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.
Top Related