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"HAMLET" (WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE) & "OEDIPUS REX" (SOPHOCLES).   Term Paper ID:24138 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Compares methods of detective work of plays' protagonists in seeking killers of their fathers.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Compares methods of detective work of plays' protagonists in seeking killers of their fathers. Paper Introduction: This study will compare the methods of the detective work of the protagonists in Shakespeare's Hamlet Sophocles' Oedipus Rex as they seek to discover the killers of their fathers (although Oedipus does not know the murdered man was, in fact, his father). The study will focus on three points of comparison: the nature and causes of the delays in the detective work of Hamlet and Oedipus; the surreptitious and indirect nature of Hamlet's methods, compared to the public and direct approach of Oedipus; and the focus of Hamlet in the present compared to the focus of Oedipus in the past. All of these points of comparison and contrast are shaped by the fact that Hamlet is fully aware of the object of his detective work (his murderer uncle Claudius), while Oedipus does not know that the object of his search is Oedipus himself. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The past does not concern him. Complete Works. The bulk of the delay in Oedipus'detective work is due to the simple fact that years pass between the timeof the murder and the declaration from "the God" that the city is under acurse because of the murder of Laius. His detective's determination flagsnoticeably, but his need to know the truth, as king and as man, drives himforward. Hamlet, on the other hand,knows who the killer is and uses indirect methods (the play-within-the-play, his madness-with-a-method way of speaking to Claudius and others) totry to make Claudius expose himself. Oedipus' detective work is painfully direct compared to Hamlet'sroundabout methods. Oedipus' ignorance leads him to seekthe truth (and the killer) in the past instead of in the present (and inhis own self). Some critics argue that Hamlet trulysuspected that the ghost may have been deceiving him, but the melancholicHamlet merely uses that excuse as another reason to delay the inevitableact of revenge. When Teiresias theprophet and then Creon suggest the truth, Oedipus' reacts with denial andanger against what he perceives as the prophet's incompetence and Creon'sarrogance. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. "Style and Expression in Hamlet." Shakespeare's Art. Hamlet, on the other hand, isstricken with grief and melancholy as he hears of the ghost's horriblenews. Hamlet at that pointexclaims, "O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!" (Shakespeare 742).His reliance on indirect methods of detective work have less to do with hisdoubt about Claudius than his desire to draw out Claudius and to make hisown vengeful pleasure last as long as he can. Forexample, when Jocasta describes Laius, describing as well the strangerOedipus killed, Oedipus hides nothing, summing up the play at the sametime: "O God, I think I have called curses on myself in ignorance"(Sophocles 43). He must deal daily with thekiller who is his uncle and his stepfather, and with his mother who is alsothe widow of his father and the wife of his father's killer. Ed. 29-52.Knox, Bernard. As the truth inevitably sinks in ["Creon says that I'm themurderer of Laius" (Sophocles 41)], Oedipus certainly does not pursue thetruth as ardently as he did in the beginning, but he does neverthelesscontinue his relentless investigation. Finally, Hamlet and Oedipus differ in their detective work in termsof their focus. Works CitedBradley, A.C. Of Oedipus' direct methods and relentless search for thetruth, Vernant writes of the king's "obstinate determination to unmask theguilty part" and "his passionate desire to learn the truth at all costs"(Vernant 1 5). Differences certainly mark the plays in terms of the detective workof the protagonists, their urgency, their methods, their foci in terms ofpast and present, their knowledge of the facts of the murders, theirresponses to a growing knowledge of those facts. Oedipus' method is to simply and directly ask theindividual at hand--Creon, Teiresias, Jocasta--the question to which the king wants the answer. In Hamlet, the prince's method is in part delayed andindirect because the players are present. Everywhere around him, from the beginning of the play, are thosewho arouse his suspicion, his paranoia. Bruno Leone. Were he to directly confrontClaudius with the charge, not only would the play be over, but Hamlet'slife and/or Claudius' life would also be over, for an act of vengeance atthat point could not be delayed and no further indirect methods ofdetection could be employed. Unlike Hamlet, whoconfides in nobody directly and clearly, Oedipus demonstrates the greateropenness and candor of his character at almost every opportunity. Shakespeare and Oedipus arethe detectives behind their detective protagonists, exploring the eternalquestions of reality in the context of the mysteries of murder and justice. In addition, as Humphreys notes, the indirectmethod of Hamlet allows him to take detours into his broader detective workinto the meaning of human existence itself, "Seeking to know whether man,the paragon of animals, is more than the quintessence of dust and, if heis, what are the qualities which make him so" (Humphreys 31). Hamlet knowsalmost immediately the killer of his father, and his delaying theinevitable begins at that point. Ed. Milton Crane. 