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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 does Creon say can validate a man who is true?

2. What made Oedipus angry, when he encountered the stranger's carriage on the road?

3. Who first sees the old shepherd approaching?

4. What does Jocasta ask Oedipus to do regarding her brother?

5. What does Jocasta chide Oedipus and Creon for?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is the chorus' foremost concern?

4. What main news does the messenger from Corinth bring?

5. What is the chorus' attitude toward Oedipus, in his conflict with Creon?

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

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

8. What is the shepherd's reaction to being questioned about the infant he gave away and being told that Oedipus is that infant?

9. What caused the scar on Oedipus' ankles?

10. How does Jocasta react to the messenger's news?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss prophecy in OEDIPUS THE KING.

1) What is the reasons gods provide prophecies in OEDIPUS THE KING? If the characters know their futures, why aren't they better able to change them?

2) How do prophecies fulfill themselves in OEDIPUS THE KING? Are prophecies escapable?

3) How is the prophecy Laius receives different from the prophecy Oedipus receives? Why are these prophecies different?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the timeline of Oedipus' story.

1) Why does Oedipus' story begin years after Oedipus killed his father?

2) How does the audience gain information about Oedipus's past?

3) What is the importance of the past events in Oedipus' life: the prophecy given to him, leaving his parents, meeting the stranger on the road, and defeating the Sphinx? Are any of the events in the play comparable in importance to the past events in Oedipus' life?

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