Justice of Oedipus and King Lear sample essay

The notion of justice inevitably accompanies and touches upon every ruler or king. The two distinctive understandings of justice and kingship are represented in famous Greek drama Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, and in outstanding play by William Shakespeare King Lear. King Oedipus was a compassionate and considerate ruler who took care about his people, thus revealing justice, while King Lear was a selfish tyrant who demanded that all his whims be fulfilled immediately, thus showing stubbornness and injustice.

In his play Oedipus the King, King Oedipus was a very good leader that appeared in his speech when he said, "Now you have me to fight for you. I am the lands avenger by all rights” (Sophocles 167) and this also appeared in the priest’s speech when he said “You freed us from the sphinx, you came to Thebes and cut us loose form the bloody tribute we had paid that harsh, brutal singer. We taught you nothing, no skill, no extra knowledge, still you triumphed” (Sophocles 161). Oedipus cared about his people, he was treating them like his children, and he was willing to do anything for them to reveal their pain. He wanted to make his people happy and bring relief from suffering due to the plaque.

To prove his justice he said that if he knew the one who caused this plaque, he would cause no harm to him, and that he was going to let him go away without anything to fear. This indicates that he was pitiful and compassionate in dealing with people as well as being just. Oedipus did not realize that he was the cause of the plague. He pronounced exile as a punishment for the murderer of king Laius. He did not know that this dead king was his father whom he killed by mistake. Oedipus was very worried about the welfare of his people that’s why he was in the constant search for truth, ignoring the unpleasant consequences of his actions. To his great credit, Oedipus did not give up his pursuit of the truth and the identity of Lauis’ murderer, despite the accumulation of events that weighed against him. In fact, when Oedipus first encountered the blind seer and prophet Teiresias, who refused to divulge the truth he knew, Oedipus became angry and revealed his intemperance. Teiresias attempted to be civil, but Oedipus was impatient and responded with caustic accusations against him. Oedipus had a strong sense of justice, because he did not break the promise to fulfil the punishment over the king’s murderer, even when the truth was discovered. When he found out ironically that he himself is the perpetrator of the crime, he blinds himself in agony and willingly accepts his own banishment as just punishment.

On the contrary, King Lear was an old man whose pride cost him everything. King Lear was a person in need of power and control. Requesting one hundred soldiers at his disposal and his title as king to remain in his possession proved this passion. Lear used the “royal we” while giving his speech, using the plural for example when saying, “which of you shall we say doth love us most.” Lear used the plurals “we” and “us” instead of “I” and “me” to emphasize his significance. He used the “royal we” to either attempt to show that he still had power over people, or that he was making the decision on behalf of the people of the kingdom. Lear was well aware that he was giving away his power and so in order to prove to himself or to everyone else that he was still the King himself by putting on a show of power and control.

In conclusion, the main characters of the story, two kings Oedipus and Lear, vividly provided two opposite models of justice. The first character, king Oedipus, revealed justice in extreme conditions, considering the fact that the punishment would concern him directly and did not use his power to avoid it though the trial was very severe. While the other main character, king Lear, revealed no justice at all. His pride and selfishness demanded that other people submitted to him and served his whims.
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