The element of supernatural forces’ influence is often featured in literary works because it helps authors emphasize the story’s meaning. However, the stories that focus on exploring the events foretold by prophecies use supernatural elements as the main driver of the plot and draw attention to how insignificant people are to divine powers. Furthermore, the supernatural element of prophecy, which guides the character in his attempts to avoid destiny, allows the author to focus the attention on the tragedy of the story. Therefore, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth present similar examples of stories about people led by supernatural forces to their destiny. This essay will discuss how the two literary works are similar, how they differ, and what meaning they had for the audience at the time they were written.
Firstly, to carefully analyze the differences and similarities of supernatural elements in Sophocles’s and Shakespeare’s literary works, it is necessary to consider the environment in which they were written. While there is a significant difference between the times when these stories were written, they similarly focus on the theme of human destiny through the prism of a path to absolute power. Therefore, considering the historical conditions in which the authors lived can provide important insights into the analysis of the literary works.
Ancient Greece was polytheistic, which means that the Greek religion recognized the simultaneous existence of many divine beings or gods. The story in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is based on the myth about the king of Thebes who unintentionally killed his father and married his mother. The initial myth’s idea was that no one could escape their fate given by divine powers. Sophocles’ interpretation of the myth was written during the time of the Greek Enlightenment in the 5th century, characterized by increased interest in redefining the traditional views on life (Porter 4). Thus, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King approaches the question of the inevitability of human fate from a philosophical point of view. Therefore, the author emphasizes the philosophical conflict between the concepts of destiny and freedom by explaining that there is no point in resisting the divine design of fate.
On the other hand, Shakespeare’s Macbeth was written in the days when the existence of witches in England was considered a fact. While the real Scottish king inspired the story of Macbeth, its primary purpose was to legitimize King James I’s rule after the Gunpowder plot attempt (Djordjevic 396). Moreover, Macbeth provides commentary on the power of supernatural forces to influence political decisions through witchcraft and prophecies and defends the anti-witchcraft policy (Djordjevic 395). According to Chowdhury, the treatment of fate in Shakespeare’s works is similar to classical Greek tragedies, where the character’s fate is foretold in advance because it allows the story to achieve a significant dramatic effect (32). Therefore, Shakespeare’s work approaches the theme of supernatural guidance as justification for power-hungry people, which ultimately drives them crazy.
The analysis of the text of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King identifies that both Laius and Oedipus tried to use the knowledge of their fate to avoid it. However, knowing their fate only brought them closer to fulfilling their destinies. In Laius’ case, his fate was to “die by the hand of any child born” by him and Jocasta (Sophocles 30). Three days after the birth of his son, Laius gets rid of him, inadvertently favoring the fulfillment of the prophecy. Similarly, Oedipus “moved away from Corinth, so the evil oracle would never be accomplished” (Sophocles 34). However, guided by supernatural forces, Oedipus arrives at the very place where he kills his father, Laius.
Therefore, Oedipus’ repetition of Laius’s mistake illustrates how similar people are in their desire to avoid possible problems. Running away from their fate, both Laius and Oedipus ignored details that later turned out to be fatal mistakes for them. Moreover, the story emphasizes that the power of fate in its supernatural design is so strong that even the knowledge of one’s fate cannot save a person from it.
Returning to the discussion of the philosophical meaning of the story, the inclusion of supernatural elements in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King allows the author to explore more of the conflict between freedom of choice and fate. Therefore, the author explains how a person can be simultaneously free to choose a path in life while being limited by the boundaries of fate. In other words, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King demonstrates that the use of free will cannot save a person from their fate. The story also emphasizes the insignificance of human actions for the supernatural order of things, where everything somehow falls into place in the end.
On the contrary, Shakespeare’s Macbeth illustrates how supernatural powers can manipulate people through the use of accurate yet deceptive prophecies. Therefore, guidance from supernatural powers in the story can be described as both “fair” and “foul” (Shakespeare 103). The three witches foretell Macbeth that he will become the king, revealing his evil and power-hungry side. However, they also mention that the children of Macbeth’s friend Banquo “shall be kings,” which forces Macbeth to betray and kill him (Shakespeare 114).
The supernatural predictions in Macbeth are simultaneously true and deceitful: Macbeth became a king, but not for long. Macbeth was foretold not to be afraid of “woman-born” men but ultimately was defeated by Macduff, who was “untimely ripped” from the womb (Shakespeare 195; Shakespeare 234). Therefore, through the witches’ ambiguous prophecies, the author emphasizes that attempts to avoid fate will be foul for those looking for an escape but fair for those who accept their fate.
Furthermore, combining the analysis of the supernatural elements in the text with knowledge of the historical background of the period when Macbeth was written shows how the work supports King James I. The author suggests that participants of the Gunpowder Plot were doomed to fail in acquiring power because, similarly to Macbeth, they were driven by false hopes. On the other hand, the author explains that the intervention was necessary for the survivor and legitimate heir to ascend the throne.
In conclusion, in Macbeth and Oedipus the King, both tragic heroes were influenced by supernatural forces in fulfillment of their destinies. In both works, the main characters are inspired by significant historical or mythological figures, and both stories use the element of supernatural prophecies as the main driver of the plot. However, Sophocles approaches the issue of supernatural influence from a philosophical point of view and discusses the conflict between free will and destiny. On the other hand, Shakespeare emphasized the obscurity of supernatural interference in human perception, suggesting that it can be both fair and foul. Therefore, while both literary works use similar supernatural elements, they approach the topic differently because they aim at different moral conclusions.
Works Cited
Chowdhury, Takad Ahmed. “Treatment of Fate in Shakespearean and Classical Greek Tragedies: A Comparison.” Academic Journal Perspective: Language, Education and Literature, vol. 8, no. 1, 2020, pp. 29-38.
Djordjevic, Edward. “Conjuring Legitimacy: Shakespeare’s Macbeth as Contemporary English Politics.” Philosophy and Society, vol. 31, no. 3, 2020, pp. 277-448.
Porter, John. “Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and the Greek Enlightenment.” Academia. Web.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Edited by Arthur R. Braunmuller, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Sophocles. The Theban Plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. Translated by Ruth Fainlight and Robert J. Littman, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.