Blackboard_with_course_name.gif (8516 bytes)Study Questions for Oedipus Rex

Prologue and Párodos

  1. Describe the effects of the plague that has struck Thebes.
  2. What message about the plague does Creon bring? Where did he get this message?
  3. What do the people think of Oedipus?

Scene I and Ode I

  1. How is Oedipus's opening speech ironic?
  2. Why do Oedipus and Teiresias quarrel?
  3. Why doesn't Oedipus recognize the truth when he hears it?
  4. How does the Chorus react to Teiresias's accusations?

Scene II and Ode II

  1. Who stops the quarrel between Oedipus and Creon?
  2. Why does Iocastê tell Oedipus about her baby? What detail of her story catches Oedipus's attention? What does he begin to suspect?
  3. Whom do Oedipus and Iocastê send for?
  4. What does Iocastê say about oracles? How does the Chorus react to her words?

Scene III and Ode III

  1. Who is the Messenger, and what has he come to tell Oedipus?
  2. What connection does the Messenger have with Oedipus's past? Why does he reveal it now?
  3. Why does Iocastê suddenly beg Oedipus to forget all this and stop asking questions?
  4. How do Oedipus and the Chorus react to the questions about who Oedipus really is?

Scene IV and Ode IV

  1. The Shepherd who was the sole survivor of Laïos's travelling group turns out to be the same man who did what in earlier times?
  2. What does the Shepherd finally reveal? Why is he so reluctant to say it?
  3. How do Oedipus and the Chorus react to these revelations?

Exodos

  1. How do we learn about Iocastê's death and Oedipus's self-punishment? Why do you think Sophocles used this method?
  2. What do Iocastê and Oedipus do when they realize the truth?
  3. Who does Oedipus say is responsible for his actions?
  4. What 3 (or 4) requests does Oedipus make to Creon?
  5. What moral does the Chorus see in all this? (The Choragos is the leader of the Chorus and often speaks for it.)

Now go to the Oedipus Game and test your knowledge of the play!  (Note:   If you answer a question wrong, you'll hear a gunshot and see an explanation.   Use the Back button on your browser to go back to the question and try again.   When you click the correct answer, the game takes you on to the next question.)   As you read, you'll also learn more about the background for the play.

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This page was last edited on 08/09/05.
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