Oedipus the King Plot – Flashcards
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In what city is the play located?
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Thebes.
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Who is in the procession at the beginning of the play?
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Priests of Zeus surrounded by the impoverished and sorrowful citizens of Thebes.
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What do the poor citizens offer to the gods at the beginning of the play?
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They offer branches wrapped in wool.
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Why do the citizens gather around the palace at the beginning of the play?
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There is a plague in Thebes, and many people are dying. They want King Oedipus to save the city.
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Who is Creon?
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Creon is Oedipus's brother-in-law, and also rules Thebes.
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According to the Delphic oracle, why is there a plague in Thebes? How can they get rid of it?
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The murderer of Laius, who ruled Thebes before Oedipus, is in Thebes. He must be driven out in order for the plague to end.
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Who speaks through the Delphic oracle?
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The god Apollo.
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According to Creon, how was Laius killed?
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He says that Laius and his comrades were on their way to visit an oracle when they were killed by thieves.
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Who is Laius?
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He was the king of Thebes before Oedipus.
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According to Creon, why didn't anyone try to find Laius's killers?
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He says that people were more concerned with the curse of the Sphinx.
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True or False: The first Chorus knows why the plague has taken over Thebes.
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False.
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What does the first Chorus complain about?
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The plague in Thebes.
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Who does the first Chorus ask to save Thebes?
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Apollo, Athena, Artemis, Ares, and Dionysus.
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Who makes up the Chorus?
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Thebian elders.
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What does Oedipus promise the Chorus?
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He promises that he will end the plague himself.
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Why does Oedipus grow angry when he speaks to the Chorus? Who does he curse?
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He asks for information on Laius's killer, and nobody says anything. Oedipus curses Laius's murderer and anyone who is protecting him. He then curses himself, proclaiming that should he discover the murderer to be a member of his own family, that person should be struck by the same exile and harsh treatment that he has just wished on the murderer. Oedipus also curses the citizens of Thebes for letting the murderer go unknown so long.
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Who does the Leader of the Chorus suggest Oedipus consult?
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Tiresias, the great prophet.
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Why does Oedipus talk to the citizens directly instead of sending a messenger at the beginning of the play?
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He cares deeply for the citizens.
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What are the symptoms of the plague in Thebes?
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The soil is infertile, the cattle pastures are burnt, and babies are all stillborn.
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When Oedipus asks the citizens at the beginning of the play what is wrong, who does he choose to represent the group?
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The priest of Zeus.
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True or False: The group of citizens at the beginning of the play are all unmarried youth.
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True.
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Why do the citizens of Thebes love Oedipus and consider him a savior and in communication with the gods?
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They freed them from the curse of the Sphinx by solving the Sphinx's riddle.
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True or False: Oedipus plans to harm Laius's murderer.
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False. He will only exile the murderer from the city.
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Why does Tiresias refuse at first to tell Oedipus what he knows about Laius's murder?
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He says that by revealing what he knows, he will expose everyone else's anguish, and that he knows the truth but wishes he did not.
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How does Oedipus get Tiresias to reveal what he knows?
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Oedipus grows angry and insults Tiresias, saying that if Tiresias were not blind, Oedipus would not hesitate to say that he was the criminal.
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According to Tiresias, who is Laius's murderer and has caused the plague?
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Oedipus.
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What does Tiresias respond when Oedipus insults his blindness?
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He says that the insults will eventually be turned on Oedipus by all of Thebes.
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What does Oedipus suspect about Tiresias and Creon after Tiresias reveals what he knows?
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He says that Tiresias is plotting with Creon to help Creon take over his throne.
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According to Tiresias, why is Oedipus blind?
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Tiresias states that Oedipus' love for his wife is shameful and thus Oedipus does not see his misery, and does not realize that his misery, and Thebes' misery, are because of him. He continues and criticizes Oedipus, for although Tiresias himself is blind, he believes that he can see the truth whereas Oedipus is blind with respect to where he lives and the people he lives with.
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When Oedipus asks Tiresias about his parents, how does Tiresias respond?
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He responds in riddles, saying that the murderer of Laius will turn out to be both brother and father to his children, both son and husband to his mother.
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Who leads Tiresias into the hall?
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A little boy.
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After Tiresias exits the hall, who does the Chorus believe?
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They are confused and unsure whom to believe, but resolve that they will not believe any of these accusations against Oedipus unless they are shown proof.
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Why does Oedipus accuse Creon of trying to overthrow him?
