Oedipus the King Prove it with line numbers and quotes.
1. What agricultural problems has Thebes been having at the opening of the play?
2. What three "blights" have fallen on the city?
3. When the chorus states that the realm of Pluto "is full fed," what does that mean?
4. In lines 64 onward, Oedipus refers to the people of the city as "my poor children." What does this reveal abut Oedipus's attitude toward his relationship with the city of Thebes?
5. Who or what is the Oracle at Delphi and why do the Thebans hope this Oracle can help them?
6. Who was King of Thebes before Oedipus took the job?
7. Why didn't the Thebans avenge the king's death? (i.e., What new and more pressing problem distracted them from finding and punishing the murderer?)
8. Oedipus gives a practical set of reasons why he should seek out the murderer. List one of these reasons.
9. What public proclamation or call does Oedipus make to the people of Thebes reminiscent of "crime stoppers"?
10. What does Oedipus declare as punishment for Lais' murderer? What events is this murderer forbidden to take part in?
11. What does Oedipus declare about his pronounced curse if it should turn out that Oedipus himself has given him admittance to his own hearth?
12. Oedipus asks Teiresias, "Is this a plot of Creon, or thine own?" Why might Oedipus think Creon is plotting against him?
13. What does Teiresias mean when he says that Oedipus is a "double-foe / To thine own kin"?
14. What does Creon claim about his own attitude to becoming a king?
15. How does Creon say Oedipus should punish him if any evidence shows that he conspired with the prophet?
16. What did Laius do the ankles of his three-day old son?
17. After you've finished reading the entire play, explain the dramatic irony behind Jocasta's description of Laius's appearance.
18. Explain the symbolism of Oedipus looking up to the sun. Why does Sophocles have Oedipus look at the sun at this particular point in the story?
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