...William Shakespeare’s King Lear and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex are two classic pieces of literature that are worth studying. This essay will discuss how free will and destiny function in the two plays. First, the plays will be introduced and analyzed separately to provide a basis for contrast and comparison. Once the foundation is established, more advanced ideas will be discussed, such as the concept of evil and literal and figurative sight. Oedipus Rex will be discussed first. The role of destiny is very obvious is this play. The plot is built around destiny; when Oedipus hears that his destiny is to murder his father and marry his mother, he sets out to confirm this prediction and then prevent it. In his attempt to avoid his fate, he unwittingly commits the very acts that were predicted. The actual logistics of the offense are quite impressive. Both Oedipus and his parents work independently of each other to avoid the outcome, and their actions tragically work together to make it possible. The reader is slapped in the face with the core of the theme, which is that the fate of man is inevitable. Since Oedipus was fated to commit these crimes, he cannot do otherwise. The role of fate and free will is much more complex in Shakespeare’s King Lear. A quick perusal of the plot gives a story of good and evil characters exercising their own free wills. King Lear foolishly divides up his kingdom to his two deceitful, older daughters and ignores Cordelia, his honest, dutiful...
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...noble characters who meet their downfall, the term “tragic heroes” can come to light. Within the play King Lear by Shakespeare, King Lear himself is regarded as the one that fits the description of tragic hero. Likewise, Oedipus, from Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, is another character that can be given the title of tragic hero. Through the naïve nature of King Lear, the arrogance and pride of Oedipus, and the ignorance of both these kings, readers are overwhelmed with pity for these two characters as they descend from greatness. Both King Lear and Oedipus display similar and different characteristics, which evokes feelings of pity in the audience, as well as being regarded as tragic heroes. The naïve nature of King Lear has led to his demise and downfall. Unwanted to govern his land anymore, King Lear decides to retire, split up his kingdom into three pieces and distribute them among his three daughters. His flaw is revealed, when King Lear says “which of you shall we say doth love us most?” This naïve, old man decides that appearance is more important than reality, in which the size of the land he gives is proportional to the amount of flattery the daughter shows him. Despite Cordelia being his favourite daughter, and probably knowing just how much she loves him, he still decides to favour Regan and Goneril’s flattery. Due to this naïve quality, King Lear loses sight of what is important to him, and evokes immense feelings of pity from the readers, as it is...
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...Oedipus Rex 9) Write down at least three similarities and three differences between these two plays. Both King Lear and Oedipus Rex have similarities as well as differences. There are many ways in which the two plays can be linked however there are also comparisons between the plays as a whole, the characters, themes and imagery. King Lear and Oedipus Rex are both tragedies which involve a tragic ending for both protagonists Lear and Oedipus. Lear dies at the end showing remorse for disowning Cordelia who truly loved him and Oedipus pokes out his eyes after realising what has happened and what he has done. He also leaves Thebes and is portrayed to be guilty and hating his life. Therefore he pokes out his eyes leaving him to “walk through a cloud of darkness and it will last forever”. This shows how remorseful he is feeling which is also present in King Lear as Lear realises the mistake he committed by disowning Cordelia. As he holds her he points to her as if saying she is alive which shows he wants her to be alive. King Lear and Oedipus Rex also contain the mutual theme of blindness which is both metaphorical and physical. The protagonists of the story are metaphorically blind not seeing what is happening to them, which proves them to be gullible and vulnerable. The theme of blindness to the truth is represented in both plays. Just how King Lear is blinded by Goneril and Regan’s fake statement of their love for him, Oedipus is also blinded, however he is unwilling...
