English 102 Essay 2 First Draft Assignment: “Feminism and Hubris”

MLA  format

Write an essay in which you 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 your 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?

            The final draft of your essay should be 5 to 7 double-spaced pages (and 1,200 to 1,500 words) in length, plus a works cited page. Your essay should have a title as well as a thesis statement. You must support each of your claims with quotations from the play(s) you choose to write about. After answering the above questions as part of the prewriting process, develop a Thesis Statement. Please consult the sample essay on drama in our literature book (in the chapter entitled “Writing about Plays”) for help on formatting in-text citations for plays (such as Oedipus Rex) that are divided into acts and scenes. Please study the sample works cited page below. Relax and have fun with this assignment!

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.