The most unusual part of this essay project is that you are asked to deal with both plays, so your thesis should be on the character who appears in both plays. When dealing with this kind of subject, it is fruitful to compare not simply the character itself, but the supporting characters – how their relationship with the main character differs or changes from one play to the next. If Oedipus was enlightened by the...
The most unusual part of this essay project is that you are asked to deal with both plays, so your thesis should be on the character who appears in both plays. When dealing with this kind of subject, it is fruitful to compare not simply the character itself, but the supporting characters – how their relationship with the main character differs or changes from one play to the next. If Oedipus was enlightened by the first play’s events, does he demonstrate a better relationship with, for example, the Chorus in the second play? And does his physical blindness make him “see” things more clearly?
If you were casting both plays, would you cast Oedipus himself differently in both plays? So a good thesis statement might answer the question “To what degree should these plays be considered two separate creative efforts rather than a play and its sequel?” Particularly intriguing about the later play is that his daughters Antigone and Ismene (and, in offstage action reported by Ismene, his sons Eteocles and Polynices) play such important roles in not only Oedipus’ life, but in the fate of several Greek city-states – Colonus to be sure, but also Thebes and Athens.
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