A comparative analysis of Andre Gide's Oedipe and Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame, 2000

Although there have been numerous and varied treatments of Oedipus throughout the ages, there is to date no detailed analytical study of myth based on Andre Gides Oedine and Ola Rotimis The Gods Are Not to Blame. This study is a critical analysis of these two dramatic texts, which have been reworked from fifth century Greek tragedy. The principal aim is to compare these two plays taken from different cultures, in an effort to show that they both have a common originSophocles Oedipus the King. Through this comparison, the author wishes to show that each playwright presents Oedipus as a classic, which transcends cultural boundaries, thus making Sophocles drama a classic work in world literature. The study is presented in four chapters. The first chapter serves as an introduction, which deals with the origin of the Oedipus theme and some of the major writers who helped to popularize it. This chapter will also present references, theses and other critical works written on the plays in question. The second and third chapters deal with the plays of each playwright: Oedipe by Andre Gide and The Gods Are Not to Blame by Ola Rotimi. Each chapter will include a brief sketch of the authors life, a resume of the plays, and the development of major and minor characters. The fourth chapter will deal with the similarities and the contrasts in the plays and will also serve as the conclusion