Oedipus Rex & Chekhov's The Bear

In drama, tragedy and comedy are often considered polar opposites. It is often suggested that tragedy is more about a "human being" while comedy pertains mostly to the "human condition." In other words, the tragic character is specific while the comedic character is universal. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Chekhov's The Bear we are provided with a tragedy and comedy respectively. However, despite these common distinctions about the tragic versus the comedic forms of drama, these plays do not exhibit such a distinction.

In Chekhov's The Bear we certainly are provided with a comedy that revolves around the foibles between the sexes. So too, we readily see that this comedy does, in deed, pertain to the human condition and the universal. It is difficult not to empathize with Smirnov's frustration over relations with women. Popova's refusal to pay him monies rightly his is met with frustration and resignations. "Vodka! I need vodka!", "Women are fickle and manipulative", "I'm so mad I could blow up the world" and "Oooh-pickles" are all expressions of this (Chekhov 1946). It is hard not to relate to this frustration in relations between the sexes or being frustrated over trying to retrieve monies owed in debt.

Smirnov's worries are the worries of an everyman that has been stung so much by love and women that he would rather "sit smoking on a barrel of gunpowder" (Chekhov 1946). Pushed to the challenge of a duel with his frustrating debtor, Smirnov realizes his lo

Related Essays

Theme of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles .... This is the basic theme at the heart of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. .... Sophocles. Oedipus ..... Paperback edition, Landed, WA (Editor), & Plumptre, EH (Translator). .... (874 3 )

Oedipus Rex, Gilgamesh, Inferno In Dante's Inferno, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, each of the writers of these works attempted to convey to audiences of the era what is .... (600 2 )

Oedipus Rex & Hedda Gabler .... The pattern in Oedipus Rex is the pattern that would be set for all tragedy--the hero has a fatal flaw which prevents him from seeing the outcome of his .... (2838 11 )

Use of Irony in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex Sophocles utilizes irony in a number of ways in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. To a large degree, Oedipus' downfall will result from his .... (853 3 )

Speeches of 3 Characters in Oedipus Rex .... This can be seen with reference to the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and to the characters of Oedipus, Creon, and Teiresias. Waldock .... (1499 6 )

Oedipus Rex and the elements of tragedy .... When Aristotle developed it, however, he was using the work of Sophocles particularly, the Oedipus plays, and specifically, Oedipus Rex. .... (616 2 )

Category: Literature - O