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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the messenger say Jocasta will feel about his news?

2. What does Oedipus do when the messenger questions him about the prophecy that drove Oedipus away from his parents?

3. What does Creon do initially when he hears Oedipus charged him with causing Teiresias to lie?

4. Does the messenger identify the shepherd as the man he mentioned earlier?

5. What simile does Jocasta use to describe the people of Thebes?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jocasta react to the messenger's news?

2. After Jocasta exits, when Oedipus is intent on finding out his true identity, how does the chorus feel about Oedipus' search?

3. What is Jocasta's response, when Oedipus wants to find and question the shepherd that the messenger said gave him the infant Oedipus?

4. How does Jocasta feel about Polybus' death?

5. How does Oedipus react to Creon's self defense?

6. How did Polybus die?

7. What does Oedipus say, when he finally finds out the truth about his past and his present situation?

8. What caused the scar on Oedipus' ankles?

9. What prophecy does Jocasta tell Oedipus about?

10. What is the chorus' attitude toward Oedipus, in his conflict with Creon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss prophecy in OEDIPUS THE KING.

1) What is the reasons gods provide prophecies in OEDIPUS THE KING? If the characters know their futures, why aren't they better able to change them?

2) How do prophecies fulfill themselves in OEDIPUS THE KING? Are prophecies escapable?

3) How is the prophecy Laius receives different from the prophecy Oedipus receives? Why are these prophecies different?

Essay Topic 2

In OEDIPUS THE KING, much of the action takes place offstage or in different times, and is retold by the characters and messengers. Discuss how this affects the play.

1) How is hearing about Jocasta's suicide from the second messenger a different experience than seeing it?

2) How is hearing Oeidpus retell the story of meeting Laius on the road different from seeing it?

3) How effective is it for Oedipus to come on stage with his eyes gouged out at the end of the play? Is it more affecting since most of the violence of the play takes place offstage?

4) What other effects does the action taking place offstage have on the play?

Essay Topic 3

What is the natural order in Oedipus, and how does Oedipus upset it?

1) What causes the plague on Thebes? Is Apollo sending a plague as punishment, or is the plague a natural reaction to a disruption in the natural order?

2) What is the hierarchy of power in the play? What place to gods, rulers, men, women, and slaves have in this hierarchy?

3) What makes Oedipus's crime severe enough to upset the natural order?

(see the answer keys)

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