CLST 273H: Classical Tragedy

To read and assess a professional scholar's published ideas about Sophocles' tragedies (a focus to start with, but you'll also see that elements in these arguments apply to other plays too)
To test these ideas against your own reading - either of Sophocles' Oedipus the King or of another play from our course material
To demonstrate, in a concrete, specific, well-argued essay, where the scholar's ideas illuminate important aspects of the play you choose, and where those ideas can be improved on for an even better picture of what your tragic poet is doing in the play you pick; if you choose to compare and contrast another poet and work to what the published article is saying about Sophocles, show how well the scholar's arguments apply to the play you are interested in studying

All these articles are published in Jasper Griffin, ed., Sophocles Revisited (Oxford: Univ. Press 1999) - book on Reserve.

In 4-6 typed, double-spaced pages:

Identify the article you have chosen to focus on, and briefly summarize its central argument - do not spend more than one page total in your paper on mere summary! the important part of this essay is your analysis and well-supported critique
Show how the scholar's views can be supported from the play and passages you have chosen to focus on - go beyond quotation or paraphrase to show what additional insights you can build on the scholar's work
If the play you have chosen can be better understood by modifying the scholar's views, show why and how the argument can be modified to make it work even better
Support your observations and suggestions by referring to specific, concrete passages of evidence in the play you're working on, and explaining how these passages help confirm your points
For suggestions about pulling an essay together, see Dr. Long's Guide to Writing Papers

BACK to CLST 273H Schedule of Readings and Assignments

This file last updated 19 February 2002 by jlong1@orion.it.luc.edu.
http://www.luc.edu/depts/classics/