Compare the Female Roles in Oedipus, The King and Hamlet The literary female has changed in immeasurable ways over the course of time. In the beginning, to this it is meant the origins of Western writing with the plays of Sophocles, women and men were essentially two-dimensional creatures of fate. Their presence in the archetypal drama was to illustrate a human quality and the inevitability of life with the Gods. Thus, women were equally capable of being good or evil, useful or useless, as men. In the equally important creation of “modern” literary forms of drama and comedy as created by William Shakespeare, women were portrayed in a much more complex light. Shakespeare’s feminine characters were capable of change, of defying fate, and of challenging the status quo. To Sophocles, however, this would have been impossible. Thus, if we compare the primary feminine characters of Oedipus and Hamlet we will see these differences clearly illustrated. Pages: 4 Bibliography: 2 source(s) listed Filename: 21257 Price: 35.80