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. What does Oedipus ask about Polybus' death?

2. Where did the old shepherd grow up?

3. What does Jocasta question the chorus about, after Creon leaves?

4. Why does Jocasta come to pray to Apollo?

5. Who first sees the old shepherd approaching?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What is Jocasta's response, when Oedipus wants to find and question the shepherd that the messenger said gave him the infant Oedipus?

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

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

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

8. What does Oedipus say, when he finally finds out the truth about his past and his present situation?

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

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

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

There is a saying that "ignorance is bliss." Discuss knowledge versus ignorance in the context of the play.

1) Why is Oedipus driven to seek out the truth about himself? Why isn't he afraid of what he might find?

2) Why does Jocasta not want Oedipus to find out the truth, even when she has clearly realized it herself? Could there be any benefit to the characters in continuing to live in ignorance?

3) In the end of the play, if Oedipus could go back and undo his own knowledge, do you think he would? Use evidence from the play to support your position.

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 838 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample