The King and I

I was surprised by Henry IV not from the plot or the story but mainly by one of the characters. Of all the times I played Falstaff in class, it seemed as though I was nothing more than a drunken, arguing fool. However  from last year's in depth study of probably my favorite play Hamlet, I was taught that the fools and the drunks in Shakespearean plays are always the most wise and truthful. Towards the end of the play, it started to become more prevalent: Falstaff was not only a fatherly figure to Prince Hal but also someone who even after making mistake after mistake was able to admit his faults and carry forward. His confession of hiring his own band of misfits as his army was a coming to light for Falstaff. He not only continued to give the most powerful soliloquy in the play about the meaning of honor but also to be brash and keen. He recognized that even among the midst of those he cared about, he was not going to go out as a fool, killed in the midst of a meaningless battle, but to do what men really strive for: to live. And yes, the entire scene of faking his own death seemed a bit over the line but in the larger view, Falstaff stood for the whole of mankind and even though it seemed the most opposite of honorable, he survived. His lies, like many people tell today, are often only told to keep those safe or to make ourselves look better. If there's one thing I learned from Henry IV, it's that honor comes in multiple forms and that our gut feeling is not always the one that should be overlooked immediately.

Oedipus and Us

Fate brings forth many meanings. Personally I would never want to learn my fate before it happens. If someone offered to hand me a piece of paper that told me exactly what would happen to my life in a few years or so, I would happily push them aside. Like all Greek tragedy, the audience watching Oedipus be performed would have already known the story behind the demise of the great hero Oedipus. It was definitely an interesting way to learn about his struggle to find himself or to understand larger themes such as identity or vision. Through the use of characters such as Tiresias as well as Jocasta, Sophocles was able to display not only Oedipus' inability to see the true meaning of his life but also to be blinded by his own greed. Tiresias was a powerful symbol, acting somewhat as a foil to Oedipus. He was blind yet he could still understand the wrongdoings in the world as well as attempt to reason with Oedipus, explaining why he needed to "open his eyes." The cover of the play version we had was intent on displaying Oedipus with eyes as the least of all his features. As a person, he was boastful and loved by those who like him were blind to his immoral actions. And when the time came to where he learned of his mistakes, they turned on him without remorse. Sophocles used the motif of eyes throughout the play to ultimately symbolize the importance of vision of society and ourselves. Blinded by greed and impatience, Oedipus was labeled as the typical flawed hero, making a statement and then in time losing his throne. What makes us human is our eyes, our ability to see our world and understand our mistakes.