Student Question
How does Shakespeare's view of fate in Julius Caesar compare to Sophocles' in Oedipus the King?
Quick answer:
Shakespeare's view of fate is similar to Sophocles in the importance he grants ominous dreams, visions, and harbingers. This mirrors the importance of prophets and prophesy within Sophocles's play. However, while fate is important in both settings, humans assert far more agency in the world of Julius Caesar, being able to actively shape events through their own actions. In contrast, Greek mythology tends to envision fate as an all powerful force against which humans are largely powerless to act.
Prophesy and fate serve as critical aspects in both Julius Caesar and Oedipus the King. In Julius Caesar , there are the harbingers surrounding Caesar's assassination: the soothsayer's warning, Calpurnia's dreams, the omens that Casca and Cicero discuss. In addition, you can point towards the later omens surrounding the Battle of Philippi, where Cassius and Brutus are defeated by Antony and Octavius. Meanwhile, Sophocles's play also revolves heavily around the subject of prophesy. As the play begins, Oedipus is waiting on word from the Oracle of Delphi, and later, you can observe a confrontation between Oedipus and Tiresias (the famous blind prophet of Greek mythology). In fact, the entire myth of Oedipus revolves around the subject prophesy, as it recounts the story of a man fated to murder his father and marry his mother. In attempting to circumvent this fate, Oedipus brings that fate to pass. That being said,...
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there is a critical difference between the two settings in question.
In Greek mythology, fate tends to be an all powerful arbiter of the universe, so much so that, in some sources, even the Olympians themselves are helpless to challenge its precepts. We see this same theme reflected in the story of Oedipus, where Oedipus's attempts to escape that fate bring that fate to pass. Regardless of his pride and hubris, in reality, Oedipus does not assert any real control over the course of his own life. Circumstance conspires against him, bringing his fate to pass whether he wishes it to or not.
Julius Caesar, on the other hand, is far murkier on the subject of agency, because while there are omens, prophesies and harbingers, the action of the play is ultimately shaped by human agency. The murder of Caesar was the product of conspiracy (whose members will prey on Caesar's own ego to enable their murder to proceed). Individuals such as Cassius and Antony would manipulate events and personalities to bend events to their own designs (in Cassius's case, Caesar's death, and in Antony's, vengeance for that death). This is in sharp contrast to the themes of Greek mythology, where human beings exert far less control in shaping the fates and destinies that come their way.