Comparing Fate In Oedipus And Julius Caesar

Every writer is influenced by the time period and culture that he is writing in. This idea can be seen in both Oedipus by Sophocles and Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Sophocles shows in the story of Oedipus that during the time of the ancient greeks, the gods had total control over the human's lives and that one's fate during this was definite. On the other hand, in Julius Caesar, Shakespeare shows that during the time of Elizabethan England ideas of independence and how the people can do what they want, but because of the catholic beliefs of the time, their fate, or predestination, is already set. In Oedipus, fate is determined strictly by the gods, meaning that the tragic hero is powerless to avoid the tragedy; however, Julius Caesar, portrays

During the time period of Elizabethan England, when Shakespeare was writing, there were two main religions, Catholic and Protestant. Protestantism was on the rise when Elizabeth took over in England. This was now beginning to bring in new ideas that did not go along with the traditional Catholic ways. One of these being that not everyone is predestined to one fate, they can make their own decisions in life. This idea can bee seen in Julius Caesar, when the Soothsayer says, “Beware the ides of March” (1.2.20). In the exchange between Caesar and the Soothsayer it is seen that the Soothsayer gives Caesar a fair warning of his fate that is to come. Instead of listening to him and actually being able to change his fate Caesar blows the Soothsayer off by saying, “He is a dreamer” (1.2.26). This shows the independence that Caesar could have. If Caesar would have listened to the Soothsayer he could have changed his fate and not been killed on the ides of March, but since he did not listen he walked himself into his

The Greeks believed that their gods were in total control of their lives and the greeks believed that the gods would harshly punish their wrong doings (Gods and Men in Greek Religion). Since the Greeks believed that their gods were so much stronger than them they highly respected their gods. The way that the Greeks respected their gods is seen in Oedipus. From the beginning of the play the people of Thebes can feel the wrath of the gods through their bad harvests, their dying crops, and the death of the people. They want to know why the gods are upset so they go to Oedipus who tells Creon to go to the all powerful god, Apollo (Sophocles 5-7). Oedipus sends Creon to Apollo because he and the people of Thebes want to know why they are being punished. This shows the respect given to the gods by the citizens of Thebes. Even Oedipus respects the Greek goods. For example, when Oedipus says, “To avenge this wrong to Thebes and to the god” (Sophocles 11). This quote shows how Oedipus is going to find the murder of Laius to please the gods. He wants to make the gods happy so they will not punish him and the people anymore. During the time of the ancient Greeks and during the time of Oedipus the beliefs of this time period were that the gods have total rule and total control, this is why the belief of fate was so strong during this time