Characterization in Oedipus Rex and Homer's Odyssey Characters in a novel or play are attributed certain characteristics by the author. The opinions one can form about a character are based on these; therefore, the characteristics suggested by an author are intrinsic for the reader to have a complete and subjective understanding of a work. Characteristics are often manifested through a character's actions, in what is said about him, and in what he says himself, which will be the focus of this essay. Both Oedipus, in Sophocles' King Oedipus, and Odysseus, in Homer's Odyssey, are often mentioned by others, but their own words speak volumes, as certain emotions and traits can be seen. A character's traits may often be masked or distorted by favorable or unfavorable descriptions by others, but their speech, however calculated or controlled, often clearly displays character flaws and attributes that one might not otherwise encounter. A strict narrative often polarizes a character, defining them as black or white, good or bad. However, in most writings, and certainly in the Odyssey and King Oedipus, a character's speech allows us to see various shades of grey, thus representing the character more fairly. One might see Oedipus and Odysseus as being quite similar in some ways, but their language and the characteristics revealed in it are what set them apart. Oedipus and Odysseus were both powerful men, each lording over their own small kingdoms. It would seem that they should share some characteristics and it would not be wrong to say that they did. Both proved respectful of their duties towards their people. Oedipus, faced with the request of the people (specifically, the Priest, acts... at the center of the sheet... depicts them as such, but their speech remains one of the strongest methods of characterization. Through the speech, the characters they became multidimensional and character evolution was evident, as in the case of Oedipus' desperation and death. Certainly, the words of Oedipus and Odysseus shaped the image a reader might construct of either of them, even if this. image was not what Sophocles or Homer had intended. Whatever this image, the speech of the main characters of King Oedipus and the Odyssey demonstrated that both Oedipus and Odysseus are complete and multifaceted characters, neither good nor bad, black or white. .Works Cited: Homer. Robert Fitzgerald New York: Vintage Books, 1962. “Oedipus the King.”, 2002.