Oedipus vs. Hamlet a Character Comparison Essay - 1077 Words

This paper is the rough draft version. There are grammatical errors and other such errors in it. Oedipus vs. Hamlet: A Character Comparison After reading Sophocles Oedipus the King and Shakespeares Hamlet, it is quiet clear that Oedipus is by far the more admirable character of the two. Aside from Oedipus history and life experience, his superior character traits are also displayed in the way he handles several incidents throughout the play. One of the primary reasons Oedipus is more admirable than Hamlet is just their history. Oedipus is a king. He got there by saving the city of Thebes from a horrible Sphinx by solving a riddle. In this way, Oedipus earned the trust of his people and earned the position of king. On the other†¦show more content†¦Instead, however, he hatches this elaborate and confusing plot, which involves acting mad, directing a play to see how Claudius reacts and turning his back on his love, Ophelia. When Claudius is praying in the church, later in the play, Hamlet comes up with a reason not to revenge his father. He reasons he cant kill Claudius w hile he is praying because it will only send him to heaven. This is an obvious excuse not to act. Hamlet is extremely inactive and passive. Another reason Oedipus is a more commendable character than Hamlet is because of the differences in the way they treat the women they love. Oedipus is clearly in love with Jocasta, showing it by treating her well and respecting her opinion on things. Hamlet decides to act like someone who is crazy, and disrespects Ophelia even going as far as to talk bad to her. He even tells her he never loved her. I loved you not. (116) In addition, the mere fact that Oedipus confides in Jocasta shows the love and trust they have between each other. Oedipus suspects himself of murdering the king, and he confides in Jocasta what he thinks hes guilty of. 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