View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. How long would the shepherds stay in the fields each year?

3. What is Oedipus' initial reaction when Creon asks to explain himself?

4. What does Creon say his current position brings?

5. What does Creon accuse Oedipus of?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Oedipus is questioning Creon, why does he ask Creon how long it's been since Laius was killed?

2. How does Oedipus react to Creon's self defense?

3. Why does Oedipus question how his father could love him?

4. What is the chorus' foremost concern?

5. How does Creon seem to react to Oedipus leveling charges against him?

6. What is the first thing Oedipus tells Jocasta, when he tells her about the argument between himself and Creon?

7. How does Jocasta feel about Polybus' death?

8. How does the chorus react to Creon's self defense?

9. What does the old shepherd say was his motive in giving the infant to the messenger, when they were both shepherds together?

10. What did the oracle at Delphi tell Oedipus about his parentage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Oedipus's justification of choosing blindness and exile as his punishment.

1) Why does Oedipus feel the need to punish himself for his "crimes'?

2) Why does Oedipus choose the particular punishment of blindness? Why does Oedipus want to be exiled from Thebes?

3) Will Oedipus's punishment fit his crime? Is Oedipus's punishment a fair one? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss free will and predestination in OEDIPUS THE KING.

1) Is Oedipus predestined to his fate, or does he have free will? Are these two ideas completely incompatible?

2) Can Oedipus be held responsible for his actions, if his fate is predestined?

3) How does predestination affect the position of a ruler? Are all the joys and woes that befall the ruler's lands predestined? What is the role of the leader, if fate is predestined?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss love and family relationships in the play.

1) Discuss Oedipus' love for his children. Why does this love only come out at the end of the play?

2) Discuss Oedipus' love for Jocasta in this play. Is this love in any way caused by their biological relationship?

3) Discuss Oedipus' love for Thebes. Does Oedipus truly love Thebes? How does Oedipus treat his "children," as he calls them at the beginning of the play?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 812 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample