Part 1 questions
1. As Oedipus the King, Part I, begins and reveals the widespread disease in Thebes, what emotion would an audience probably feel?
2. In Oedipus the King, Part I, how would you best describes the tone of the speech in which Oedipus tells the citizens that they must help find Laius’ murderer?
3. In Oedipus the King, Part I, what makes Oedipus think that Creon is plotting against him?
4. In Oedipus the King, Part I, Teiresias announces his prophecy about Oedipus. The Chorus responds by saying, “By delphi’s oracle, who is proclaimed/the doer of deeds that remains unnamed?” What emotion might the audience feel after hearing this statement?
5. What is the weakness we learn about in Oedipus as shown in Oedipus the King, Part I?
6. What is the main function of the Chorus in Oedipus the King, Part I?
7. In what way does Oedipus typify the protagonist of a tragedy?
8. Referring to Oedipus’ accusation that Creon is plotting against him, Teiresias says, “I have the right to speak in my defense against you. I live in the service of Apollo, not in yours nor Creon’s. Listen to me. You have called me blind, but you have your eyes but see not where you are in sin. Do you know who your parents are? And of the multitude of other evils between you and your children, you know nothing.” Teiresias’ statement illustrates which element of a tragedy?
9. What does the Chorus identify as a tragic flaw in the following lines from Oedipus the King?
“His words are wise, king. Those who are quick of temper are not safe”
10. The main conflict in Part I of Oedipus the King is an internal or external conflict between which two parties?
Part 2 questions
11. In Oedipus the King, Part II, when Jocasta says, “Be quick and run to the King with the news! Oracles of the Gods, where are you now? It was from this man Oedipus fled, and now he is dead – and not killed by Oedipus!” the audience is aware of a dramatic irony. What is the irony?
12. What is an example of situational irony in Oedipus the King, Part II?
13. In Oedipus the King, Part II, what do Oedipus’ reactions to the truth and to Jocasta’s suicide reveal about his character?
14. In Oedipus the King, Part II, Oedipus says that his house seemed to be a place of “fairness,” or beauty, when in reality it held much “foulness.” What kind of irony (verbal, situational, dramatic, or unintended) is he describing?
15. Oedipus refuses to return to Corinth with the Messenger, saying, “But surely I must fear my mother’s bed?” Why is this statement Ironic?
16. The Messenger’s ignorance of which fact lends dramatic irony to his meeting with Oedipus and Jocasta?
17. In the following passage, a messenger describes how Oedipus searched the palace for Jocasta. What motive might Oedipus have had for calling for the sword?
“. . . Then Oedipus burst upon us shouting and he begged us, ‘Give me a sword!’ Into the room he rushed and saw his wife hanging, the twisted rope around her neck.”
18. When the Chorus asks Oedipus what spirit urged him to blind himself, he replies with these lines. What motivates Oedipus to offer this explanation?
“It was Apollo that brought my ruin to completion. But the hand that struck was my own.”
19. When Oedipus’ downfall is complete, Creon becomes the sole ruler of Thebes. Why is this shift in power is ironic?