oedipus rex study guide

OEDIPUS REX STUDY GUIDE

C H A R A C T E R S A N D P L A C E S T O K N O W:

BROTHER TO JOCASTA, SENT TO THE ORACLE OF DELPHI TO LEARN HOW

TO SAVE THEBES

Creon

LOCATION OF THE ORACLE—SOURCE OF HOW TO SAVE THEBES

Delphi

F O R M E R K I N G O F T H E B E S ( F I R S T H U S B A N D T O J O C A S TA ) ; M U R D E R E D B E F O R E T H E P L AY B E G I N S A N D M U R D E R E R

H A D N O T B E E N F O U N D ; B I RT H FAT H E R O F O E D I P U S

Laius

PA RT L I O N A N D PA RT M A N ; T E R R O R I Z E S T H E B E S A F T E R T H E D E AT H O F K I N G L A I U S , W H I C H D I S T R A C T E D T H E

P E O P L E F R O M F I N D I N G T H E M U R D E R E R

Sphinx

BIRTH MOTHER OF OEDIPUS, QUEEN OF THEBES, OEDIPUS IS HER 2ND

HUSBAND

Jocasta

OEDIPUS’S BIRTHPLACE; WHERE HE ENDS UP AS KING

Thebes

LEADER OF THE CHORUS; SPEAKS ON BEHALF OF THE CHORUS

Choragos

BLIND PROPHET WHO KNOWS THE TRUTH ABOUT OEDIPUS AND THE

PROPHECY

TEIRESIAS:

where Oedipus grew up; thought this was his

true home

CORINTH:

the mountain where Oedipus was to be

abandoned to die as a baby; where he exiled

himself at the end.

MT. KITHIRON:

KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS (MULTIPLE CHOICE

FORMAT)

PLAGUE—WHEN DID IT OCCUR?

before the play begins/as it opens;

PLAGUE—WHAT WAS ITS CAUSE?

because the people did not find King Laius’s murderer

WHY WAS OEDIPUS ANGRY WITH THE PEOPLE (HINT: FAILED TO DO

SOMETHING….)

BECAUSE IF THE ORACLE HAD NOT COMMANDED IT, THE PEOPLE WOULD

HAVE IGNORED THEIR KING’S MUDERER

WHEN OEDIPUS ASKS THE PROPHET TO REVEAL THE NAME OF THE MURDERER, WHAT IS THE PROPHET’S

RESPONSE?

Although Teiesias knows the answer, it is better that no one else

ever learns the truth

WHO DOES THE PROPHET FINALLY REVEAL AS THE MURDERER OF KING

LAIUS?

OEDIPUS

WHO DOES OEDIPUS ACCUSE OF BEING BEHIND A PLOT TO DESTROY HIM?

CREON

WHAT IS OEDIPUS’S REACTION TO HEARING THAT LAIUS WAS KILLED IN A PLACE WHERE

THREE HIGHWAYS MET?

He remembers an altercation he once had in the same location

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ONLY SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE ATTACK

ON KING LAIUS’S PARTY?

He begged Jocasta to send him as far from Thebes as possible

WHY HAD OEDIPUS FLED CORINTH MANY YEARS BEFORE?

an oracle told him that he would kill his father and marry his

mother

HOW DOES OEDIPUS REACT TO THE CORINTHIAN MESSENGER’S NEWS?

HE IS FILLED WITH RELIEF

SPECIFICALLY, WHAT IS OEDIPUS AFRAID OF IN CORINTH?

He is afraid that he will be married to his

mother and the two will bear children

WHAT REVELATION DOES THE MESSENGER MAKE TO OEDIPUS?

Polybus was not Oedipus’s natural father

HOW DID POLYBUS COME TO RAISE OEDIPUS AS HIS OWN SON?

The messenger had been given an infant

found in the mountains and he gave the child to

the king and queen

WHO IDENTIFIED THE OLD SHEPHERD AS THE MAN WHO SPARED THE

INFANT OEDIPUS?

the Corinthian messenger

HOW DOES THE SHEPHERD REACT WHEN THE MESSENGER STATES THAT KING OEDIPUS WAS

THE BABY THE SHEPHERD HAD GIVEN HIM?

He tells the messenger to hold his tongue

WHO HAD ORIGINALLY GIVEN THE INFANT TO THE SHEPHERD?

Jocasta

THE SHEPHERD DIDN’T DESTROY THE INFANT AS INSTRUCTED BECAUSE:

he pitied the infant and gave it to someone far away from Thebes

WHOSE “GREAT DAYS [ARE] LIKE GHOSTS GONE”?

Oedipus’s

WHAT HAPPENS TO JOCASTA?

She hangs herself

WHAT DOES OEDIPUS DO AFTER HE HELD JOCASTA IN HIS ARMS?

He takes the brooches from her gown and blinds himself

WHAT DOES OEDIPUS CLAIM HE WILL DO NOW THAT THE TRUTH IS KNOWN?

He will exile himself just as he said he would do to the murderer

of King Laius

WHAT FINALLY BECOMES OF OEDIPUS?

He lives in self-exile on Mt. Kithiron where

he should have died as an infant.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

TRAGIC HERO CYCLE ESSAY Person of status (begins well-liked) Oedipus is a caring king as the play beginsTragic Flaw (one character trait that leads the hero to trouble)Oedipus is proud, so he doesn’t listen when Tiresias warns him of the truthTragic ending (hero has fallen, consequences of flaw have been fully realized) Jocasta killed herself, Oedipus has stabbed his eyes out and exiled himself, and now his children will continue to suffer because of the shameful/tragic state of their parents.

DRAMATIC IRONY ESSAYDramatic irony: when the audience knows something that the characters do not. Ex. 1: Oedipus cursing whoever murdered Laius—because we know that HE is the murderer, so he is unknowingly cursing himself.Ex. 2: Jocasta begs Oedipus to stop trying to figure out his parentage. He ignores her, thinking that she is afraid he might be of low status instead of purely royalty. We know that his assumption is wrong—she is really trying to stop Oedipus because she has now realized that she is his mother.