Introduction
Death yields severe pain in most people, and they get upset even though they do not anticipate it, influencing them to struggle in search of solutions. A similar case is present in plays such as Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Oedipus by Sophocles (Ayumba 1). Both are driven by the desire to explore the truth and punish the culprit as they possess resilience. They face multiple obstacles that necessitate extreme power to overcome them. Although they have similarities, variations in their approaches to discovering the facts and methods of showing resilience exist. Given both characters’ different approaches to digging the truth regarding the murderer various challenges they face during the search and discovering their pasts, Oedipus and Hamlet display a diverse level of resilience
Both characters are similar in the fact that they are hunting for the truth behind king Laius’s death. They are tragic characters as they are deceived by their parents (Ayumba 1). They possess noble intentions regardless of the flaws, as the actions they employed were life challenging. Furthermore, they were desperate to search for the truth; hence, both would leave no stone unturned through various means. Hamlet, a complex person, believes in his intuition and implements sleek techniques to unveil the truth. In contrast, king Oedipus applies logic and explores the killer as a detective would act.
Oedipus realized that he murdered his father and remarried his biological mother as was foretold, and this disclosure tremors him Sophocles note, “Is there a man more agonized? More wed to agony and fury? Not a human in the universe….” Hamlet is appalled to realize from his father’s ghost that his uncle was the murderer (“Resilience In The Play Oedipus The King” 1). Both characters experienced shock and disappointment and found it difficult to accept the truth. Moreover, Oedipus becomes furious and hurries to murder his wife and mother, blinding his actions in despair. He notes, “I stabbed out those eyes.”He finds it challenging as he cannot handle the agony and guilt resulting from his actions and accept that learning the truth was not worth passing away his wife’s dishonesty.
Dissimilarly, the Hamlet, does not get immersed into a rage but swears to retaliate as directed by the ghost; he notes, “Remember me, I have sworn.” Following the initial disbelief, he is driven by the determination to avenge King Laius’s death instead of being filled with the desire to harm everything near him (“Resilience In The Play Oedipus The King” 1). Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex illustrates his journey to digging the truth, while Hamlet narrates the story of revenge. Oedipus blinds his terrible actions because of his devastating discovery and then pledges to spend his life in exile as he cannot live with the impacts of his deeds. Hamlet is determined to murder his uncle driven by revenge for his father’s death.
Oedipus
King Oedipus, driven by the determination to search for states’ solutions, becomes frustrated and agitated when he learns that King Laius’s killer has not been located. He wondered why the culprit behind the incident had not been discovered, given that the sphinx curse had been resolved (Tyrrell 108). He took the initiative and solved the state’s problems when he addressed his brother in La Creon and made him promise to find the perpetrator and restore the state’s security. Subsequently, he demonstrated fantastic resilience in his quest to locate the killer and restore the state’s security. He strategizes effectively in learning every piece of information that can lead to discovering the answers and interrogating every potential witness.
His initial quest began by questioning Tiresias, the blind predictor, and hearing his wife Jocasta illustrating the incident of Laius’s killer. Although he is exceptionally decisive, he lacks political duplicity due to the mania of learning the fact about the person responsible for Laius’s death (“Resilience In The Play Oedipus The King” 1). Moreover, he is not frightened by the threats he experienced concerning his life and losing the power of a king. Oedipus possesses unwavering faith that he is acting accordingly in his quest for answers. He notes that” words fright, not him who lightens not at the actions” during his conversation with the chorus, which cautions him regarding the situations that contributed to the slewing of king Laius. Therefore, his words display assurance for his integrity and the determination to uncover the truth as he is most assured that reality is incapable of harming the innocent.
Hamlet
While King Oedipus demonstrates extraordinary resilience as he scours the city in search of king Laius’ killer, Hamlet displays tokenism. Although he is involuntary seeking the truth, he remains alert as he realizes that something was amiss when his mother remarried shortly after the passing away of his father (Shakespeare 8). As a result, Hamlet is demonstrated as a philosopher instead of a combatant. Consequently, Hamlet will likely get involved in more contemplation before prioritizing situations that transpire in his quest for a fact. He utilizes his intuition to handle the questions tormenting him during his monologues. He is aware that the interdicting evil was eventually confirmed during uncovering the truth concerning king Laius’s death, which his father’s ghost informs him of.
While king Oedipus is wholly committed and determined to find the underlying cause of the death, Hamlet prefers to go for the ghost. Hamlet fails to inquire regarding the truth about the killing directly, like king Oedipus (Ayumba 1). Despite king Oedipus’ resilience exposing him to danger, he remained focused with a desire to reveal the truth concerning the death. He is brave and straightforward and does not pay much attention to the insinuating words, which aids him in learning the truth. Dissimilarly, Hamlet, displays inventiveness in his quest to search for the culprit.
Conclusion
Although both characters have the same mission of discovering the truth, their techniques of unveiling it differ. During their search, they discover challenging truths regarding their past. Both characters were resolute in their quest to discover the truth, which is admirable. However, king Oedipus was more resilient and strong-minded despite having threats on his life and the danger of losing the throne; he demonstrated immeasurable dedication to hunting the killer and reestablishing the states’ safety. Nonetheless, Hamlet tends to remain alert after the god’s curse upon his mother’s remarriage soon after the death of King Laius. Hamlet’s concepts and aspirations fail to guide him in securing the truth. Instead, he was fueled by the solemn pledge which he commenced to reinstate justice and ensure the penalty of his father’s assassin takes place. To achieve such goals, Hamlet would have displayed a playful attitude in his lifecycle to overcome his fears in the fights and struggles. Therefore, he lacked resilience by incorporating his feelings and emotions, which controlled his thoughts and contributed to his death.
Works Cited
“Resilience in the Play Oedipus the King”. Studygroom, 2020.
Ayumba, Dorothy. “Comparing Hamlet to Oedipus Resilience » Studyexcell”. Studyexcell, 2021.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Prabhat Prakashan, 2021, pp. 1-32.
Tyrrell, William B. The Oedipus Casebook: Reading Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Michigan State University, 2020.pp. 1-473.