The oedipal theme in ancient Greek, African, and American drama: a comparative study of sophocles’s king oedipus, rotimi’s the gods are not to blame, and O’neill’s desire under the elms

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1998-02-15
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This thesis is about the Oedipal theme as it is portrayed in Sophocles’s King Oedipus, Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not To Blame, and O’Neill’s Desire Under the The purpose is to compare and contrast how these playwrights construct the plots of their various plays around the Oedipal theme, that is, the love relationship between a father, his wife, and his son. This thesis is also an original study because there have been several comparisons between Sophocles’s King Oedipus and Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not To Blame, but the addition of a third play, Desire Under the Elms, by Eugene O’Neill, makes this thesis different from all other studies. This thesis is of much significance because it depicts a love relationship which is of global importance because it traverses all cultures and regions of the world. For the purpose of this thesis, however, we shall limit ourselves to the ancient Greek, African, and American cultures with regard to the Oedipal theme. The comparative analysis of King Oedipus, The Gods Are Not To Blame, and Desire Under the Elms will be done using the following parameters: a discussion of the plot, action, character analysis, language, irony, and the belief in the supernatural in the various plays. We shall also discuss these plays as satirical works. In Desire Under the Elms, however, the discussion will, among other things focus on the role material possession plays in the attainment of the Oedipal theme.
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A thesis submitted to the Board of Postgraduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Comparative Literature, 1998
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