FATED EXISTENCE? CALCULATING THE TRAGIC CULMINATIONS OF OTHELLO AND OEDIPUS THE KING

Abstract

The tragic trail that both Shakespeare and Sophocles take as fictional playwrights marks a remarkable approach to dramatic writing that leaves no shade of doubt upon their proficiency in this particular field.The Shakespearian option follows a discernible literary trajectory reflective of military nobility juxtaposed with a myopic and gullible stature of simplicity. This, however, projects an extremised Moorish level of racial vulnerability and criticism that yields to manoeuvred deception through diplomatic machinations by the jealous Venetian lot. Sophoclean drama is, in this case, an embodiment of the harsh spells of predestiny taking their toll behind an unconscious conceited politician – from before his birth right up to maturity and his climactic royal demise. In both plays, the dramatic interplay of thematic motivations seem to signal a back-and-forth war between humanity (that is, a human struggle for survival fought against personal flaws) and the phenomenally devastating forces of fate and nature that direct their feet towards heroic ruin. The article takes an interrogative stance, calculating the cause of the interwoven mysteries embedded in both human carnality and celestial forms that advise the heart-rending literary movements adopted by the twin plays as they march inexorably towards the downfall of their respective heroic figures.