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...lead to his/her downfall. The downfall could be anything from mental disturbance to even death. The concept of a tragic hero can definitely be seen in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare’s King Lear. Even though there are differences in both the writing, they also have some similarities. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the title character was the king of Thebes, and his city was infected with a poisonous plague. To discover the source of the plague and to get rid of it, the Oracle of Delphi was called. It turned out to be that the only way to get rid of plague would be to banish the killer of the former ruler of Thebes, Laius, from the city-state. Oedipus was Laius’s and Jocasta’s son, which was given to shepherd and was order to kill Oedipus, because it was found out that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. He was very shocked after hearing this because he did not believe that he would ever do something like that. Jocasta then mention how Laius was killed on the three-way intersection. Oedipus found this incident very familiar because it was he who killed Laius along with other men at such intersection. Later on in the play it was found that Oedipus was brought to Thebes as an orphan by a shepherd and that his father was Laius. And because Jocasta was wife of Laius, she is also the mother of Oedipus. So what Tiresias...
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...William Shakespeare’s King Lear and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex are two classic pieces of literature that are worth studying. This essay will discuss how free will and destiny function in the two plays. First, the plays will be introduced and analyzed separately to provide a basis for contrast and comparison. Once the foundation is established, more advanced ideas will be discussed, such as the concept of evil and literal and figurative sight. Oedipus Rex will be discussed first. The role of destiny is very obvious is this play. The plot is built around destiny; when Oedipus hears that his destiny is to murder his father and marry his mother, he sets out to confirm this prediction and then prevent it. In his attempt to avoid his fate, he unwittingly commits the very acts that were predicted. The actual logistics of the offense are quite impressive. Both Oedipus and his parents work independently of each other to avoid the outcome, and their actions tragically work together to make it possible. The reader is slapped in the face with the core of the theme, which is that the fate of man is inevitable. Since Oedipus was fated to commit these crimes, he cannot do otherwise. The role of fate and free will is much more complex in Shakespeare’s King Lear. A quick perusal of the plot gives a story of good and evil characters exercising their own free wills. King Lear foolishly divides up his kingdom to his two deceitful, older daughters and ignores Cordelia, his honest, dutiful...
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...Oedipus Rex and King Lear are, as their titles announce, both about kings. These two plays are similar in theme and in the questions they pose to the audience. The kings in each play both fall from the pinnacle of power to become the most loathed of all classes in society; Oedipus discovers that he is a murderer and committer of incest, and Lear becomes a mad beggar. Misjudgments occur in both plays, and the same questions about the gods, fate, and free will are posed. In spite of these similarities, however, the final effects of these two plays differ greatly. For me, as I read Oedipus Rex again this fall, I experienced a sensation nearly of agony. Because I had already known the myth as well as read the play, I was in the Greek's position of foreknowledge. This caused me to feel acutely the irony of Oedipus' confident declarations that the murderer of Laius should be "driven from every house, / Being, as he is, corruption itself to us," and again on the next page, As for the criminal, I pray to God— Whether it be a lurking thief, or one of a number— I pray that that man's life be consumed in evil and wretchedness. And as for me, this curse applies no less If it should turn out that the culprit is my guest here, Sharing my hearth. (13-14) Oedipus has absolutely no idea that the murderer he is denouncing so vehemently is, in fact, himself. The fact that the reader knows that, and he does not, becomes increasintly painful, especially in the line where Oedipus...
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...The story opens in ancient Britain, where the elderly King Lear is deciding to give up his power and divide his realm amongst his three daughters, Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril. The critical essay that was chosen for this comparative essay was King Lear's Folly in this essay they had referenced other pieces by Shakespeare such as Richard iii and Hamlet, as well as other classics Oedipus Rex and The garden of Eden. In the critical essay the author states that lack of insight is the main theme and reason of everyone’s faults, this goes efficiently with this comparative essay because the themes that are stated can be referenced. This relates to the play because comparing the themes with the characters expresses the true intentions of Shakespeare. The themes that appear in both the essay King...
