EXTRA CREDIT: Oedipus Rex

EXTRA CREDIT: Oedipus Rex

EXTRA CREDIT: Oedipus Rex

English IV AP / Mrs. Ramos

If you read Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) over Spring Break, you need to complete two tasks to earn your extra credit (don’t worry—no riddles or oracles).

1)come to one of the discussion group sessions (about 1 hour)

2)bring some notes / ideas with you (see topics below)

PREPARATION

Make some notes on each of the following topics and bring them with you to the discussion.

  1. Compare / contrast the characters of Hamlet and Oedipus (Venn diagram or list is fine)
  2. Create a list of at least five questions about the play. These should be actual things you want / need to know about the play. The questions can be
  3. factual (who is…? what happened…?)
  4. interpretive (why did…? what does it mean that…?)
  5. speculative (what if…?)
  6. Speculate on what causes Oedipus’ fall and what we are supposed to learn from it.

DISCUSSION

Discussion groups will take place at the following times:

Tues., 4/3/07 @ 7:10 – 7:55 am (breakfast-y snacks provided)

Wed., 4/4/07 @ 5th period lunch (bring your lunch if you like but I’ll have snacks)

Thurs., 4/5/07 @ 4:00 – 4:45 pm (afterschool-y snacks provided)

Your participation in the discussion should be vigorous but productive and considerate of others. If you are late, you can join the group but expect that points will be reduced.

If you cannot attend any of these times, make arrangements with me to have a one-on-one discussion.

GAINING THE POINTS

I will assign each person extra credit points by considering the following:

A. preparation for discussion (notes / ideas)

B. level of participation in discussion (frequency and quality)

C. apparent understanding of the play

Œdipus Rex by Sophocles

Dramatis Personae

Œdipus(ED uh puss) or (EED uh pis) King of Thebes. He saved Thebes from the Sphinx by correctly answering her riddle, “What goes upon four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three legs in the evening?” He was then made king. His name literally means “swollen foot”, which is a clue to his true identity.

Laius(LAY us) Previous King of Thebes and husband of Jocasta before Œdipus

Jocasta(Joe CAST uh) [also called Ipicaste, Iocaste] Queen of Thebes. Sister of Creon.

Creon(CREE on) Brother of Jocasta. Creon is somewhat domineering and self-centered.

Teiresias(Ty REE see us) or (Terr REE see us) The blind prophet who is present in many Greek works including The Odyssey.

Ismene(ES men ee) Daughter of Œdipus

Antigone(An TIG a nee) Daughter of Œdipus

Chorusof Priests and Suppliants; It is the job of the chorus to react to the events on stage. The chorus can be wise, erratic, humorous, profound. The chorus shows the audience how to react.

Priestof Zeus

MessengerfromCorinth

Shepherdof Laius

Second Messenger

Fundamental Topics, Symbols, and Terms

-blindness

-religious belief

-fate

-truth—the pursuit and ignorance of it

-crossroads

-tombs

-free will

-suffering

-crime and punishment

-deus ex machine

-fatal flaw (hamartia)

The Play as a Whole

-Aristotle’s idea of the ‘reversal of the situation’ notes that plot turns on a change in the action due to the protagonist’s growth, a revelation, or an epiphany. What kind of reversal do you think Oedipus Rex turns upon?

-What seems to be Oedipus’ primary motivation throughout the drama?

-Identify Oedipus’ fatal flaw.

-To what extent is deus ex machina (look it up if you do not know it) present in the drama? How could it be seen as an antagonist?

-In what thematic ways does Oedipus overlap Hamlet? Is there any overlap with character attributes or plot?

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