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Comparing Fate In Oedipus Rex And Othello

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Fate plays a crucial role in both Sophocles's Oedipu Rex and William Shakespeare’s Othello. Oedipus the King and Othello the Moor both experience a catharsis, or emotional downfall, due to fate. Fate is not only a prevalent theme in both works, but a basis of plot as well. Sophocles and Shakespeare both employ elements of fate being influential in their works. Fate in Oedipus Rex does not possess the same meaning as it does in Othello. In Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, however, fate is depicted as the idea that one’s destiny in predetermined. In Othello, fate pertains to the limit that is placed on the control of one’s own destiny. Fate can be used to show how different authors portray the theme in their work and how each different vision of fate …show more content…
Perhaps the most obvious use of fate in Othello is the way Shakespeare uses Othello’s nobility and ease of manipulation to lead to his downfall. Shakespeare uses context clues to infer that Othello’s passion that leads him to be a powerful leader and noble individual sparks his overall downfall. Othello is an honest man who is very open about his life. When told he should flee from Brabantio’s wrath he states, “I fetch my life and being from noble siege I must be found. My parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly.” When accused of drugging Desdemona, he handles the matter with nobility. Othello eloquently states, "Rude am I in my speech and little blessed with the soft phrase of peace.” By being prideful, Othello initiates his downfall by focusing more on his personal image than his own personal life. By placing his work and reputation above all else, he is easily manipulated by others in his private life as he is not always fully aware of what is occurring. Shakespeare uses this to show the audience the importance of distributing time equally for one’s personal and private life. It is easily inferred that if Othello had been in control of his private life, then he would have been able to be manipulated by “honest Iago.” Thus, fate in Othello is shown as Othello’s choices and the actions that result due to …show more content…
The entirety of Othello’s fate is essentially controlled by Iago throughout the play. Iago acts as God and Othello, having no control of his own fate, goes along with Iago and his deceptive ways. From Iago persuading Cassio to drink at the party to him confessing his plan, Othello is just a pawn in Iago’s game. He is bound by his trust in Iago and his lose of trust toward Desdemona. Upon believing Iago’s lies, Othello states, “Get me some poison, Iago, this night. I'll not expostulate with her, lest her body and beauty unprovide my mind again.” This is an example of how Iago leads Othello to lose trust in his own wife and thus manipulates him and triggers him to lose possession over his own fate by not being able to conclusively make decisions for himself. This is how Iago uses manipulation to gain control of not only Othello, but his fate as

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