Comparison of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" and "Antigone"

Greek and Roman
Name
Institution
Greek and Roman
Oedipus the King and Antigone are plays that were both written by Sophocles and they tell of human tragedies that are caused by the greed for power and ignorance. Set in the city of Thebes, the two plays revolve around the human spirit and how it is tested under difference circumstances. In major ways, the plays reveal how sometimes man is caught between the will of the gods and the laws according to the state. The two stories therefore share a lot in terms of their themes and lessons to all humanity. The present paper analyzes the stories in the two plays to determine the various ways in which they are similar and those areas where they differ.
In order to understand the two plays better, it makes sense to look at their storylines and the way in which they compare. In Oedipus the King, the play follows the story of king Oedipus of Thebes who at the beginning is asked by the citizens to take some steps towards ending the plague that had stricken the city. Meanwhile Oedipus had already sent Creon, his brother-in-law to an oracle regarding the matter. The oracle declares that the only way to end the plague is by catching and expelling the murderer of the former king Laius who apparently was in the city. Determined to find the murderer, Oedipus seeks the help of prophet Tiresias. It is then revealed to Oedipus that he is the killer and the question about his parents also arise. According to the prophecy, Laius’ murderer would kill his father and end up taking his own mother as his wife. After connecting the stories told by his wife Jocasta and a messenger that witnessed Laius’s murder, Oedipus confirms that indeed, what the prophet said was true and had already passed. While Jocasta commits suicide, King Oedipus gouges his eyes out and plans on leaving Thebes (Erickson 2003, x). On the other hand, the story of Antigone begins with Oedipus’s daughters Antigone and Ismene in a bereaved mood following the deaths of their two brothers Eteocles and Polynices. The two had been battling over the kingship of Thebes and ended up killing each other. Their uncle Creon, who is the king of Thebes, denies Polynices a proper burial given that he was a traitor and therefore makes an order that any attempts by anyone to bury Polynices would result into the death of that person. Antigone however, goes against this order since it is against the gods and buries her brother. She is caught in the act and together with Ismene, condemned to death. Intervention by the prophet Tiresias makes Creon relax his rule but not before Antigone kills herself. With her death, Haemon and his mother Eurydice follow suite.[Erickson "Oedipus Rex." Theatre Journal, 2003]
From the two plays, there is no doubt that the author Sophocles based on the theme of tragedy to drive home his message. For instance, according to Farahbakhsh (2013, 111), the play Oedipus the king is “often dubbed as the most complete of ancient Greek tragedies.” This fact is proven true even at the beginning of the story when the oracle speaks about the life of king Oedipus. The article further points out that the fact that Oedipus’ fate was outlined by the oracle, it meant that his life was already decided and there was nothing much that he would do about it. Considering this, it is true to say that, the king was caught in a vicious circle that was solely determined by the gods. This fact in itself is a big tragedy since it depicts him as a plaything to be used in any way by the gods (Farahbakhsh 2013, 111). It is even more tragic that every attempt he makes to change his destiny and fate always ends in failure. Notably, this is one of the defining qualities of ancient Greek tragedy plays. As seen from the story, every step he takes seems to push him closer to his doom and nothing much can be done by those close to him even in their attempts to prevent him from his tragic end. The tragedies that befall him seem to take some form of flow since his childhood. First, his biological parents abandoned him, next he killed his father, then unknowingly married his own mother before finally being forced to move out of Thebes as a consequence for his sins. His wife and mother Jocasta also commits suicide hence the series of all these events give the whole story a tragic theme and ending. Similarly, in Antigone, tragedy is a much prevalent theme. Johnson (2009, 73) agrees that the play is a tragedy because “it contains appalling actions and cataclysmic consequences.” In the play, Antigone and her uncle Creon are seen struggling for their different beliefs and stands that eventually lead to their tragic ends. On her side, Antigone believes that it is her human right and obligation to give her brother Polynices a proper burial since that was what the gods would have advocated for. On his part, Creon believes that Polynices does not deserve any of that because he had betrayed the city of Thebes to the enemy. According to the state laws, Creon was to kill anyone that disobeyed his order. In the end, Antigone lost her life because of these strict rules that did not respect humanity while on his part, Creon ended up losing his son and wife because of his tyrannical rule. From this, it is quite evident that the stubbornness of the two led to their tragic ends. In essence, the downfall of Antigone can be attributed to her loyalty that was undoubtedly stubborn. The story equally fulfills Aristotle’s rule about a tragedy whereby a play needs to have a tragic hero. In this case, Antigone is the given tragic hero si...