Essay on the Norton's Anthology of Drama

Introduction

Norton's Anthology gets noted as one which contains the collection of various drama plays and stories. The two plays to be compared in the anthology are Samuel Becket's, Waiting for Godot and Oedipus the King by Sophocles. The titles of the two plays also get depicted to become apparent as the story progresses or rather gradually. Therefore, the paper is based on a comparison and contrast between the mentioned plays due to their existence in Norton's Anthology. The work also covers the full significance of the title in every work and lastly compares and contrasts the titles.

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Waiting for Godot Analysis

The play, Waiting for Godot, presents numerous characters with the most dominant getting based on Vladimir and Estragon. The two characters are depicted to wait for a person by the name Godot from where the title gets developed and its meaning realized. Later in the story, there exists the depiction of a boy who comes and informs Vladimir and Estragon that Godot may not come as expected, thus they wait for a little longer. From the depicted aspect the relevance of the title of Waiting for Godot begins to become apparent although gradually (Gainor, Stanton and Martin, 3). The two Waiting for Godot characters get portrayed to continue waiting, and the aspect of repetition and redundancy express their steadfast interest for change even though they end up lacking results within the expected time. The full significance of Godot represents certainty and meaningfulness. The character emerges as if he were a savior or even a person who can offer answers to the problems of Vladimir and Estragon. Therefore, his failure of arrival subjects the two characters to live in a universe where certainty and meaning fail to unfold. They must, therefore, continue waiting even though the mentioned will never come to pass hence portraying the aspect of absurdness.

What Is Oedipus the King About

On the other hand, the play on Oedipus the King by Sophocles and whose performance get traced to around 429 BC in Circa gets construed to focus on the fulfillment of a prophecy that Oedipus would kill the father, Laius, and marry the mother whose name was Jocasta. When he gets born, the mother decides to throw him away to avoid the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Oracles of Delphi. Later on, the story unfolds as Oedipus grows in isolation in the unknown land and while walking one day he meets an old man whom he kills and then marries the queen of the land. At this point, it is argued that the title of the story becomes relevant or becomes apparent since, after the marriage of the queen, he becomes the king not knowing that the queen is the mother. Therefore, the full significance of the title gets noted to come out clearly in presenting Oedipus as the protagonist character in the whole play (Gainor, Stanton and Martin, 5).

The Common Characteristics of Oedipus Rex and Waiting for Godot

Lastly, in consideration of the two plays, various comparisons and contrasts get noted. The dominant comparison gets drawn on the two plays having the protagonist characters as part of the titles. For example, Samuel Beckett's, 'Waiting for Godot,' portrays Godot as a major character who must be waited on by Vladimir and Estragon. The same gets noted on Oedipus the King by Sophocles, in which the title revolves around the protagonist (Gainor, Stanton and Martin, 9). On the part of contrast, the first title presents a character who seems illusionary and who may not have been seen by other characters while the title in Oedipus the King, the protagonist forms part of the playmakers.

Conclusion

In summary, the title of the two plays showcases a significant role in the fulfillment of their significance through the depiction of various characters as already noted. It should equally be taken into consideration that the titles of the plays compare and contrast as justified above.

Works Cited

Gainor, J.E., Stanton B. Garner, and Martin Puchner. The Norton Anthology of Drama., 2014. Print.