Like Shakespeare, both Sophocles and Ibsen have been distinguished as great playwrights because their works demonstrate several key characteristics of a great play. They provide their audiences with an intriguing story that is both general and specific, general enough to apply to audiences across the ages, but specific enough to provide a story that is unique and interesting. In addition to their plots and concepts, which must be complex enough to intrigue the audience, but simple enough to fit onto the stage without the conveniences of modern theatrics, the characters in both Ibsen and Sophocles�s plays are remarkable. Not only are they deep enough to be interesting from the beginning of the plays, but they also go through a development process that changes them at the end of the story. In this way, both Ibsen�s and Sophocles�s audiences are captivated from the opening to the dropping of the curtain. While both Ibsen�s and Sophocles�s characters are unique, however, they share similarities and differences that make at least two of their plays comparable�Ibsen�s Hedda Gabler and Sophocles�s Oedipus Rex. The main characters in each of these plays�Hedda Gabler and Oedipus respectively share many similar characteristics at he beginning of the plays. In addition, they each go through a self-searching and discovery process that allows them to find out more and more about their own situations�revelations that drive them to drastic action. While only one of the characters ends up dead at the end of the plays that contain them, carefully observant audiences can determine that both Hedda and Oedipus experience a death once their journeys come to an end. In addition, both Hedda and Oedipus�s deaths cause the audience to think deeply about their situations, both specifically and in general. Thus, through an examination of Hedda Gabler and Oedipus�s situations the beginning of t...