Study Questions on Oedipus the King
(Norton Anthology 8th ed.)
Prologue (1-174)
1.
What does the priest say to Oedipus?
The priest tells Oedipus about the plague that ravages Thebes. He begs
Oedipus to resolve the crisis reminding him he solved the riddle of the
Sphinx before. Finally the priest tells Oedipus that it is in his own selfinterest to rid the city of the plague.
2.
What qualities do we immediately see in Oedipus?
Oedipus is a king who is compassionate, proud, efficient and intelligent. His
decision to send Creon to Delphi demonstrates his forethought. His
excessive pride, however, will lead him into trouble. He is hubristic, which
is his tragic flaw, a flaw that leads him to his downfall.
3.
What is the importance of irony in Oedipus the King? What ironies
are introduced in the prologue?
The priest asserts that Oedipus is blessed by the gods and wise in mortal
ways. But the Greeks knew that the god’s curse of infamy and shame
already looms over the king. They also recognized that wisdom would come
to Oedipus only after he solved the mystery of his identity. Another irony is
Oedipus’ reputation for being Thebes’ savior. As the unknown and
unknowing killer of Laius, Oedipus is the very cause of the plague. Oedipus
says he never met Laius, but in fact he not only met him but killed him.
4.
What news does Creon bring from Delphi?
The oracle told Creon that the death of Oedipus’ predecessor, King Laius,
is the cause of the plague. Laius’ killer must be found and expelled from
the kingdom to lift the plague from the city. Creon also explains that
Laius was killed on a road by a band of highwaymen. The danger of the
riddling Sphinx prevented a proper investigation of the murder.
Parados (175-224)
5.
What is the mood of the chorus upon its entrance? What appeals
do they make?
The chorus of Theban senators is fearful of the plague and suppliant
toward any god who might relieve the city’s plight. The chorus appeals
to the gods Apollo, Athena, Artemis, Ares and finally
Bacchus/Dionyssius.
Scene 1 (225-515)
6.
In what ways does Oedipus criticize his subjects?
Oedipus implicitly scolds the chorus for failing to find Laius’ killer long
ago. Did it take a plague and an oracle to spur Thebes to seek out the
criminal? There is perhaps some justification in this criticism. Oedipus’
single-mindedness stands in immediate contrast to the hesitation of the
Thebans.
7.
8.
What initial signs of rashness do we see in Oedipus?
Oedipus shows signs of rashness making certain decisions concerning
the killer. He invokes the curse on Laius’ murderer (which is also
against himself) or anyone who is harbouring the criminal. When
talking to Tiresias, Oedipus taunts the blind prophet when he tells him
information that he doesn’t want to believe: that Oedipus is in fact
the killer of the king. He makes the prophet give his statement twice.
Oedipus mocks his craft and even his blindness.
What seems to be Tiresias’ philosophical attitude?
He is pessimistic and fatalistic. He is a firm believer in destiny and in the
god’s determining the fate of all beings.
9.
What ironies arise in Scene 1?
Oedipus discusses his ‘kinship’ with the late king Laius. Oedipus says that
he will search for the killer of Laius as though he were searching for the
killer of his own father.
Also, there is an ironic undercurrent in the exchanges of Oedipus and
Tiresias about blindness. Oedipus mocks Tiresias’ literal blindness. In turn
Tiresias points out that Oedipus himself is blind even in his sightedness.
And, in further paradox, when Oedipus is at last blinded, he will ‘see’ the
horrible truth of his situation.
10.
What false conclusions does Oedipus reach as a result of his
quarrel with Tiresias? What effect will this conclusion have on Oedipus?
He accuses Tiresias of working with Creon against him to overthrow him
from his throne. This shows Oedipus’ tendency to make hasty, faulty
deductions, despite his great intelligence. This characteristic will affect his
journey toward self-discovery, intensifying his suffering. It also sets the
stage for the confrontation with Creon.
11.
What role does the first senator (Chorus) play in the quarrel?
(What does he try to do?)
