MORE ESSAY TOPICS
FOR
THE OEDIPAL TRILOGY


1. Examine the ways in which Oedipus changes from the beginning of Oedipus Rex to the end of Oedipus at Colonus.

2. Discuss the similarities between the characters of Oedipus and Creon, and how they differ. Examine the concept of hubris as it is expressed in both men, and how it contributes to the downfall of them both. You might also examine the role of fate in the lives of both men, and whether Fate or hubris alone destroyed Creon.

3. Discuss the redemptive aspect of Oedipus at Colonus and the Christlike symbolism of Oedipus at Colonus.

4. Compare and contrast the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, and discuss the psychological profile of Antigone (as some critics have charged) that she is in love with death. Defend or attack that premise. Pay close attention to the language that Antigone uses and the language that is used to describe her. Also discuss Antigone’s refusal to allow Ismene to share her fate with her.

5. Analyze Haimon’s argument with his father, Creon, in Antigone. Discuss his use of rhetorical devices, and his use of persuasion with his father.

6. Analyze the conflict between Antigone’s religious stance regarding the burial of her brother, and Creon’s stance regarding the sovereignty of the state. Discuss the conflict between God’s laws and human’s temporal laws.

7. Discuss Hellenistic philosophy and how it is expressed in Sophocles’ trilogy. Pay close attention to the concept of Fate, the laws of the gods, and Oedipus’ tragedy as either a repudiation of the laws of the gods or as a validation of the laws of the gods.

8. Discuss Hellenistic philosophy and how it is expressed in Antigone’s tragedy. Pay close attention to the conflict between the sovereignty of God’s law versus the sovereignty of human’s temporal law.

9. Discuss the portrayal of women in Antigone, and the many references to woman and her stereotypes in the play; for example, Creon refers to anarchy (which he despises) as a woman, and Haimon as a woman’s accomplice. Contrast this with the female characters in the play.

10. Discuss Oedipus Rex in terms of Aristotle’s Poetics. Discuss how the play fits in with Aristotle’s concepts of the unity of time, place and theme, his concepts regarding recognition and reversal, and his concepts regarding the tragic hero. For more information, check out this link: Oedipus Plot

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