Carroll 1
Abigail carroll
K. Mount
English 9
21 April 2012
Tragedy Essay
I’m writing today about whether or not Oedipus the King and Romeo and Juliet
are tragedies. Oedipus the King is about a king of Ancient Greece who’s land Thebes is
plagued. He’s told by Greek god, Apollo that to lift this curse he must find the killer of
the last king. This news leads him to discover that he was the prince and that the man
he murdered years ago was in fact his father and the last king. He also learned that he
created children with his mother (the custom of the time being that the new king
married the old king’s wife). This leads Oedipuis to gouging his eyes out. Romeo and
Juliet are two teenagers from enemy families who fall in love and end up committing
suicide.
The Two tragic heroes are Romeo and Oedipus. Oedipus is the tragic hero
because of the two prophecies claiming he’d kill his father and wed his mother, which
came true. Romeo is the tragic hero because of his terrible luck in love. Oedipus’s
tragic flaw is his ignorance. Romeo’s tragic flaw, among many others, is his immaturity.
The complication in Oedipus the King is that the gods have plagues Thebes
because the past king was murdered. The complication in Romeo and Juliet is that their
families are enemies. The climax in Oedipus the King is when he discovers the
prophecies were real. The climax in Romeo and Juliet is when Romeo is banished for
killing Tybalt. The resolution in Oedipus the King is that Oedipus pokes his eyes out.
The resolution in Romeo and Juliet is when their families call peace.
I believe that Oedipus came down to fate because of the two prophecies. I
believe Romeo and Juliet came down to the choices people made. The coincidence
with a purpose in Oedipus the King is that Oedipus had two prophecies predicting
correctly what he’d do. The coincidence with a purpose in Romeo and Juliet is Romeo
being single when he meets Juliet and the letter from Father Lawrence never reaching
Romeo.
So my conclusion is as follows; Oedipus the King is a tragedy, no argument
about that. But I don’t think the same of Romeo and Juliet because of it’s humor and
it’s happy ending. Remember it didn’t end with Romeo and Juliet committing suicide it
ended with the families peace, thus making it a comedy (albeit a dark one).