OEDIPUS STUDY GUIDE

PROLOGUE and ODE OF ENTRY (5-14)

  1. Where does the play take place?
  2. Oedipus identifies the citizens of Thebes as “generations of the living in the line of Cadmus.” Who was Cadmus?
  3. Find examples of irony and duality each time Oedipus speaks.
  4. Which three characters speak in the Prologue? What attitude does Oedipus assume toward the suppliants seeking his help? Find examples of his pride.
  5. Who are Pallas Athena and Phoebus Apollo? Why are these deities mentioned?
  6. What does the priest ask Oedipus to do?
  7. What initial step does Oedipus indicate he has already taken?
  8. What is the significance of Delphi?
  9. Who is Creon?
  10. What is the message from the oracle at Delphi with which Creon returns?
  11. What single clue about the murder of Laius is revealed by Creon?
  12. What does Oedipus think about this clue? What might this perception foreshadow?
  13. What research method is Oedipus encouraged to use to discover who the murderer is? Why is this ironic?
  14. What prevented Thebes from tracking down the murderer of Laius at the time of the murder?
  15. What was the Sphinx?
  16. What was the riddle of the Sphinx? What was the answer? Why is this ironic?
  17. Who solved the riddle? What happened to the Sphinx after the riddle was solved?
  18. How was Thebes tortured by the Sphinx? What happened to Thebes as a result of solving the riddle? What prizes did Thebes give the one who solved the riddle?
  19. At the end of the Prologue what does Oedipus promise to do? Is he being Apollonian or Dionysian here?
  20. What is the symbolic significance of the olive boughs strewn at the altar steps? Why does Oedipus tell them to lift up their olive boughs?

The Ode of Entry (11-14)

  1. In strophe 1, what does the Chorus ask?
  2. In antistrophe 1, to which god and goddesses does the chorus appeal for rest from their suffering?
  3. In strophe 2 and antistrophe 2, the Chorus bewails their situation in Thebes. Describe the condition of the people of Thebes as the play begins.
  4. What is the message of the Chorus in strophe 3 and antistrophe 3?
  5. At the conclusion of antistrophe 3, to what new god and his attendants does the Chorus appeal for safety from death?
  6. Contrast the verse of the Parados with that of the Prologue. What do you notice about the difference?
  7. At this point, to whom is the Chorus appealing for help?

FIRST ESPISODE AND SECOND CHORAL ODE (pages 14-28)

  1. This scene is filled with many instances of dramatic and verbal irony. See how many examples you can find in Oedipus’s long speech.
  2. What might be suggested by the fact that Oedipus had to send twice for Tiresias?
  3. Why does Tiresias refuse to help Oedipus?
  4. Find examples of darkness/light or blindness/seeing. Any irony?
  5. Because Tiresias is blind, which of the five senses does he rely on to prophesy?
  6. How does Oedipus regard Tiresias at first? When does his regard for Tiresias change?
  7. Notice how Tiresias speaks in riddles—yet the audience should catch all of his “clues.” Explain.
  8. Find images of hunting in the strophe/antistrophe of the chorus. What is the significance of this? How does the chorus respond to Tiresias’s declaration?
  9. Oedipus makes an important point about becoming king of Thebes. What is it?
  10. Oedipus suspects that Tiresias and Creon are in cahoots. Explain.

SECOND EPISODE and THIRD CHORAL ODE (pages 28-48)

  1. Contrast Creon’s actions with Oedipus’s actions. What seems to motivate each one? Which one is Apollonian? Dionysian?
  2. Why doesn’t Oedipus make the connection when Jocasta tells him the story of Laius and her child?
  3. What is Jocasta’s response to Oedipus’s suspicions about Creon? The chorus’s response?
  4. What is Jocasta’s attitude toward oracles? Why?
  5. What is the purpose of the chorus in this section?
  6. Why did the servant who escaped from Laius’s murderer beg Jocasta to be sent away? Why does Oedipus send for him?
  7. Why doesn’t Jocasta believe that Oedipus is the man who killed Laius?

Third Choral Ode (47-48)

  1. What is the chorus’s response to Jocasta’s disrespect for oracles?
  2. What does Sophocles mean when he writes, “Could I celebrate such wantonness and celebrate the dance?”
  3. Why is it important to the audience that Tiresias be right?

THIRD EPISODE and FOURTH CHORAL ODE (48-61)

1. What change do we see in Jocasta’s attitude in this episode?

2. The Messenger from Corinth has some good news and some bad news. Explain.

3. Where do we see Freud’s famous “Oedipus Complex” here?

4. The Messenger turns out to be an important person from Oedipus’s past. Explain.

5. Oedipus misinterprets Jocasta’s response to the news of his adoptive parents. Explain.

6. At what point does Jocasta realize that Oedipus is her son? What is her response?

7. Where do we see Oedipus’s great nobility How is he being true to his name?

8. Whom does Oedipus consider his true “mother”? Why is this ironic?

Fourth Choral Ode (60-61)

1. How does the chorus glorify Oedipus in the strophe?

2. How do they glorify him in the antistrophe?

FOURTH EPISODE and FIFTH CHORAL ODE (61-68)

1. What does the line, “The child’s own mother?” reveal about Oedipus?

2. Where is the climax of the play?

Fifth Choral Ode (68)

1. Strophe I should remind you of Ecclesiastes from the Bible. Explain.

2. Where is the literal meaning of “hamartia” (missing the mark) in Antistrophe I?

3. Where do we see the Chorus repeating something Tiresias said earlier?

EPILOGUE (69-71)

1. An official delivers some bad news. What terrible actions have occurred off scene?

2. What is significant about the way Jocasta kills herself?

3. What is significant about the way Oedipus harms himself?

4. What is the chief source of Oedipus’s rage?

CHORAL DIALOGUE (71-80)

1. How does the audience experience catharsis in this final scene?

2. The former scene between Oedipus and Tiresias was like a mirror. Explain.

3. Whom does Oedipus blame for his downfall?

4. Oedipus tells the chorus that living in blindness is better than killing himself. Why?

5. Where do we seen Sophocles’s emphasis on numbers (1,2,3,4) in Oedipus’s final speech? Why does he do this?

6. Who rules Thebes now that Oedipus has chosen to banish himself?

7. Why doesn’t Creon honor Oedipus’s request for banishment?

8. What does Oedipus request for his family members?

9. Why does Oedipus want to be banished to Cithaeron?

10. The final scene with Oedipus is one of great pathos. Explain why.

11. What is Creon’s final advice to Oedipus?

ENVOI: (81): The chorus gets the final word. What do they say about Oedipus?

What lesson must the audience learn from the tragic Oedipus?