XXXX 18 April 2011 Mr. Miller ENC 1102 A Comparison of Tragic Flaw in Hamlet, and Oedipus the King All tragic dramas have an important aspect in common with one another, the tragic flaw. Comment [G1]: No comma here. Title is good as a label, but will it indicate anything about your thesis? It is what decides the fate of the characters in a story. It also is brought to light early in the story, causing the audience to feel suspense, and excitement knowing what the downfall of a character Comment [G2]: No comma here. will be. Hamlet suffers from a tragic flaw in his character something akin to Oedipus' quick temper, Othello's jealousy, or Lear's senile vanity, (Aichinger) Tragic flaw in Hamlet and Oedipus have more in common than it may seem. Both tragic heroes in each stories reach their downfall through their flaws. Hamlet and Oedipus behave impulsive and make brash decisions Comment [G3]: Period needs to end the parenthetical citation. Comment [G4]: Not sure what this sentence means. Comment [G5]: Use singular here: story with arrogance. The similarities between their attachments to their mothers are evident in both stories as well. As well as the main characters, both queens have their own flaws. They both desire the truth to remain hidden, but the reasons are different between the two. The tragic flaw, by some route of destiny, brings the character it is afflicting to their downfall. It is unavoidable, and at one time was believed to be an act of the gods. It is impossible to read these stories and not become frustrated with both Hamlet and Comment [G6]: Does this thesis suggest that you ll look at the tragic flaw among ALL the characters in BOTH plays? That may be a very broad task to attempt to develop. My suggestion would have been to focus it a bit more. Oedipus because of their narrow view on their situations. Had they thought before making brash decisions, bloodshed could have been avoided. Oedipus believes he is only standing up for the good of the people of Thebes, although he is also unknowingly bringing about his own demise.
He even goes as far as blaming Creon for what Tiresias accused him of, as well as accusing Jocasta of being afraid that she had married someone not of blue blood. He strikes down everything anyone says, no matter if it is the truth, if it isn t what he wants to hear. He tries to help the people, but when it is he who is guilty, the truth must lie elsewhere. Had he only listened to his wife Jocasta or Tiresias telling him to let the issue pass for his own good, he would have avoided the pain of knowing the destiny he tried so hard to avoid, has come true. Hamlet, similarly, acts brashly when he learns that Claudius is the murderer of his father. He killed Polonius through a curtain without checking to see who was behind it, causing more of an uproar as he becomes a madman, obsessed with revealing the truth of his father s murder to all. Unfortunately, when he finally does avenge his father by stabbing Claudius with a poisoned blade, everyone is already dead, and soon he would be as well. Their Hubris leads to their banishment and Death. Lots of very generalized summary here, XXXX. Wouldn t it have been better to USE the primary sources to illustrate your points? Incest was a taboo even in the beginning of the first millennium. So when the truth was discovered in Oedipus the King, it meant the end of Oedipus s reign, and Jocasta s life. Named after this story, The Oedipus complex affects children three to six and causes them to have feelings, sometimes sexual, towards their mother and hatred for their father. This complex and sometimes carry on into adulthood causing serious psychological problems. Hamlet had similar issues, although not as taboo as Oedipus s marriage to his mother. He feels a hatred for his mother s sexuality toward Claudius, and when he learns that Claudius is the murderer of his father, he plans his revenge. Claudius has done the two things that the repressed child inside Hamlet desires: killed the Father and married the Mother. Hamlet cannot bring himself to kill Claudius because Hamlet's unconscious sees Claudius as Hamlet's own self. Weller says in
reference to the Oedipus complex and how Claudius disrupted the way that Hamlet feels for his mother. Both men are fighting for a good cause, but it brings about their demises. Both Jocasta and Gertrude want to leave the truth about the death of their husbands a secret. Jocasta reasoning is that if it is true that Oedipus did it, then it means that she has married her son and fulfilled the oracle s destiny. No matter what she says to Oedipus, he continues on with his fight for the truth. Oedipus even goes as far as to accuse Jocasta of being afraid that he will not be of noble blood, thus tainting her bloodline. That is not true of Jocasta but it is of Gertrude. She knows that Claudius Is the murderer of her husband, but all she wants is social status. Hamlet doesn t stop his revenge, and eventually succeeds in killing Claudius, but Claudius succeeds in killing him, as well as everyone else. Although these stories are set in two very different times, the same concept of tragic hero is evident throughout each one. Both Hamlet and Oedipus through their hubris end up destroying everything they live for. This shared tragic flaw brought on their downfall, whether through banishment or death. These stories stand strong even today, to warn today s people against acting before thinking. Oh, XXXX. You cannot believe that this essay will be a passing, college-level analysis for this class. It is short according to page requirements and does not incorporate any primary or secondary sources within. Did you procrastinate so long that this was the best you could come up with? Gravely disappointed,xxx. I am sorry. C/O=11 D=11 S/S=12 G/M=14 R/D=O TOTAL=48F
Works Cited Comment [G7]: These works were supposed to have been cited within the essay. I saw nothing except very generalized, last minute summary. Aichinger, C. P. "Hamlet and the Modern Dilemma." Culture 29.2 (June 1968): 142-149. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Dana Ramel Barnes. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Vol. 1. 11th ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4 vols. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. 185-201. Print. Sophocles. Oedipus the King" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Vol. 1. 11th ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4 vols. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. 185-201. Print. Weller, Philip. Freud's Footprints in Films of Hamlet. Literature Film Quarterly; 1997, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p119, 6p. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.