The Character of Oedipus in Oedipus and The Infernal Machine Essay

The Character of Oedipus in Oedipus and The satanic Machine The stories of Oedipus, as told through Senecas Oedipus and Cocteaus The beastly Machine, contain both similarites and residuals. both(prenominal) authors portray the reference work of Oedipus as being obstinate, ignorant, and inquisitive. Yet Seneca and Cocteau differ on their interpretation of the motives that propelled these characteristics of Oedipus. Seneca portrays Oedipus as a mature man who, in perceive the troubles of the plague that has descended upon Thebes, feels true sorrow for his dying people and wishes to cure his adynamic city. On the other hand, Cocteaus Oedipus is a pretentious, immature, and overweening young adult who seeks to mishandle himself in the fast and wealthy lifestyle of the royal class. Seneca and Cocteau seem to mark that Oedipus is a very persistent, unusual, and yet unwitting character. Furthermore, they believe that it these qualities that ultimately influence about his demise . In Senecas tale, Tiresias tries to warn Oedipus that only bad will resultant from his need to know the identity of Laiuss cause of death-Avid your hung er for such friendship now , but you will come to rue the things you know. (Sen. Oed. p. 22) Even when his majestic actions are discovered by all the other characters, Oedipus, oblivious to the truth, persists with the search. Creon describes the eye socket in which the mightiness Laius was slain, yet Oedipus seems to realize nothing and instead, continu es to train the identity of Laiuss killer. Oedipus. . . .Whom did I murder? Through a blunder, a keen blunder, an old man on the road- a stranger. Tiresias. Oedipus, your blunder killed the husband of Jocasta, King Laius. Oedipus. The two of you. Now I see the shape of you... ...presence of his mother at his side. In the end, Oedipus, according to Cocteau, doesnt even solve the riddle, but instead is told the declaration by the Sphinx herself. Both Seneca and Cocteau rega rd Oedipus as a stubborn and curious man whose necessity to identify the killer of King Laius, despite warnings from Jocasta, Tiresias, and Creon to allow for it be, lead him to his horrible fate. Yet there is a distinct difference between the motives of the authors characters. Senecas wise and gracious Oedipus persists in his quest to find the killer in order to free Thebes of its pollution. While Cocteaus puerile and arrogant character must know the identity of the killer, simply for personal knowledge. Works Cited Cocteau, Jean. The Infernal Machine and other plays. New YorkNew Directions, 1963 Seneca. The Tragedies Volume II. BaltimoreJohns Hopkins, 1995