1 3-126.----------------------- 1 "Hamlet's Melancholy." Readings on the Tragedies of William Shakespeare. At the same time, werethey to meet, they would certainly share many points of reference. He also hesitates in part because knows that his life will beover, literally or virtually, once he kills Claudius as he must. 1 -1 8.Humphreys, Arthur R. Theagony of their situations, despite the differences, lead them both toreflect on the nature of human existence, good and evil, fate, God, death,sex, relations between parents and child, etc. Ed. The study will focus on threepoints of comparison: the nature and causes of the delays in the detectivework of Hamlet and Oedipus; the surreptitious and indirect nature ofHamlet's methods, compared to the public and direct approach of Oedipus;and the focus of Hamlet in the present compared to the focus of Oedipus inthe past. In a sense, the detective work gives him a reason to live and to act.There comes upon him "the demand . Oedipus the King. Unless he isready to immediately spill blood, Hamlet must use gradual and indirectmethods. All of these points of comparison and contrast are shaped by thefact that Hamlet is fully aware of the object of his detective work (hismurderer uncle Claudius), while Oedipus does not know that the object ofhis search is Oedipus himself. Creon reports that the God calls forvengeance to lift the curse from the city: "The God commanded clearly: letsome one/ punish with force this dead man's murderers" (Sophocles 15).Immediately, Oedipus uses all his kingly power to find the killer of Laius,not knowing, at first, that the killer is himself. Chicago: Phoenix, 1954.Vernant, J.P. , in the name of everything dearestand most sacred, to arise and act" and "his soul leaps up in passion toanswer this demand" (Bradley 1 5). Hamlet is informed of the fact that his uncle has killed hisfather early in the play, as his father's ghost reports: "The serpent thatdid sting thy father's life/ Now wears his crown" (Shakespeare 741).Oedipus is a vibrant leader when his detective work begins, and he isdriven to madness by the truth he finds. . Oedipus' detective methods are direct because he does not know whothe killer of Laius is, that it is he himself. Harold Bloom. Chicago: George Washington UP, 1973. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. New York: Garden City, 1936.Sophocles. "Ambiguity and Reversal: On the Enigmatic Structure of Oedipus Rex." Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Hamlet's doubt comes long after his first quick acceptanceof the ghost's declaration of Claudius' guilt. The detective work of both Hamlet and Oedipus is marked by theirdelays in pursuing either the truth, the killer, or justice. . San Diego: Greenhaven, 1996. 5-22.Shakespeare. Oedipus, on the other hand, focuses in his detective work far more onthe past and the facts of the murder long ago, than he does on the presentmoment--at least until the whole truth (including his marriage to hismother) strikes him with full force and he blinds himself in horror. Oedipus runs into another hard truth when he discovers that not onlyis he the killer, but the man he killed was his father, and he then marriedhis mother. Hamlet's knowledge allows him, or forces him, to live in themoment as he tries to corner Claudius. This study will compare the methods of the detective work of theprotagonists in Shakespeare's Hamlet Sophocles' Oedipus Rex as they seek todiscover the killers of their fathers (although Oedipus does not know themurdered man was, in fact, his father). Ed. Harold Bloom. Hamletknows what he must do almost from the beginning of the play, whereasOedipus does not fully know or accept what has happened until the end ofthe play. Eventhe facts of the murder itself, two months in the past, seem irrelevantwhen compared to the intensity with which Hamlet lives and broods in thepresent moment. "Sophocles' Oedipus." Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. As a result, Oedipus' detective work draws him increasinglynearer the present and himself as "the enquirer turns into the object ofenquiry, the hunter into the prey (Knox 7). Oedipus' delay is due to the horror hemore and more clearly sees waiting for him at the end of his detectivework: that he is the killer of his father and the husband of his mother.The delay of Hamlet, on the other hand, is not due to the facts of themurder, which he knows near the beginning of the play, but rather to hisown melancholy and to the knowledge of the vengeance he will inevitablyhave to take. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.