Quiz Review: Oedipus Part 2

Literary Elements to Review

• Be sure to know the functions of the Greek chorus.

• Be sure to know the characteristics of a tragic hero.

Points to Ponder• Who first realizes the terrible truth in Part 2?• What do we learn in Part 2 about the Messenger

from Corinth, who brings the news of Polybus’ death?

• What do we learn in Part 2 about the survivor of the murder?

• Why does Oedipus ignore Jocasta’s final warning not to pursue the truth of his birth?

• What is the function of the chorus’ lines in Ode 3?

Points to Ponder (cont.)

• What does the Choragos suggest that Oedipus do in lines 1313-1314?

• Why does Oedipus say that taking his own life won’t help him “make his peace”?

Points to Ponder (cont.)

• What does the Choragos establish in lines 1362-1364?

• What does Creon criticize the attendants for in lines 1367-1376?

• What does Oedipus request from Creon?• What does Oedipus say specifically to

convince Creon to care for his daughters?• How does the chorus end the play (final

quatrain)?

Interpret the Chorus’ Lines• “I was blind, and now I can tell why:Asleep, for you had given ease of breathTo Thebes, while the false years went by.” Chorus is saying that they were

“blind” to Oedipus as the murderer since he saved them from the Sphynx and was their hero

• “That mind was a strong bow.Deep, how deep you drew it then, hard archer,At a dim fearful range,And brought dear glory down!You overcame the stranger—The virgin with her hooking lion claws—“ Chorus is summarizing action

occurring before the play opening/metaphor comparing Oedipus to an archer when he saved Thebes from the Sphynx

Quote Practice—Identify speaker AND interpret the lines

• “O cloud of night, never to be turned away: night coming on, I cannot tell how: night like a shroud! My fair winds brought me here O God. Again the pain of the spikes where I had sight, the flooding pain of memory, never to be gouged out.” Oedipus

Quote Practice—Identify speaker AND interpret the lines

• “Why should anyone in this world be afraid, since Fate rules us and nothing can be foreseen? A man should only live for the present day. Have no more fear of sleeping with your mother; how many men, in dreams, have lain with their mothers! No reasonable man is troubled by such things.” Jocasta

Quote Practice—Identify speaker AND interpret the lines

• “The full horror of what happened you cannot know, for you did not see it; but I, who did, will tell you as clearly as I can how she met her death.” 2nd Messenger

Quote Practice—Identify speaker AND interpret the lines

• “And that is not strange, my lord. But I’ll refresh his memory: he must remember when we two spent three whole seasons together, March to September, on Cithaeron. He had two flocks; I had one.” Messenger from Corinth/Shepherd who gave baby Oedipus to Polybus

Quote Practice—Identify speaker AND interpret the lines

• “Yet if I speak the truth, I am worse than dead.” Shepherd who was given baby Oedipus to kill/survivor