Tragedy & Comedy- Oedipus Rex & Chekhov

Thus, we can get together that in Chekhov's one-act comedy we are, in deed, treated to the homosexual condition and everyday aspects of it. As Roberts (2001) says, of this play and The Proposal, "Both one-acts illustrate the altogether-too-human foibles of their causes in all their confusing, maddening glory" (1).

In Oedipus the King, we are treated to the character of Oedipus who unknowingly murders his father, marries his mother with who he bares children, and unwittingly becomes his avouch judge, venire and hangman. However, while we may not relate to the human organism of a king as readily as we do a character like Smirnov, this play's tragedy is also case of the human condition and global elements of existence. For in this play we construe that fate plays a most prominent role in the tragedy of Oedipus as well as his character flaw. mint has predestined Oedipus to play out his role regardless of his influence. The predictions of the vaticinator at Delphi are in reality the life apologue of Oedipus. She tells him only one Laius' sons could be responsible for his death and that erstwhile done the murderer will "make love with [his] own mother" (Knox 146).

Fate is a concept that is universal in that many people relate to Johnston's (2000) definition of fate as a "claim that the most important forces which create, shape, guide, reward, and afflict human life are out of human control" (2). In light of this, we certainly can relate

to the common experience of being blinded by something we do not have revealed to us until fate plays itself out in one manner or another. However, like the universal elements revealed in The Bear, there are more revealed in Oedipus.

For we see in Oedipus an unyielding and obstinate king who will not attend to advice to end his pursuit of what "plagues" Thebes. Therefore, his free will also plays a role in his fate but to a lesser degree than forces outside him. Certainly any one of us can relate to our mistakes in life based on pride or stubbornness causing us greater wounding than had we been able to act in a assorted manner. In this manner we can all relate to this main theme of Oedipus that, as Bates (1906) defined it nearly a snow ago, "his own life remained an inexplicable riddle, till it was cleared up all too late in the most severe manner, when all was lost irrevocably" (1).

In conclusion, we can see that both of these dramas seem to apply to the human condition and universal aspects of life more than they do the human being. While Oedipus may deal with more tragic material than The Bear, both dramas emphasise universal aspects of the human condition. Chekhov himself considered his comedic plays no less comedic than his masterworks The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, The trey Sisters and The Seagull. As Aster (200
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