Seven Against Thebes

How is leadership represented in the play? Is Eteocles a good leader? Why or why not?

How are the Seven Against Thebes depicted? In what ways are they different from or similar to one another? How do they reflect some of the play’s key themes and ideas?

How are familial ties and dynamics depicted in the play? What is the significance of intergenerational conflict and trauma in the tragedy?

How is war presented in the play? Reflect on the contrast between the horrors of conquest that frighten the Chorus and the heroic single combats by which the war is ultimately decided.

Consider the way Polynices is represented in the play. How is he characterized? How does his characterization compare with that of Eteocles?

The play represents both human agency and divine will as powerful forces, yet remains ambiguous in reconciling the tensions between them. Do the humans in Seven Against Thebes have meaningful agency? Why or why not?

Analyze the Chorus’s antiphonal dirge for Eteocles and Polynices. How does the Chorus view the House of Oedipus? What is the wider significance of their views in conceptualizing the nature of the tragedy, for both the family and the city?

Analyze the ending of the play. What is the significance of Antigone’s arrival? Does Antigone’s decision represent a breaking of the cycle of family violence and strife, or a perpetuation of it?