Oedipus Rex

By Sophocles

Literature & Composition I

Mr. Shannon

2016-17

Can people control their own fate?

Can others know you better than you know yourself?

Is it better not to know some secrets?

Name: ______Block: ___

Table of contents

Reading sign ups……………………………………………………. 3

Vocabulary………………………………………………………… 4

4 Corners……………………………………………………………. 5

Greek tragedy Web Quest Assignment……………………….. 6

Web Quest rubric………………………………………………….. 7

Web Quest presentation notes…………………………………. 8

Reading comprehension questions…………………………… 10

Reading Sign-ups

1

Prologue

Oedipus:______

Priest:______

Creon:______

Pârodos

Strophe 1:______

a-strophe 1: ______

strophe 2:______

a-strophe 2:______

Strophe 3:______

a-strophe 3:______

scene 1

Oedipus:______

Choragos:______

Teiresias:______

Ode 1

Strophe 1:______

a-strophe 1:______

strophe 2:______

a-strophe 2:______

scene 2

creon:______

choragus:______

Oedipus:______

Jocaste______

Ode 2

Strophe 1:______

a-strophe 1: ______

strophe 2:______

a-strophe 2:______

Scene 3

Choragos:______

Oedipus:______

Jocaste:______

Messenger:______

Ode 3

Strophe:______

a-Strophe:______

scene 4

Oedipus:______

Choragos:______

Messenger:______

Shepherd:______

Ode 4

Strophe 1:______

a-strophe 1: ______

strophe 2:______

a-strophe 2:______

êxodos

2nd mess: ______

Oedipus:______

Choragos:______

Creon:______

1

Vocabulary

Vocabulary 2.5:

Greek Chorus

Motif

Forshadowing

Theme (revisited)

Vocabulary 2.6:

Suppliant

Clairvoyant

Lamentation

Treachery

Vocabulary 3.1:

Balk

Insolence

Execrable

Infamous

4 Corners:

You may choose to Agree, Strongly Agree, disagree or Strongly Disagree with the following statements. Then you must Explain WHY you feel the way you do. During the activity you will be asked to defend your claims.

1)Fate is real.

2)IT is important to always strive for the truth.

3)Good leaders should follow the advice of those that they trust.

4)Other people know me better than I know myself.

5)Self-Confidence is a positive character trait.

Greek Tragedy Web Quest & Group Presentation

We are beginning our study of Greek Tragedy! Before we begin reading Oedipus Rex, we are going to do some research and present our findings to the class on a variety of subjects.

Your Group # & Title: ______

Your Group Members: ______

Step 1: Peruse the Rubric, see what you will be graded on and how to succeed.

Step 2: Work with your group to decide who will be responsible for what information and assign homework tasks.

Your Homework: ______

Step 3: Either using PowerPoint or Google presentation software, create a presentation that is informative and easy to read. Please use visuals when appropriate. You will have one class block to complete this task. If you have not finished the work, you will need to decide how to get it done outside of class.

What needs to be completed before the presentation? ______

______

Step 4: Decide who will present what information to the class. Each group member must speak and will be graded individually on his/her oral presentation skills.

Step 5: Practice your presentation! Review the oral presentation rubric for grading expectations.

1

Oral Presentation Rubric
Exemplary / Proficient / Developing / Beginning
Organization / Uses the introduction to clearly and emphatically define the scope of topics or thesis / Uses the introduction to clearly define the scope of topics or thesis / Attempts to define the scope of topics or thesis in the introduction / Minimally defines the scope of topic or thesis in the introduction
Powerfully captures the attention of the audience / Engages the attention of the audience / Presents ideas and information with some evidence of sequencing and transitions / Presents ideas and information with little evidence of sequencing and transitions
Presents ideas and information with logical sequencing and seamless transitions / Presents ideas and information in sequence with clear transitions / Attempts to provide a connection to the introduction or a summation of points in the conclusion / Does not provide a summation or connection to the introduction
Content / Uses rich, varied and relevant supporting materials / Uses varied and relevant supporting materials / Uses some supporting materials / Uses few supporting materials
Acquires extensive and relevant information from multiple sources / Acquires relevant information from multiple sources / Acquires some information from limited sources / Acquires minimal information from limited sources
Verbal presentation / Speaks clearly and distinctly all of the time, with no vocal pauses or slang / Speaks clearly and distinctly frequently, with few vocal pauses or slang / Speaks clearly and distinctly sometimes, with some vocal pauses or slang / Rarely speaks clearly and distinctly
Does not mispronounce any words / Mispronounces a few words / Mispronounces several words / Speaks with frequent vocal pauses or slang
Non-verbal Presentation / Consistently employs gestures and assumes a stance that reflects the content of speech / Employs gestures and assumes a stance that reflects the content of speech / Employs gestures and assumes a stance that sometimes reflects the content of speech / Employs gestures and stance that detracts from the content of the speech
Consistently maintains eye contact with the audience / Frequently maintains eye contact with the audience / Occasionally maintains eye contact with the audience / Rarely looks at the audience
Fluency / Executes a smooth presentation using notes as appropriate / Executes a fairly smooth presentation using notes as appropriate / Delivers a choppy presentation with some questionable language choices or verbal disconnectedness / Delivers a presentation with distracting verbal jitters and awkward pauses