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...Comparing two screen versions of King Lear - The Fool: The Fool is a character who is used by Shakespeare to point out King Lear’s follies throughout the play by using thinly veiled songs and quotes (‘Fathers that wear rags/Do make their children blind/But fathers that bear bags/Shall see their children kind’ and ‘Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise’). He disappears in Act 3, Scene 6 because his purpose has been taken away from him as Lear starts to regain his senses and learn from his mistakes. The character can be portrayed as someone who really cares for Lear like in the 1983 movie version directed by Michael Elliot - or he could be seen as a prophet (reminiscent of Tiresias in the Oedipus Rex) who only observes as Lear goes mad in the play shown in the 2008 TV movie version directed by Trevor Nunn. Critics and audience members (including myself) seem to prefer the aloof Fool because as Isaac Newatt comments, the 1983 version has a fool who is a ‘bit too pathetic’ on the IMDB website for King Lear and Mara W says that John Hunt gives a ‘fairly standard and slightly too foolish portrayal of the Fool’. However this interpretation also has its advantages as the ‘scene after they are driven out of Goneril’s house’ showed the Fool trying ‘in vain to make his beloved master laugh, and Lear’ trying ‘just as hard in return to bring himself to laugh at the jokes’ which made the scene more melancholy and tragic than it would have been with an aloof Fool. This...
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... The play Antigone shows conflict between the king and a woman. The play was written in Athens, a Greek city The ancient Greeks developed Democracy which gave people to have power on making decisions based on their own beliefs. Antigone, daughter of Oedipus is visualized as a tragic heroine. Since women were unable to hold power during those times after the death of Oedipus, the throne was left to his two sons Polyneices and Eteocles. The two brothers were to take teir turns on sharing the throne but Antigone soon lears that the brothers have killed each other in a was over the throne. Due to the death of her brothers Creon, who is Antigon’s uncles becomes the next ruler. Creon’s first order as a King decrees that anyone who buried Polyneices body should be stones to death. even with this order Antigone declares that she will bury Polyneices body. She choses to sacrifices her own life for the devotion to her family and the belief that she wants to ensure that her brother’s soul would make it to the underworld. Back in the times woman’s role were subjected to obey the men, and their rights were limited. Antigone risks her life to bury her brother, because she believed that without a proper burial that the soul will never be able to move on to the next life. When she is caught and locked away by Creon she does not deny what she had done, instead she believes in her heart that her actions were honorable. When Creon became king it seems that he tried to establish order by enforcing...
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...King Lear Themes Table Themes Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Act 5 Critics Overview Shakespeare's dark tragedy, King Lear begins with the fictional King of England, King Lear, handing over his kingdom to daughters Regan and Goneril whom he believes truly love him. King Lear intends to stay with each daughter consecutively, accompanied by one hundred loyal knights.! Angry that Cordelia his youngest daughter does not appear to love him as do Goneril and Regan, Lear banishes his youngest daughter Cordelia, and Kent, the servant who attempts to defend her. Cordelia leaves and is taken by the King of France as his Queen...! Edmund, the loved but illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester plots to have his elder brother Edgar's reputation ruined. Edmund tricks his father Gloucester into believing that Edgar wanted to kill him...! The disrespectful Goneril conspires to have her guest and father, King Lear, driven out of her house.! Kent, who has now disguised his identity to serve King Lear, earns King Lear's respect by defending his name. Goneril offends King Lear and dismisses fifty of his knights. Lear starts to realize Cordelia was not so disrespecting. Lear decides to leave for Regan where he is sure to be treated properly...! Lear instructs Kent to deliver several letters to Gloucester. The Fool teaches Lear several riddles. We learn of possible conflict between evil sisters Regan and Goneril. Edmund further manipulates...
