Conflict in literature
Conflict in literature is a device characterized by a struggle. Conflict creates tension, which is crucial for the story as it drives the narrative forward. Conflict provides a revelation to a deeper meaning in a narrative while bringing out the character’s motivations, weaknesses, and values. Characters like Hamlet and Oedipus are great examples where they fact conflicts which drive their narratives.
Internal conflict takes place when a character struggles with their desires or beliefs. Internal conflict is responsible for developing the character. Hamlet faces an internal conflict when he vows to avenge his father’s death, who he believes was killed by Claudius, who is the King (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust). As he grieves his father’s death, a ghost visits him, and the ghost informs him that Claudius killed his father. Avenging his father’s death would mean killing Claudius, who is a king and is also married to his mother. Hamlet, obsessed with ensuring he has all the facts proving Claudius, indeed killed his father (Bartelson). To Hamlet, killing Claudius would be to act out his father’s wishes. Still, having his mother married to King Claudius feels like a form of betrayal to his father (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust). This betrayal also causes internal conflict for Hamlet in that he does not know how to deal with the thought of his mother’s disloyalty to the sanctity of marriage and family ties (Bartelson). Killing Claudius would affect his mother, but it is the only way to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet’s internal conflict displays how conflict can create the narrative for the literature as this conflict becomes part of the main plot.
Hamlet also faces an external conflict that revolves around the crown and succession. From the narrative, Hamlet is rightfully expected to take the crown after his father is murdered. Hamlet, however, attempts escaping this fate when his uncle banishes him, and he accepts the banishment (Bartelson). He rejects the notion that the crown is his destiny by readily taking the exile. Shakespeare uses fate as the limitation of hamlet’s freedom of choice. Hamlet knows his uncle is not the legitimate heir to the throne, but he does not argue this (Bartelson). Claudius earns the throne by marrying the deceased King’s wife, and that is how he gets a claim to the throne. However, hamlet having evidence would be essential in proving that Claudius stole the crown (Bartelson). The conflict on the succession of the crown creates the need for the audience to see the plot progress and reach a resolution on the conflict.
In Oedipus the King, conflict is seen when Oedipus’ action leads to the completion of his fate. This completion is the main conflict that this character faces, and it is mainly an internal conflict. On his way to Thebes, Oedipus kills Laius during a fight with travelers. Laius is Oedipus’ true father, but he is unaware (The Randolph College). He also defeats the Sphinx, who had the city of Thebes in captivity, becoming the King of Thebes. The city undergoes a plague right after, which, according to the oracle, would end when Laius’s killer faces exile and punishment (Sophocles). Oedipus unknowingly condemns the murderer without the knowledge that he condemns himself (The Randolph College). When he learns of this truth, he fails to believe it and assumes that it is a conspiracy against him catalyzing the search for Laius’ murderer. This conflict creates a desire and anticipation in the audience for what happens when Oedipus learns the truth.
The two characters can resolve their conflicts in various ways at the end of the play. Hamlet faces depression due to the weight of the conflicts he faces and the magnitude of the actions he needs to take. These conflicts revolving around justice for his father’s death and succession of the crown could all be resolved through the killing of Claudius. Eventually, in Act IV, Hamlet commits to resolving the conflict by carrying out revenge in a violent manner but with a clear conscience (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust). Oedipus, on the other hand, struggles with accepting the truth which is right informed of him. He would instead think that other people are responsible for the death of Laius rather than believing that he is the one who caused the death. When he begins to realize and accept this truth, he faces great grief that he blinds himself and seeks exile (The Randolph College). The cathartic ending comes as a surprise for the audience but creates an end to the conflict that drives the narrative.
Conflict is a paramount feature in literature as it creates the narrative in the story. Hamlet and Oedipus both have compelling conflicts that create suspense for the audience, enticing them with the need to know what happens in the end. The conflict is what drives the story, but it also shows the struggles that the characters face throughout the stories. Both Hamlet and Oedipus undergo great struggles in accepting what should be done, but they eventually face the truth and accept their roles. While Hamlet seeks vengeance for his fathers’ death, Oedipus finds out he is his father’s murderer, which destroys him. The two characters face what they must do even after they greatly struggle with the decision.