Loves Destruction Oedipus the King Essay - 1149 Words

Love’s Destruction Jocasta and Emilia, important minor characters in their plays, both showcase the power of love as well as how destructive it can be. Emilia and Jocasta both unknowingly end their own lives, as well as others, and spread tragedy throughout the towns in which they lived. It is believed that in 425 B.C., Sophocles first produced Oedipus the King (Theater of Sophocles). In the play, Oedipus the King, Jocasta is the main character, Oedipus’, mother and wife. Jocasta’s love for Oedipus ultimately destroys him and results in her death. Sophocles helped shape the heroic ideal that is later embodied in medieval romance, which Shakespeare traditionally uses in Othello (Zerba). William Shakespeare wrote Othello in about 1604 (The†¦show more content†¦At this time, Othello has killed Desdemona and has forever ruined his own life. By her trying to stop the madness, her husband, who is still filled with hatred and jealousy, kills her. In the play Othello, although Emilia is a minor character, she signifies plenty of importance. Emilia is crucial to Iago’s plan to wreck Othello’s life. Without Emilia, Iago could have never gotten a hold of Desdemona’s handkerchief. The handkerchief was used as a tool of persuasion by Iago to create the illusion that Desdemona was having an affair with Cassio(Tiles). Without seeing the handkerchief, Othello would have never believed such harsh accusations of his wife having the affair. Emilia in essence is the key player in Iago’s plan. Unfortunately, she does not realize what he has done until it is too late. Overall, Emilia’s situation in Othello is comparable to Jocasta’s in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King is a tragedy that displays irony throughout the play. In the play, King Laius and his wife Jocasta learn that in the prophecy their newborn son, Oedipus, will kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent the prophecy from occurring, they decide to bind and tie his ankles and then abandoned him. When Oedipus grew up, he eventually learned about this prophecy and decided to leave his parents. What he did not realize was that the parents who raised him were not his biological parents. On his voyage to Thebes, Oedipus ended up in a chariot accidentShow MoreRelatedWho Goes with Fergus11452 Words   |  46 PagesWho Goes With Fergus This poem is about the dichotomy of the thinker and the actor. Yeats, in love with Maud Gonne, was the thinker, the courtly lover -- the one who would brood upon loves bitter mystery. Yeats was Mr. Nice Guy. Yet Yeats wanted to be the actor - the alpha male - the Fergus. Note the sexualized subtext that permeates the poem, who will pierce the deep woods woven shade? Who will drive with Fergus. Finally, we get the reasons to be the alpha male - the man of action, in the