Philoctetes
- Essay 2, on Philoctetes, which students attending last night have already begun, will be in response to the prompt-question that I wrote on the board last: IS the ″deus ex machina″ at the end of Sophocles′ Philoctetes consistent with the play up to that point? That is, do we A) judge this move (the deus ex machina–god from the machine) as a cheap, ″god-saves-the-day″ device used to force a happy ending (and conformity to the Greek mythology) upon the play, OR have we, B) as the three articles or essays in the 4/27 handout have argued (in their different ways), been PREPARED, somehow, in the events, acts and emotions leading up to that moment, for Heracles′ ″miraculous″ appearance and Philoctetes′ (seemingly sudden) change of mind? [That is the basic prompt for the paper; below is HOW you are to go about responding to the prompt and writing the paper:] [unique_solution]1. Represent (with accuracy but in summary–probably in 2-3 paragraphs) some version of the (B) argument as argued by one, or two, or all three of the authors in the 4/27 PHILOCTETES handout. 2. Represent an argument for (A)–i.e.,. conversely, that essentially the real logic of the play was concluded when Neoptolemus gave back the bow and was going to sail Philoctetes back to home, which was all that the suffering Philoctetes had been asking for: Neoptolemus finally made his difficult moral decision, and Philoctetes′ mind was consistent with his mind as presented throughout the play. [Also probably 2-3 paragraphs.] 3. Give your own best argument (i.e., for ″A″ or ″B″ or some combination of the two, or somehow, if this is what you have arrived at and is possible, something that is neither ″A″ nor ″B″), with your own best support and reasoning, citing or not citing any authors or works that you want–as long as you are supporting well, with reasoning, clearly articulated argument, and textual support for your inferences. [3 or more paragraphs–this, of course, is the true heart of your essay, the payoff; the previous sections are what ″they say″ or what ″could be argued,″ fairly represented; this section, now, is what YOU are arguing for.] So the above essay, in the final draft, should be a minimum, if my addition is competent (and my math skills, straight through 9th Grade, were quite excellent), of 9 paragraphs: an introductory paragraph (which we went over in class last night—talk to your classmates); 2+2＝4 for your representation of arguments ″A″ and ″B″; 3 for your well-reasoned, well-supported argument; + a concluding paragraph.