Tragedy in Oedipus Rex, Hamlet and the Book of Job In literary works involving tragedy, the question of the cause of the tragedy is often raised. Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex, William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, and the book of Job from the Bible all involve tragedy resulting from different things. In Oedipus Rex the tragedy is the result of Oedipus' fate. In Hamlet the tragedy is caused by human folly. God's divine intervention is what causes the tragedy in Job. Tragedy in Oedipus Rex is the result of fate, in Hamlet the result of human folly, and in Job the result of divine intervention. The play Oedipus Rex involves the tragic fall of the main character, King Oedipus. This tragedy was the result of fate. From Oedipus' birth it was predicted that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He tells Jocasta, “Apollo said through his prophet that I was the man who should marry his mother and shed his father's blood with his own hands” (Sophocles 945). It was for this reason that his parents tied his ankles and gave him to a shepherd to take away. Even though Oedipus tries to escape his fate, his fate always catches up with him. He runs away from home after hearing the prophecy with the aim of avoiding his fate. Oedipus exclaims to a messenger, “I tell you, I fear that the oracle may come true” (Sophocles 960). However, while on the run, he fulfills part of his destiny by killing his father when they meet on the street. The second part of the prophecy is that Oedipus will marry his mother. This part is fulfilled when he marries his mother, Jocasta, without knowing that she is his mother. Due to the tragedy caused by his fate, Oedipus became blinded and... midway through the paper... lost many things that were important to him. The causes of tragedy in Oedipus Rex, Hamlet and Job are all very different. Oedipus was a slave to fate and could do nothing to escape it. Hamlet caused the tragedy through his own madness. Job's fall was the result of God's intervention. Although different things caused all three tragedies, all three tragedies resulted in death and destruction, proving that tragedy, whatever the cause, never has a happy ending end. Works Cited Green, Joel B. and Longman, Tremper (eds.). Holy Bible: Daily Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. 1996.Shakespeare, William. The new Cambridge Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Filippo Edwards. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985. Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnett, et al. New York: Longmann, 1997.