*INTRO*The character Oedipus in the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and the character Othello in the play Othello the Moor of Venice by Shakespeare are both tragic characters. Oedipus ends up killing his father, and marrying and having children with his mother, whereas Othello ends up mistrusting and killing his wife. These two individuals have similarities and differences in several aspects such as the roundness of their characters, the retribution that they incur upon themselves and upon their respective wives whether directly or indirectly, and their horrors.*BODY 1* Both Oedipus and Othello are developed into round characters. Round characters are those that are well developed three dimensionally with multiple meaning to their characters. Oedipus is a character whose fate cannot be avoided, and which ever path he seems to take leads him to more trouble than what he had to deal with before. Even though his character is well-rounded, he is not believable. It would be highly unlikely that Oedipus would marry a woman who looked as if she could be his mother without asking a few questions about her past marriages and about her children. It could have caused some insight in their characters, and questions could have arisen about the first child which was sent away and thought of as dead. Othello on the other hand is a well-rounded character, and he is believable. Othello is a man who is filled with jealousy and mistrust he learns that his wife may be sleeping with another man. Anyone who has been in love has had this feeling once and a while, and that feeling is being fed by the person of whom they most trust, it can be devastating for that person. As Iago continually feeds Othellos suspicion, his hurt and mistrust grows for his wife, until he finally kills her. The character of Oedipus is a round character, but cannot be believed due to the absurd circumstances of his marriage with Jocasta. Othellos round character can be believed,...
