In Oedipus the king part 1, what danger threatens the city of Thebes?
An epidemic of the plague
In Oedipus the king part 1, what instructions does Creon receive from the oracle?
Thebes must punish the murderer of Laius
When Teiresias appears before Oedipus the king part 1, what claims does he state?
He claims that Laius was Oedipius' father and he claims that Oedipus murdered Laius.
In Oedipus the king part 1, what causes the quarrel between Creon and Oedipus?
Oedipus believes that Creon wants to seize the thrown.
In Oedipus the king part 1, Jocasta tells Oedipus what she knows about Laius' murder. Which incident in her story does Oedipus recognize as an action he carried out in his own past?
The murder of a group of men at a junction of three roads.
In Oedipus the king part 2, what news does the messenger bring from Corinth?
The messenger brings the news that King Polybus of Corinth is dead.
What happens to Oedipus at the conclusion of Oedipus the king part 2?
He pleads to be exiled.
Describe Creon's behavior toward Oedipus at the end of Oedipus the king part 2.
PART A: He shows pity and compassion for Oedipus.
PART B: Creon allows Oedipus to embrace and bless his daughters.
Explain why Oedipus insists that he has done the right thing by putting out his eyes.
PART A: He believes he must atone for his crimes before he dies.
PART B: Oedipus. I have sinned against them both. / To hang myself would not wash clean that sin.
Look up the term "dramatic irony". In Oedipus the king part 2, what events showcase dramatic irony?
Oedipus and Jocasta rejoice to hear the Polybus has died of natural causes.
Look up the term "hamartia". What describes an aspect of the hamartia, or tragic flaw, that causes Oedipus to fall in part 2?
PART A: His excessive pride and arrogance specifically towards the gods and oracles.
PART B: Oedipus boasts that the prophecies about his future turned out to be wrong.
Why is Oedipus the king considered a tragedy?
The fact that a respected and admired king is undone by circumstance and by flaws in his own character.
Look up the term "anaphora". What is the effect of the anaphora used in this portion of the speech:
Oedipus. Aaah, all has come to pass, All is true!
Light of the sun, let me never look on you again. I stand here, the most cursed of men.
Cursed in my birth. Cursed in an incestuous marriage.
Cursed in the murder of my father.
It emphasizes the gravity and crushing weight of Oedipus's misfortune.