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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. What news does the messenger give Oedipus in the fourth act?

2. What did the Greeks admire about Polyxena?

3. About what does Hector warn Andromache in a dream?

4. What actions did the old shepherd perform before the beginning of "Oedipus"?

5. Why does the messenger in the fourth act urge Oedipus to leave the city?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Oedipus reveal about his journey to Thebes in the fourth act?

2. Describe Hecuba's mocking of the Greeks throughout "Troades."

3. Who is Hector and why is he important to the Trojans and Greeks?

4. How did Oedipus become king of Thebes?

5. Why is Creon sent to Delphi and what does he learn?

6. Why are the Greeks unable to leave Troy in the beginning of "Troades"?

7. Why is Creon reluctant to give Oedipus the information from Laius' ghost?

8. How does Ulysses trick Andromache at Hector's tomb and why?

9. Describe the pestilence in Thebes and how it affects Oedipus.

10. For what reasons does Agamemnon claim to forgo sacrificing a maiden?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a brief essay about whether Oedipus and Jocasta deserve to be punished for their inadvertent incest. Discuss Jocasta's statement, "Fate is that fault of thine: by fate no one is made guilty" in relation to your thesis statement. Be sure to discuss the murder of Laius and how it has affected Oedipus throughout the years, as well as Tiresias and Creon's beliefs that Oedipus should remain ignorant of his parentage. Cite specific examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the circular nature of playwrights influencing each other through authors such as Seneca in the following format:

Part 1) The original versions of these plays.

Part 2) The differences between the original play and Seneca's version.

Part 3) The "revenge play."

Part 4) The use of ghosts.

Part 5) The introduction of onstage violence.

Cite specific examples from Seneca's work to support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What is the debate regarding the performance ability of a Senecan tragedy? How does the emphasis on rhetoric suggest that these plays were meant to be recited? How is this related to the on-stage violence? What are some other suggestions that point to these plays having been written with the intention of being performed? Discuss both sides of this debate in a brief essay and conclude with your opinions on whether Seneca intended for his work to be performed.

(see the answer keys)

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