The first senator seeks to ease the tempers of both men. In many of
Sophocles’ plays the chorus is temperate and well-meaning, perhaps
reflecting the position of the audience. The important difference between
chorus and audience is, the chorus is unaware of the ironies in the drama
and of the drama’s outcome.
Ode 1 (516-565)
12.
What issues are discussed in the first choral ode?
The chorus first discusses the still-unknown killer of Laius. Ironically, they
visualize the killer as fleeing vainly from the wrath of the gods. Little do
they know that the killer—Oedipus—is striding with ignorant resolution
toward his own destruction. Also the chorus expresses its puzzlement
regarding Tiresias’ allegation against Oedipus. They loyally side with their
king.
Scene 2 (566-932)
13.
What does Creon’s counterargument to Oedipus’ charges reveal
about Creon’s character?
When Oedipus accuses him of treason, Creon manages to keep his anger in
check and reveal a firm capacity for reason. Sensibly, Creon points out that
he shares actual power with Oedipus and Jocasta equally. He has kingly
influence without any of the responsibility. Why would he want Oedipus’
throne? These arguments contrast Oedipus’ heated, paranoid charges.
14.
Contrast Oedipus’ and Creon’s approach to political power. What
questions does Sophocles seem to raise by using this contrast?
Oedipus’ approach is to wield political power absolutely and with forceful
confidence. Creon is a more reasonable contrast, a man who bases
decisions on practicality and self-interest.
15.
What decision does the first senator (Chorus) persuade Oedipus
to make regarding Creon?
The Chorus convinces Oedipus not to kill Creon, but to exile him if he is
proven guilty.
16.
How does Jocasta attempt to refute Tiresias’ allegation?
Jocasta tells Oedipus about how the prophecy Laius was told did not come
true as he sent his son away to be killed, and also Laius was not killed by
just one person as the prophecy stated would happen.
17.
How does Jocasta’s attempt to soothe Oedipus backfire?
Her attempts to soothe Oedipus backfire as her story only serves to jog
Oedipus’ memory about killing a man on a road.
18.
What does Oedipus tell of his own past to Jocasta?
Oedipus tells Jocasta of how a drunken man told him he was not his
parents’ son, which then sent him to seek the truth from the oracle. The
oracle does not tell him what he wants to know but tells him of the curse,
that he would murder his father and marry his mother. He meets a rude
man on the road, who he kills.
19.
What do the speeches of Oedipus and Jocasta concerning their
respective pasts contribute to the drama? (How do their speeches
make the story better?)
The information we learn creates tension for the audience, filling in gaps in
the story and suggests how the story will end.
20.
Whom does Oedipus ask to have brought to him at the end of
Scene 2? Why does he issue this order?
The herdsman/shepherd who told Jocasta that the king was killed knows
how many people killed him and so will be asked to provide this
information.
21.
What philosophical questions arise in Scene 2?
Can fate be avoided? Can humans influence the course of their lives?
Ode 2 (933-972)
22.
What is the subject of the second choral ode?
A warning against pride and blasphemy
Scene 3 (973-1156)
23.
What is the dramatic effect of Jocasta’s prayer at the beginning of
this scene?
Jocasta’s prayer stands as a contrast to her earlier attacks on oracles and
their prophecies, showing that she still honors the gods and their power.
When the messenger delivers news of Polybus’ death she believes her
prayers have been answered.
24.
What ironies underlie the messenger’s appearance?
The messenger brings news that Polybus’ has died and that Corinth
wishes Oedipus to return to be their king. Jocasta is happy with this
news because it means the prophesy has not come true. Ironically
though, she does not know yet that Laius, not Polybus, was Oedipus’
father.
25.
What comment does Jocasta make to the chorus and the
messenger about fate?
Jocasta remarks that we are ruled by fate and that the future cannot be
forseen—humans need only enjoy life.
26.
What does the name ‘Oedipus’ mean?
Oedipus means “Swollen foot.” He was given this name because his feet
were bound together when he was ordered abandoned on Mount
Cithaeron.
27.
How is Oedipus’ character further developed in Scene III?
