The following study is divided into five parts, The first part examines the use of myth in Eguus, Various interpretations of myth are presented and their relationship to Equus is explored. Chapter II covers the relevance of psychology to the play. R, Do Laing's comments on normalcy as the goal of society and Carl Jung's theories on the subconscious are both important to a study of Equus. The philosophy of Nietzsche helps explain some of the ideas in Equus, and Chapter III summarizes his contributions to the study. Chapter IV is a close look at the symbolism of the horse, and Chapter V deals with the yearning for transcendence as discussed by early German Romanticists, Equus is a romantic statement incorporating the fields of myth and psychology.

The play Eguus presents a series of dialectics, opposing forces in dramatic tension. The multi-leveled subjects with which Shaffer works confront each other as thesis and antithesis working towards a tentative synthesis. The contrasts include the conflict of art and science, the Apollonian and Dionysian polarity, and the confrontation of Christianity and paganism. Modern man faces these conflicts and attempts to come to terms with them. These opposites are really paradoxes. They seem to contradict each other, but, in fact, they are not mutually exclusive. Rather than contradicting each other, each aspect of a dialectic influences its counterpoint; both are necessary to make a whole person.