The Tale of Sohrab from the Shahnameh Compared to Oedipus Tyrannus

The Tale of Sohrab from the Shahnameh in comparison to Oedipus Tyrannus
Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
The Tale of Sohrab from the Shahnameh in comparison to Oedipus Tyrannus
In the Tale of Sohrab, Sohrab and Rustam is one of the heroic stories of the Shahnameh that has been admired by many academics and scholars worldwide. In this tragedy, Rostum, who is a strong warrior and a Persian chieftain, had a son called Sohrab with a Turkish princess. This child grew to become just as strong as his father. The two then met on the battleground not knowing one another, and Sohrab is killed by his father Rostam. Oedipus Tyrannus is an Athenian tragedy that was written by Sophocles. The play was first performed in the year 429 BC. This paper provides a detailed comparison of the themes in these two tragedies. The paper argues that the two works are a lot similar because they have very similar themes: the themes of guilt, shame, and fate.
In Oedipus Tyrannus, the themes of fate, shame and guilt are addressed clearly. Fate is understood as a prearranged course of events. It could be construed as a future that is predestined, whether of an individual or in general. Fate is a notion that is founded upon the belief that there is, in fact, a preset order to the cosmos. The main instances of fate in Oedipus Tyrannus include the following: first is Oedipus himself being saved after he was left to die to escape his destiny. A lot of unwanted babies were left to die and most of them died. For Oedipus however, fate intervened and someone came to save him out of pity. The poem reads: “you are a doom-born baby, make no mistake” (Carter 67). Ironically, the action which saved the life of Oedipus ruined his life afterward. The second example of fate in the life of Oedipus was him getting to meet his own father Laius and then kill him unknowingly. He only realized that it was his father after he had killed him. This is a sub-theme that is very similar to the theme in The Tale of Sohrab when Rustum met his own son and killed him without knowing that it was his son. The other example of fate in Oedipus’ life is when he met his mother and then married her without realizing that she was actually his mother. He did not know who this woman was initially.
The themes of guilt and shame are also addressed in Oedipus Tyrannus. Oedipus...