One of the big weaknesses I noticed on your Paper #1 assignments was the lack of a strong answer to the so what? question. Sometimes students have trouble understanding precisely what teachers mean by this question, but in the context of this course it basically means: why do 21st-century audiences still read this play? Why does it still matter? What do we have to learn from it? For your 4th blog post, I want you to answer these questions directly.
This involves more than simply identifying one of the central themes or concerns of the play (such as fate for Oedipus or decisiveness for Hamlet), but rather taking the next step and explaining what the author has to teach us about these themes. The specific question each of you asks yourself will be different, but it might be something like “what does Sophocles ultimately say about fate in Oedipus” or “what is Shakespeare’s ultimate stance on indecisiveness?” Remember, you should be answering that question for modern, 21st-century readers like yourselves, so explaining that the Greek gods control fate wouldn’t be a good answer for the first question, since we no longer believe in these gods.
So, your blog post should contain a thesis statement that poses a strong, clear, and authoritative answer to the so what? question in regards to this play. The body of your post should support your view or interpretation of the play with specific references to the text, i.e. quotations as well explanations of why you chose these quotations and how they support your argument.
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