Term Paper on "Oedipus the King According to Aristotle's Definition"

Quoted Instructions for "Oedipus the King According to Aristotle's Definition" Assignment:

Three typed pages. Double spaced. MLA format.

Each essay will be completed by going through the FOUR stages of the writing process:

Invention -- For this stage, you may use brainstorming, listing, clustering, free writing, or the probing questions (Who/What, when, where, how, etc.) to generate ideas for the topic without paying attention to form, grammar, etc. The focus should be on simply generating as much information as possible on the topic.

Arrangement-- This stage is where you organize your ideas in some meaningful and logical order. Look for a clear pattern such as narration, description, exemplification/illustration, process, cause and effect, comparison-contrast, classification and division, or definition.

Realize that sometimes, it is necessary to use a combination of these. It is also at this stage that you organize your information into the THREE PARTS OF AN ESSAY (Introduction which should end with a clearly stated THESIS; body which includes supporting and developmental paragraphs which include quotations and direct references to the work being discussed by way of support for the thesis; and a conclusion which brings your essay to a clear close).

This is the stage at which you also construct a Formal Topic Outline with the thesis (See example in the handbook, Quick Access, 5/E, sections 6h & 6i, pages 38-42 and page 251).

3. Drafting--This is where you get your ideas down on paper so you can react to them. For this reason, the first draft is usually called the Discovery Draft. You use it to explore your ideas on the subject in a comprehensible manner, but it exists to be revised. You should be prepared to cross out, and extensively rearrange material. Furthermore, if you think of new ideas as you write be prepared to include them and follow them to their conclusion. During the drafting stage, remember that it is okay to start with the body paragraphs and write the introduction later.

4. Revising and Editing--This is something you will be doing continuously as you move from one draft to the next. You need to realize that effective revision can only take place after you have taken a break from the material and come back to it with "fresh eyes". Use the peer review checklist in the Handouts section of the course to revise your essay BEFORE you submit it to a classmate for Peer Review. Remember that revision focuses on the ideas and how they are communicated, their arrangement and support, NOT on the mechanics such as spelling, grammar, punctuation (this is Editing and must be done AFTER Revision has taken place).

1. Write an analytical essay in which you single out an element of a play for examination--character, plot, setting, theme, dramatic irony, tone, language, symbolism, or any other element. Try to relate this element to the play as a whole. For example, "The Function of Teiresias in Oedipus the King"; "Imagery of poison in Othello"; "Williams' use of Magic Lantern Slides in The Glass Menagerie", and so on.

2. Analyze Othello or Oedipus the King using *****'s definition of the tragedy. Does the play measure up to *****'s requirement for a tragedy? In what ways does it meet the definition? In what ways does it part? (Be sure to clearly state the Aristotelian rules by which drama is to be judged.)

3. "The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted." Support or reject this comment with close reference to the two plays.

4. Take a single line or sentence from one of the plays we have read--one that stands out for some reason as greatly important. Perhaps it states a theme, reveals a character, or serves as a crisis (or turning point). Write an essay demonstrating its importance--how it functions, why it is necessary. Some possible lines include but are not limited to the following:

Iago to Roderigo: "I am not what I am." (Othello, I, i, 67)

Amanda to Tom: "You live in a dream; you manufacture illusions!" (The Glass Menagerie, scene VII)