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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Oedipus tell Jocasta, when she begs him to tell her what's troubling him?
(a) He tells her that there is nothing troubling her.
(b) He agrees to tell her his worries.
(c) He yells at her and sends her into the palace.
(d) He refuses to tell her, since what he suspects is so bad.

2. Why does the messenger tell Oedipus he is not Polybus' son?
(a) The messenger wants to frighten Oedipus.
(b) The messenger wants to stop Oedipus from offending Apollo.
(c) The messenger wants to relieve Oedipus's fear.
(d) The messenger wants to prove prophecies are meaningless.

3. Does Oedipus want to see the person the messenger says gave him the infant Oedipus?
(a) No, Oedipus is afraid of what the person might say.
(b) No, Oedipus doesn't think the person is important.
(c) Yes, Oedipus wants to send the person out of town.
(d) Yes, Oedipus wants to question the person to find the truth.

4. Why does Oedipus say he must remain afraid?
(a) because his mother is still alive
(b) because the prophecy will probably be fulfilled in some surprising way
(c) because the prophets speak for the gods
(d) because they have no proof of what the messenger says

5. What does Creon accuse Oedipus of?
(a) being stubborn and forgetting common sense
(b) framing him to cover Oedipus's own crimes
(c) being power hungry and greedy
(d) being stupid and not the one to answer the Sphinx's riddle

6. Who accused Oedipus of not being his father's real son?
(a) his cousin, son of his mother's sister
(b) the local prophet
(c) a drunk man at a dinner
(d) a stranger passng through the town

7. How does the messenger say Jocasta will feel about his news?
(a) sad and regretful
(b) enraged
(c) glad and happy
(d) both glad and sad

8. What sentence does Oedipus want to give to Creon for his crime?
(a) mutilation
(b) death
(c) imprisonment
(d) banishment

9. What does the messenger ask the chorus when he first arrives?
(a) where to find Jocasta
(b) where to find Creon's home
(c) where to find Teiresias
(d) where to find Oedipus' home

10. What is the position of the chorus, as stated by the chorus leader, in the conflict between Oedipus and Creon?
(a) Oedipus should resign as king.
(b) Oedipus needs to question Teiresias more closely.
(c) Oedipus needs to defend himself.
(d) Oedipus should not judge Creon prematurely.

11. What children did Polybus have before Oedipus?
(a) a daughter who died
(b) a son who died
(c) a son who was stolen away
(d) none

12. What does Creon say Oedipus can do, if he finds proof Creon's lying?
(a) banish Creon from the kingdom forever
(b) cut Creon's throat then and there
(c) kill Creon before his sister's eyes
(d) arrest Creon and sentence him to death

13. Where does Jocasta say that Laius was murdered?
(a) at the kingdom's border
(b) where the flatlands begin to become steep
(c) where two roads cross a stream
(d) where three roads meet

14. What does Jocasta say before she leaves?
(a) that she'll never see Thebes again
(b) that she'll never speak again
(c) that she'll run away from Oedipus
(d) that she'll join Laius

15. What city was the father who raised Oedipus from?
(a) Athens
(b) Thebes
(c) Corinth
(d) Sparta

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Laius order his infant child to be put?

2. What does the old shepherd fear will happen to him if he tells the truth?

3. Who does the chorus think can help end the conflict between Creon and Oedipus?

4. Who does Jocasta say Laius had with him, as an escort?

5. Does the chorus leader recognize the approaching shepherd?

(see the answer keys)

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