Epitome Of Tragedy

In the discussion on which story is a greater tragedy, Oedipus Rex or King Lear, my vote goes for Oedipus Rex. If I had to think of an analogy for both books in the sense of which one is more tragic. I would have to say King Lear is like a person on a sidewalk deciding to throw them into oncoming traffic and Oedipus Rex is like a person who decides is going to cross the street and gets hits by a car who’s driver did not see. The difference between the two stories is that in King Lear there could have been plenty of different options that Lear could have chosen to avoid the gruesome outcome. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus never really had an option his life was already written out, he never knew about the disgusting circumstances he was going to be placed in, not to mention the life of suffering his children were to undertake because of his fate.

In King Lear, Lear chooses to exile his daughter Cordelia when he says “Here I disclaim all my parental care propinquity, and property of blood and as a stranger to my heart and me hold thee from this forever “(Shakespeare 1.1.15). Lear could have accepted his daughter’s response of not loving him anything more than just a father, which in any case how more can a daughter loves her father without it becoming wrong. The whole story of King Lear could have ended differently with the decision of accepting Cordelia’s response or even more possible there could have not been a “Tragedy of King Lear” at all. Lear would not be heartbroken for banishing his daughter and his other two daughters would not consider Lear to be going insane or to be an awful father for banishing their sister. Even more so the whole family could have been alive at the end of the story.

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus never had a chance to decide if he wanted to do. Oedipus’ fate of killing his father and having children with his own mother was the path that was already set out for him. He never knew that he was adopted and he never knew about his own fate. The fact that Oedipus never expected a terrible faith to occur to him is what makes Oedipus so tragic. For Oedipus, knowing that he fulfilled his terrible fate he decides to gouge his eyes out causing more suffering. I believe this is Oedipus way of making things right, he needs to suffer more as a consequence as to what he had done. “Sorrow! And still more sorrow upon me fall together so many stinging goads and the memory of evils” (Oedipus Rex 57). Oedipus is sorrowful for the fate he has been destined to and realizes that his daughters are now going to suffer for his fate, which he had no choice on.

Oedipus is the far more tragic story because people suffer for what seems no reason what so ever.