1

Web quest Presentation Notes

Directions: For each group, you need to answer each of the essential questions. In addition, you should make sure that you take down the definitions of any key terms.

Group 1: Dionysus
Dionysus is the god of what entities?
How was Dionysus related to theater and drama?
How did the Greeks worship Dionysus?
Group 2: Ancient Athens
When did the Classical Age occur?
What values were prevalent throughout Greece’s Classical Age?
How did Athenian democracy work?
Group 3: The Festival
What were the different aspects of the Dionysian Festival?
What was the purpose of the festival?
Who attended the festival?
Group 4: Tragedians
Who were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides?
What did these men have in common? What made them unique?
What are the basic components of a classic Greek tragedies?
Group 5: The Theater
What did the theater look like? How big was it? (Draw a diagram)
What props were used at the theater? What were they called and how did they work?
Why did the actors wear masks?
Group 6: The Tragic Hero
According to Aristotle, what are the attributes of a classic tragedy?
What are the attributes of the tragic hero?
What is catharsis?

Reading Comprehension

Directions: Answer all questions in full and complete sentences. You need to include a direct quotation in at least TWO of your responses per section.

Prologue:

  1. How does Oedipus view himself? What type of leader does he say he is?
  1. What is Oedipus’ attitude toward the suppliants (citizens begging for help)?
  1. What are the conditions like in Thebes at the beginning of the play? Look to the Priest description for help.
  1. According to Creon, what does the Oracle say must be done in order to cure Thebes of the plague?
  1. What prevented the citizens of Thebes from investigating Laios’ death?
  1. Explain the dramatic irony in Oedipus’ final statements in the prologue (p. 9)?

Directions: Answer all questions in full and complete sentences. You need to include a direct quotation in at least TWO of your responses per section.

Scene 1:

  1. Find an example of dramatic irony in Oedipus’ speech that begins scene one. Explain how the example fits the definition.
  1. What does Oedipus propose as a punishment for the murder?
  1. Who is Teiresias? What is his reaction to Oedipus’ request for help?
  1. Of what does Oedipus accuse Teiresias?
  1. What does Teiresias reveal to Oedipus? Does Oedipus believe him?
  1. What does Teiresias predict will happen to Oedipus?

Ode 1:

Directions: Read and annotate the first Ode. You will participate in a Socratic Seminar about this portion of the text, so read it carefully. After reading through it a few times, write 2 discussion questions that you plan to ask during the class discussion.

The Delphic stone of prophecies

Remembers ancient regicide

And a still bloody hand.

That killer’s hour of flight has come.

He must be stronger than riderless

Coursers of untiring wind,

For the son of Zeus is armed with his father’s thunder

Leaps in lightning after him;

And the Furies follow him, the sad Furies.

Holy Parnassos’ peak of snow

Flashes and blinds the secret man,

That all shall hunt him down;

Though he may roam the forest shade

Like a bull gone wild from pasture

To rage through glooms of stone.

Doom comes down on him; flight will not avail him;

For the world’s heart calls him desolate,

And the immortal Furies follow, for ever follow.

But now a wilder thing is heard

From the old man skilled at hearing Fate in the wingbeat of a bird

Bewildered as a blown bird, my soul hovers and cannot find

Foodhold in this debate, or any reason or rest of mind.

But no man ever brought—none can bring

Proof of strife between Thebes’ royal hous,

Labdakos’ line, and the son of Polybos;

And never until now has any man brought word

Of Laios’ dark death staining Oedipus the King.

