exclaimed, “A plague a both your houses!” meaning that the fight between the two families are like a plague where there’s no benefit (3.1. line 106). This implies that Mercutio felt that he was caught up between the everlasting feuds between the two families and he wanted no other innocent people to die from this conflict between the two families, therefore shouted out this fraise. In addition, in 3.1 Romeo murdered Tybalt to avenge the death of Mercutio by saying “Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.” (3.1. line 129).
He is very angry and sentences Antigone to death. Ismene asks to be executed along with her sister. But Antigone doesn't want her by her side. She insists that she alone buried the brother, so she alone will receive punishment and possible reward from the gods. As if things weren't complicated enough, Antigone has a boyfriend: Haemon, the son of Creon.
Aggravated, Odysseus carefully planned a trap with the help of two loyal men and killed all the suitors. Odysseus is someone who would not be considered heroic today for he was disrespectful, cheated his wife, and killed many people. In the beginning of the Odyssey, Odysseus landed on the land of the Cyclopes. There he and his men met Polyphemus. Odysseus thought very low and rude about him.
In despair his mother kills herself and Oedipus rips out his own eyes. Antigone is the story about Oedipus’ children and the superstition that follows this cursed family line. Creon is the brother of Oedipus, so he is more frightened from the superstitions that follow his brothers’ family line than anyone else. The act that triggers this fear, which sets forth the destruction of not only Antigone but his own family as well, is the murder of Antigone’s brothers. This instills fear in Creon because he fears that the sins from the father (Oedipus) will carry over to the children and in turn hurt his newly received kingdom and family.
Iago then kills his wife and is arrested. Iago’s thirst to vengeance backfires on him. He not only played the main role in Othello’s demise, he paved the way for his own. Act I shows the first glimpse into Iago’s character when he tells Roderigo “I am not what I am.”(Shakespeare, 2005, 1.1) He is basically saying that he is not what people think he is. He also seems proud about that fact.
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.