Hamlet by Shakespeare has similar elements in its plot and main characters with Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This essay aims to show the common features of Oedipus and Hamlet, the main characters of eponymous plays. Both texts are tragedies; this genre largely defines the main characters of respective works and creates a setting where they act; thus, Hamlet’s and Oedipus’ specific situations will be reviewed and analyzed.
The theme of death is a powerful resource of tragic writings. For both characters, the themes of death, mortality, and murder are constitutive. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, plays the role of a tragic hero who killed his father. In Hamlet, the tragic hero fights with the fate that took his father. He has to take revenge and end up as an organizer of a murder. Hamlet fights with himself in an attempt to give answers to the ultimate questions of human existence. It is expressed in Hamlet’s monologue, “To be, or not to be, that is the question” (Shakespeare 40). For both characters, death is a philosophical problem. The risk to break the taboos is more relevant for them than the danger for their life; thus, it is possible to say that they are not afraid of death.
Human liberty is one more notion analyzed through both characters. Hamlet and Oedipus fight with their destiny; they want to escape fate. Oedipus, by all means, is trying to avoid fulfilling the prediction that states that he would marry his mother having murdered his father. In Sophocles’ tragedy, a prophecy communicates the hero’s problem. It gives Oedipus motivation; he is trying to avoid a disastrous outcome, and his efforts make the plot unfold, leading to a catastrophe. Thus, Sophocles expresses the meaninglessness of the struggle against one’s destiny. Hamlet’s dilemma is deeper and morally more sophisticated; however, he is also trapped. He hesitates if he should kill Claudius; at first, he does not want any violence but finally has to accept the necessity of a murder (Shakespeare). The difference between Oedipus and Hamlet is that Shakespeare’s created his tragedy in the Renaissance. Hamlet is a person who has just ceased to see himself as a toy of the Lord; as a result, he faces his responsibility. Throughout the play, Hamlet lingers and only at the very end, mortally wounded, regains the ability to act and does what his father bequeathed.
For both Hamlet and Oedipus, the past is crucial in the development of their characters. The king of Thebes is trying to find the murderer of his father; thus, he has to explore his past. For Hamlet, the main event of the past is the death of the King of Denmark (Shakespeare). The references to the heroes of the fall of the Roman Republic, Savior’s birth, images of mythology represent the distant past. Thus, in Shakespeare’s play, the main character lives in a more complex temporal system.
To sum up, death, past, and fight with the destiny for liberty are essential for both characters. For Oedipus and the prince of Denmark, these notions are keys to profound ontological problems. The differenbetweens of the characters can be explained by the fact that Oedipus Rex and Hamlet were created in different epochs. In Hamlet’s case, conscious freedom of action burdens him and becomes a traumatic experience.
References
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. 1599. Web.