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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the messenger ask the chorus when he first arrives?
(a) where to find Jocasta
(b) where to find Oedipus' home
(c) where to find Creon's home
(d) where to find Teiresias

2. Who does Jocasta send for after hearing the messenger's news?
(a) Teiresias
(b) the oracle
(c) Oedipus
(d) Creon

3. What children did Polybus have before Oedipus?
(a) none
(b) a son who was stolen away
(c) a daughter who died
(d) a son who died

4. What did Oedipus' parent say about the accusation that Oedipus was not their son?
(a) Oedipus's father denied it, but his mother admitted it.
(b) They said it was untrue, but they seemed to be lying.
(c) They were angry, calling it an insult.
(d) They told Oedipus that it was true.

5. What does the chorus leader say he does not know about Oedipus'scharges against Creon?
(a) whether Creon understand the charges Oedipus made
(b) what charges Oedipus made against Creon
(c) Oedipus's steadiness and state of mind when making the charges
(d) whether Teiresias was there when Oedipus made the charges

6. What does Oedipus say that he still fears, after hearing the news of Polybus' death?
(a) the wrath of Apollo
(b) the plague on the land
(c) Creon's treachery
(d) wedding his mother

7. What does Jocasta say before she leaves?
(a) that she'll run away from Oedipus
(b) that she'll never speak again
(c) that she'll never see Thebes again
(d) that she'll join Laius

8. Who does the messenger say gave Oedipus to Polybus?
(a) a stranger
(b) the messenger
(c) Laius
(d) Creon

9. What simile does Jocasta use to describe the people of Thebes?
(a) like people in a carriage who see the driver terrified
(b) like people on a ship who see the helmsman is afraid
(c) like children who see their father's fear
(d) like soldiers who see their commander slain

10. What does the old shepherd fear will happen to him if he tells the truth?
(a) He'll die.
(b) He'll be cursed by Apollo.
(c) He'll be cast from the kingdom.
(d) He'll be outcast among the people.

11. What does Jocasta question the chorus about, after Creon leaves?
(a) the interview between Oedipus and Teiresias
(b) the state of the farms and the townspeople
(c) what happened between Oedipus and Creon
(d) the progress toward finding Laius's murderer

12. What does Creon accuse Oedipus of?
(a) being stubborn and forgetting common sense
(b) being stupid and not the one to answer the Sphinx's riddle
(c) being power hungry and greedy
(d) framing him to cover Oedipus's own crimes

13. Does Oedipus want to see the person the messenger says gave him the infant Oedipus?
(a) Yes, Oedipus wants to question the person to find the truth.
(b) No, Oedipus is afraid of what the person might say.
(c) No, Oedipus doesn't think the person is important.
(d) Yes, Oedipus wants to send the person out of town.

14. In the encounter between Oedipus and the stranger in the carriage, what was the initial violent act?
(a) The stranger whipped Oedipus.
(b) The herald struck Oedipus with his sword.
(c) The stranger struck Oedipus with his sword.
(d) Oedipus whipped the stranger.

15. What was Oedipus' response to the information he got from the oracle at Delphi, when he asked about his parentage?
(a) Oedipus confined himself to a room in his father's palace.
(b) Oedipus asked the oracle for more clarity.
(c) Oedipus went to ask his parents about it.
(d) Oedipus ran away from Corinth.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Jocasta say that Laius was murdered?

2. Who does the shepherd say gave him the infant child?

3. How does Oedipus react to the chorus' pleas?

4. Does the chorus leader recognize the approaching shepherd?

5. When Creon turns the tables and begins questioning Oedipus, what is the first question he asks?

(see the answer keys)

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