ANSWERS TO MARGIN QUESTIONS,
assigned Dec 3 in class. Compare these
answers with the ones you wrote in your
notebook. Mark and correct where
necessary. Your corrections will be checked.
For the text with the questions in the margin,
look at the document connected to the
assignment:
2009_11_25Assg4Txt EnterTeiresias to end
of part1.pdf
[I had to type these up, there was no way of
scanning them. If you find mistakes, email
me, and receive and extra point.]
Lines 486-487. Creon refers to Oedipus’s
accusation that he and Teiresias have plotted
to overthrow Oedipus by accusing him of
Laius’s murder.
Line 503. Possible response: The people
represented by the Chorus want to be
peacemakers because they dislike conflict.
Earlier, the Choragus has said to Oedipus,
“of anger we have no need.”
Line 537: Possible responses: rational, selfrighteous, indignant, or sarcastic (to imply
that Oedipus has unwisely spoken out before
he knows the facts)
Lines 550-570. Creon’s reasoning is faulty.
He does not have the same rights and
powers as the king, since all of his rights,
power and influence depend on the king.
Lines 580-582. It takes time to prove the
goodness of a just man, while condemnation
is easy, quick, and often rash.
Lines 596. Possible response: Oedipus may
mean that it is his fate to have the king’s
power and authority, or he may use rule in
the sense of “deciding.”
Lines 630-633. Oedipus yields because he
sympathizes with the people. He is touched
by their unhappiness, realizing that they
have had to endure bad blood between
himself and Creon on top of their suffering
from the plague.
Line 661. No, only Teiresias has charged
Oedipus with the murder of Laius.
Line 695. Oedipus’s tone might change
suddenly to one of distress, agitation, or
horror.
Line 688-704. Oedipus may begin to
suspect that he himself has murdered Laius.
Lines 713-720. Jocasta has behaved
graciously toward the lone surviving
witness, willingly granting his request.
Lines 726-729. Possible response: Oedipus
feels he can be open with Jocasta. He trusts
her and wants to confide in her.
Line 773. Oedipus may not yet be
emotionally ready to accept that he has
killed Laius, so he cannot say what he is
thinking—that the stranger and Laius were
on and the same person.
Line 785. Oedipus does not yet suspect that
he is Laius’s son or that the prophecy that he
would kill his father has come true.
Lines 798-803. The issue of plurals versus
singular assailants was hinted at in lines
125-127, when Creon tells Oedipus that
Laius was attacked by “a band of
highwaymen” and Oedipus responds by
speaking of a daring “highwayman.”
Line 817. In this context, cross means “go
against, thwart, interfere with.”
Lines 839-844. The Chorus predicts that the
gods will severely punish the haughty
(arrogant) person.
Lines 856-857. The Chorus insists that the
actions and prophecies will be found to form
consistent pattern and will be understood.
(continued on next page)
Part II
Line 871. The new prophecies are those of
Teiresias, who has declared that Oedipus
murdered Laius, that the murderer of Laius
will become blind and penniless, and realize
he is both husband and son to his mother,
both sibling and father to his children. The
old prophecies are those of the oracle at
Delphi, who foretold that Laius's own child
would murder him and later stated Oedipus
would kill his father and lie with his mother.
Jocasta thinks that all the prophecies are
false because she believes that her son by
Laius died in infancy. She wants Oedipus to
see that, since the old prophecies could not
be true, the new prophecies are also untrue.
Lines 876-878. She and the others are
compared to “helpless sailors,” and Oedipus
to a “helmsman.”
Lines 901-904. Possible response: An
actress playing Jocasta might use an anxious
or impatient tone.
Lines 928-930. Jocasta says that fear is
useless because whatever is fated to happen
will happen (this is ironic, since she has
insisted several times that the prophecies are
not to be believed, which is an expression of
her belief that fate can be evaded).
Lines 915-939. Possible response: the
Messenger might be listening carefully to
Oedipus and Jocasta’s conversation, while
trying not to appear nosy or disrespectful.
Lines 957-971. Oedipus’s state might be a
mixture of confusion, bewilderment,
surprise, and dread.
Line 980. The name would be ironically
appropriate because the story stems from
Oedipus’ lack of knowledge his origins.
Lines 938-1000. Possible response: the
actress’s expressions might show interest
and reassurance at first; but then her
expressions might change from fear to shock
and horror. She might put her hands to her
face, or put her hand out to stop the
messenger from talking.
Line 1015. Oedipus assumes that Jocasta
fears he is of lowly birth, unequal to her
royal lineage. This is ironic because what
Jocasta actually fears is that Oedipus will
learn he is her own son.
Line 1024-1027. Odipus uses the metaphor
of Luck for his parentage and compares
Luck to his mother and the passing months
to his brothers. He assumes still that Luck,
in spite of its fickle nature, with shine
favorably on him. [The Ancient Greeks
considered Tyche or “luck” to be a minor
goddess. The concept of tyche also included
the ideas of fortune (good and bad) and
coincidence. Oedipus is a “child of (bad)
“Luck”—even more than he realizes—
because his two horrible crimes involve a
number of unfortunate coincidences.]