Divine Zeus and Apollo hold

Perfect intelligence alone of all tales ever told;

And well though this diviner works, he works in his own night;

No man can judge that rough unknown or trust in second sight,

For wisdom changes hands among the wise.

Shall I believe my great lord criminal

At raging word that a blind old man let fall?

I saw him, when the carrion woman faced him of old,

Prove his heroic mind! These evil words are lies.

Two Discussion questions:

1) ______
______

______

2) ______
______

______

Directions: Answer all questions in full and complete sentences. You need to include a direct quotation in at least TWO of your responses per section.

Scene 2:

  1. How does Choragos explain Oedipus’ behavior and accusations?
  1. Does Creon regret calling for Teiresias? How do you know?
  1. Why doesn’t Creon want to be king? Do you think his arguments are justified?
  1. What does Iocaste think about soothsayers and predictions?
  1. What is Oedipus’ story about Corinth? What happened there?
  1. Why are Oedipus and Iocaste upset at the end of scene two?

Group Annotation

Directions:You may work with a group of 4 people to complete this assignment. Please annotate the ode and then summarize each stanza. You need to turn this in at the end of class.

Let me be reverent in the ways of right,

Lowly the paths I journey on;

Let all my words and actions keep

The laws of the pure universe

From highest Heaven handed down.

For Heaven is their bright nurse,

Those generations of the realms of light;

Ah, never of mortal kind were they begot,

Nor are they slaves of memory, lost in sleep:

Their Father is greater than Time, and ages not.

What is the message of this stanza? How would you describe the tone?

The tyrant is a child of Pride

Who drinks from his great sickening cup

Recklessness and vanity,

Until from his high crest headlong

He plummets to the dust of hope.

That strong man is not strong.

But let no fair ambition be denied;

May God protect the wrestler for the State

In government, in comely policy,

Who will fear God, and on His ordinance wait.

What is the message of this stanza? How would you describe the tone?

Haughtiness and the high hand of disdain

Tempt and outrage God’s holy law;

And any mortal who dares hold

No immortal Power in awe

Will be caught up in a net of pain:

The price for which his levity is sold.

Let each man take due earnings, then,

And keep his hands from holy things,

And from blasphemy stand apart—

Else the crackling blast of heaven

Blows on his head, and on his desperate heart;

Through fools will honor impious men,

In their cities no tragic poet sings.

What is the message of this stanza? How would you describe the tone?

Shall we lose faith in Delphi’s obscurities,

We who have heard the world’s core

Discredited, and the sacred wood

Of Zeus at Elis praised no more?

The deeds and the strange prophecies

Must make a pattern yet to be understood.

Zeus, if indeed you are lord of all,

Throned in light over night and day,

Mirror this in your endless mind:

Our masters call the oracle

Words on the wind, and the Delphic vision blind!

Their hearts no longer know Apollo,

And reverence for the gods has died away.

What is the message of this stanza? How would you describe the tone?

Directions: Answer all questions in full and complete sentences. You need to include a direct quotation in at least TWO of your responses per section.

Scene 3:

  1. What news brings the messenger to Thebes?
  1. Why are the Thebans so happy about the news?
  1. Why doesn’t Oedipus feel relieved?
  1. Why does Iocaste start to hesitate about the investigation? What does she say to try and stop it?
  1. Why does Oedipus think she is hesitating?
  1. Cite an example of dramatic irony from Oedipus’ last speech and explain it.

Directions: Answer all questions in full and complete sentences. You need to include a direct quotation in at least TWO of your responses per section.

Scene 4:

  1. How does Oedipus know that he can trust the shepherd?
  1. Why does the shepherd tell the messenger to stop talking? What does the shepherd know that the messenger does not?
  1. Why did the shepherd give the baby away?
  1. What is Oedipus’ reaction to the news?

Directions: Answer all questions in full and complete sentences. You need to include a direct quotation in at least TWO of your responses per section.

Exodos:

  1. How does Iocaste die?
  1. What did Oedipus do following Iocaste’s death? What figurative language is used to describe his actions?
  1. How does Oedipus explain his decision to harm himself?
  1. What is ironic about Creon’s rise to the throne?
  1. What does Oedipus think will happen to his daughters?
  1. What is Choragos’ final advice? What does it mean?

1

1