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...Who was William Shakespeare? Shakespeare is William Shakespeare, one of the English-speaking world's greatest playwrights and poets, who possessed a great knowledge of human nature and transformed the English theatre. Yet many facts of his life remain a mystery. Some have been acquired from painstaking looks at the records of the time, so that this summary is based on generally agreed facts. It has been said that we only know three things about Shakespeare: that he was born, married and died. He was baptised on April 26, 1564; we do not know his birth date, but many scholars believe it was April 23, 1564. His father was John Shakespeare (who was a glover and leather merchant) and his mother Mary Arden (who was a landed local heiress). John had a remarkable run of success as a merchant, alderman, and high bailiff of Stratford, during William's early childhood. His fortunes declined, however, in the late 1570s. William lived for most of his early life in Stratford-upon-Avon. We do not know exactly when he went to London but he is said to have arrived in 1592. There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's childhood years, especially regarding his education. It is surmised by scholars that Shakespeare attended the free grammar school in Stratford, which at the time had a reputation to rival that of Eton. While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's...
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... Apocalypse Now, Araby, The Awakening, Barn Burning, Beowulf, Beloved, Bible, Birthmark, Blade Runner, The Bluest Eye, Candide, Canterbury Tales, Catcher in the Rye, Cathedral, Chrysanthemums, A Clockwork Orange, The Color Purple, Comparing Literary Works, Crime and Punishment, Death of a Salesman, Death in Venice, Desiree's Baby, A Doll's House, Dr. Faustus, Epic of Gilgamesh, Everyday Use, A Farewell to Arms, Frankenstein, The Grapes of Wrath, Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, Glass Menagerie, Gulliver's Travels, The Handmaid's Tale, Heart of Darkness, The Iliad, Invisible Man, Jane Eyre, The Joy Luck Club, The Lottery, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Metamorphosis, My Antonia, My Papa's Waltz, Neuromancer, The Odyssey, Oedipus Rex, On the Road, Oresteia, Paradise Lost, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Pride and Prejudice, A Raisin in the Sun, A Rose for Emily, The Scarlet Letter, Siddhartha, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Slaughterhouse-Five, Song of Solomon, The...
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...From How to Read Literature Like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Notes by Marti Nelson 1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not): a. A quester b. A place to go c. A stated reason to go there d. Challenges and trials e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion b. Not usually religious c. An act of sharing and peace d. A failed meal carries negative connotations 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another. 4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet 5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems. b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously...
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...Narrative A narrative is a sequence of events that a narrator tells in story form. A narrator is a storyteller of any kind, whether the authorial voice in a novel or a friend telling you about last night’s party. Point of View The point of view is the perspective that a narrative takes toward the events it describes. First-person narration: A narrative in which the narrator tells the story from his/her own point of view and refers to him/herself as “I.” The narrator may be an active participant in the story or just an observer. When the point of view represented is specifically the author’s, and not a fictional narrator’s, the story is autobiographical and may be nonfictional (see Common Literary Forms and Genres below). Third-person narration: The narrator remains outside the story and describes the characters in the story using proper names and the third-person pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.” • Omniscient narration: The narrator knows all of the actions, feelings, and motivations of all of the characters. For example, the narrator of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina seems to know everything about all the characters and events in the story. • Limited omniscient narration: The narrator knows the actions, feelings, and motivations of only one or a handful of characters. For example, the narrator of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has full knowledge of only Alice. • Free indirect discourse: The narrator conveys a character’s inner thoughts...
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...ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE Grade 9 ARTS Teacher’s Guide Unit I WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS GRADE 9 Unit 1 ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE GRADE 9 Unit 1 WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS LEARNING AREA STANDARD The learner demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts and processes in music and art through appreciation, analysis and performance for his/her self-development, celebration of his/her Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and expansion of his/her world vision. key - stage STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of music and arts of the Philippines and the world, through appreciation, analysis, and performance, for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. grade level STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of Western music and the arts from different historical periods, through appreciation, analysis, and performance for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. CONTENT STANDARDs The Learner: demonstrates understanding of art elements and processes by synthesizing and applying prior knowledge and skills demonstrates understanding that the arts are integral to the development of organizations, spiritual belief, historical events, scientific discoveries, natural disasters/ occurrences and other external phenomenon ...
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