SMALL GROUP OEDIPUS DISCUSSION
Name_________________________________
1. In Oedipus the King, a man attempting to escape his fate hurries directly toward it. To
what extent is Oedipus responsible for what happens to him?
2. What kind of man is Oedipus? Is he:
Impulsive? How?
Arrogant? How?
Loving? How?
Bold? How?
Anything else?
What is his tragic flaw?
Is he a good leader? Explain.
A kind leader? Explain.
3. Irony plays a large part in this drama. Go over your instances of irony with the group and
then the following:
The messenger from Corinth comes and says, “The news is glad, and yet you may grieve.”
What news did he bring? How is this perhaps DOUBLY IRONIC!!!???
4. “Seeing” and “blindness” are both literal and figurative in this play. Discuss how these
two words and ideas are used throughout the play.
5. If you don’t believe in fate, Oedipus the King can still be a really neat play about TRUTH.
Support this statement: Oedipus’s discovery of the truth (peripety) is what drives the play.
6. Look at your tragedy sheet and Aristotle’s rules for tragedy. Do you think Aristotle
would have thought that Oedipus the King was a good tragedy? Why?