Write an essay in which compare and contrast
the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles with the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell.
You should focus on 3 or more of the following elements in your essay:
theme, character, setting, dialogue, stage directions, plot, and structure.
Please consider 1 or more of the following questions in the essay:
How is Oedipus Rex an example of ancient Greek drama, and how is Trifles an example of modern drama? Ancient Greek drama is often characterized by a ritualistic tone. The presence of a chorus is an example of this tone.
Is Susan Glaspell’s Trifles an example of a feminist play? In a feminist story or play, the female characters typically struggle to assert their rights in a society dominated by men.
The title character in Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex is often referred to as a tragic hero. A tragic hero or heroine begins the play as a well-loved person of stature, but that stature disappears, because of a tragic set of circumstances that (a) is foretold, (b) is inevitable, and (c) is brought about by the hero’s or heroine’s own actions. Compare and contrast Oedipus, Creon, or another character from Oedipus Rex with Minnie Foster or another character from Trifles. Is Minnie a tragic heroine? Is Minnie’s tragic circumstance (being arrested for and possibly convicted of murder after killing her husband) foretold, inevitable, and brought about by her own actions, like Oedipus’s circumstance?
1. The essay should be 5 to 7 double-spaced pages (and 1,200 to 1,500 words) plus works cited page.
2. The essay should have a title as well as a thesis statement and must support each of your claims with quotations from the play(s) you choose to write about.
Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner, et al. 4th ed.
Bedford, 2016. pp. 909-920.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner, et al. 4th ed.
Bedford, 2016. pp. 707-750.
