Compare and Contrast Hamlet and Oedipus as tragic he ores, bearing in mind their adhering or not adhering to aristotelian unities. Address character, plot, thought, spectacle, diction and song. HOw might each be considered a quintessential tragedy? In the play Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, a young prince is in search of the truth behind his father! |s murder. At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his deceased father and it tells him he was murdered by the now current king, Hamlet! |s Uncle Claudius.
Hamlet has to think about how he will get revenge for his fathers death, but because his only knowledge came from a ghost that only Hamlet heard speak, he is hesitant to get his revenge quickly. Hamlet does everything he can to show others the truth he knows. It is important to Hamlet that he gets revenge but he also wants to torment the king and show everyone the truth. Hamlet knows his anger toward his Uncle may cause confusion in his judgement of the truth so he is hesitant to kill him right away. Hamlet second-guesses himself throughout the play only to end up dying, but not before he kills Claudius. In both these plays, truth played a major role in the outcome.
Hamlet became so engrossed in the truth; he was too hesitant and continued to second-guess himself throughout the play. He may have become king but because truth was so important to him Hamlet ended up dying as well. As for Oedipus, knowing the truth may not be all it is cracked up to be. Would Oedipus have really murdered his father and marry his mother if they had not asked the oracle about the future? These plays question the power of truth but is it better to know what is lurking behind every door, or is it better to be curious about it, but never actually seek it.
Knowing the truth was very powerful in both these plays and it had a major effect on the outcomes of both stories. Maybe by knowing the future the truth is set. If the future remains unknown than so will truth. Truth was a deciding factor in both outcomes of the plays.
If the truth were known earlier, it would have changed the entire aspect of each play.