In Scene III Oedipus shows his courage and determination in his pursuit of
the truth and the secret of his own identity. Even hearing of Polybus’ death,
Oedipus is obsessed with the prophesy concerning his mother. He also
believes he will learn he is low-born, meaning his true family is of low
status.
28.
Why does Jocasta attempt to keep Oedipus from questioning the
shepherd? How does Oedipus misconstrue her pleas to stop the
investigations?
She realizes the truth: that Oedipus is her son. She knows the shepherd will
arrive to confirm this. Oedipus believes she will find out he is of low birth
and that she will be ashamed of him. This makes Oedipus angry, that she
would be so worried about his status.
29.
What is implied about self-knowledge and its price in Oedipus the
King?
Sophocles suggests that the journey to self-knowledge is difficult and that
what is found might not be what one wants to find.
Ode 3 (1157-1172)
30.
What is the subject of the third choral ode?
The chorus wonders about Oedipus’ birth and how he came to be. They
wonder if he was born from nymphs and gods.
Scene 4 (1173-1252)
31.
Why is the shepherd reluctant to speak?
He is terrified of Oedipus. Once he reveals the truth about giving the child
to the messenger, Oedipus will know his true identity.
32.
What facts does the shepherd bring to light?
He tells the story of how he came to get Oedipus as a baby and how he
gave him to the messenger, who then gave him to Polybus and Merope.
Oedipus realizes what Jocasta already knows.
33.
What admirable trait is revealed about Oedipus’ character in the
scene where he discovers the full truth about himself?
He is determined to find out the truth of his identity even though he knows
it might not be good news. He is courageous.
34.
How does Sophocles generate a feeling of climactic action in
Scene IV?
Oedipus’ change in fortune contributes to the climactic action. Oedipus, a
hero, falls from grace. His confidence peaks right before his fall. The stark
contrast between happiness and misery, and between good and ill fortune
adds greatly to the climactic potential of this scene.
Ode 4 (1253-1292)
35.
How does the chorus react in the fourth choral ode to Oedipus’
turn of fortune?
The chorus is profoundly shocked by Oedipus’ peripeteia, or turn of
fortune. The chorus experiences his doom as if it were their own—an
interesting reversal of Oedipus’ intense identification with the city’s
suffering at the beginning of the play.
36.
How does the chorus expand on the theme of illusion and reality
in Ode IV?
The chorus—like Oedipus himself—has been “blind” to the truth of
things. Oedipus’ happiness—and that of Thebes as well—have been an
illusion.
Exodos (1293-1593)
37.
Why do the play’s most violent acts take place offstage?
38.
What does Oedipus’ reaction to his downfall say about his
courage?
Oedipus has already shown extraordinary heroism in unraveling the
mystery of his identity. Now he shows even greater heroism in taking his
punishment into his own hands. When the first senator asks what god led
him to his fate, Oedipus explains that Apollo brought about his doom but
that he himself worked his final destruction. Unlike the play’s other
characters, Oedipus refuses to accept anything in life passively. If he is
fated to be doomed in life, he insists on making that doom his
responsibility.
39.
What does Oedipus ask Creon? What does Creon decide?
Oedipus begs Creon for Exile. He is determined that his own curse be carried
out in all its awful integrity. But Creon continues to vacillate as the play
comes to an end. He must first hear what the priests and oracles have to say.
He stands in contrast to the extraordinarily decisive Oedipus in his
unwillingness to take Destiny out of the hands of the gods and into his own.
40.
What does Oedipus sense about his destiny?
As much as Oedipus may wish for death, he senses his destiny is far from
complete.
41.
What image of Creon is left by his final words to Oedipus?
In the final scene Creon is impatient—even disgusted—with Oedipus for
insisting on making a public display of his agony. To Creon, such a display is
indecent; intense grief should be hidden away in private. Here Creon seems
a man whose concern for appropriate action is greater than his
compassion. His lack of patience and sympathy for the fallen king is also
telling. Creon speaks harshly, reminding Oedipus that he has hastened his
own downfall.