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Creon is the one who recommended that Tiresias come to the palace and share his knowledge.
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What does Oedipus want to do to Creon after Tiresias leaves?
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He wants to have Creon killed.
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Who sides with Creon during his argument with Oedipus?
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The Leader of the Chorus.
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How does Creon defend himself when Oedipus accuses him of treason?
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Creon points out that he has an equal third (the other two thirds belonging to Oedipus and Oedipus' wife) in governing Thebes, and yet he lets Oedipus rule entirely while he enjoys his life and all the pleasures of royalty. Therefore, he says, there is no reason for him to kill Oedipus to take the throne and he does not want to rule. Oedipus is free to judge him, Creon says, but not without some proof.
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According to Creon, what is necessary before making a judgment? How does Oedipus respond?
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Time and proof. Oedipus says that if someone plots quickly, he must respond quickly or he will have missed his chance and the other person will have gotten what they wanted.
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Who is Jocasta?
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Oedipus's wife and mother.
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Who does Jocasta side with in the argument between Creon and Oedipus?
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Creon; she convinces Oedipus that he should neither kill nor exile Creon, though the reluctant king remains convinced that Creon is guilty.
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Who does the Chorus side with in the argument between Creon and Oedipus?
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Creon; they ask Oedipus to calm down and believe Creon, for they do not believe he is a fool. They believe Creon's oath and think nobody should cast off a friend as unworthy or doubt their word. However, the Chorus reassures Oedipus that they will always be loyal to him.
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Why does Jocasta believe that all prophets are false?
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She says that the Delphic oracle told Laius he would be murdered by his son, while actually his son was cast out of Thebes as a baby and Laius was murdered by a band of thieves.
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Why does Jocasta's story about the false prophet and Laius's murder worry Oedipus? Describe Oedipus's story regarding the prophecy and Laisus's murder.
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The prophecy and story of Laius's murder sound familiar to him. Jocasta tells him that Laius was killed at a three-way crossroads, just before Oedipus arrived in Thebes. Oedipus, stunned, tells his wife that he may be the one who murdered Laius. He tells Jocasta that, long ago, when he was the prince of Corinth, he heard at a banquet that he was not really the son of the king and queen, and so went to the oracle of Delphi, which did not answer him but did tell him he would murder his father and sleep with his mother. Hearing this, Oedipus fled from home, never to return. It was then, on the journey that would take him to Thebes, that Oedipus was confronted and harassed by a group of travelers, whom he killed in self-defense, at the very crossroads where Laius was killed.
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After speaking with Jocasta about Laius's murder, who does Oedipus want to send for? Why will that be difficult?
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Oedipus sends for the shepherd who was the only man to survive the attack. However, the man is not easily found because after he came back and found that Oedipus had taken Laius's place, he pleaded with Jocasta to send him away. Because he was such an excellent servant and had won great favor, Jocasta did so. However, Jocasta says that he can be fetched and so he will be searched for.
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Who raised Oedipus as his father?
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Polybus of Corinth.
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After Oedipus's realization about Laius's murder, what does the Chorus say rules the world?
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Destiny/fate.
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Despite denouncing prideful men who defy the gods, what is the Chorus worried about?
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The Chorus worries that if all the prophecies and oracles are wrong—if a proud man can, in fact, triumph—then the gods may not rule the world after all.
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What does Jocasta offer to Apollo?
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A branch wrapped in wool.
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How do the Chorus and Jocasta console Oedipus after he begins to suspect that he has killed Laius?
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The elders and Jocasta say that this may not have been Laius, as the servant said that they had been attacked by a group of men, and Oedipus had nobody with him.
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Who is Merope?
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The woman who raised Oedipus.
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What does the messenger from Corinth tell Jocasta and Oedipus?
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He tells Jocasta that he has come from Corinth to tell Oedipus that his father, Polybus, is dead, and that Corinth wants Oedipus to come and rule there.
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Why do Jocasta and Oedipus rejoice at Polybus's death? What do they conclude rules the world?
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They rejoice because they figure that since Polybus is dead from natural causes, the prophecy that Oedipus will murder his father is false. They king and queen concur that prophecies are worthless and the world is ruled by chance.
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True or False: Polybus and Merope are Oedipus's natural parents.
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False.
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How did Polybus and Merope get Oedipus?
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They got him from the Corinthian messenger. Oedipus was a gift to his parents, as they had no children; he was found in the bush in Mount Kithairon's valleys with his ankles tied together. He was given to the Corinthian messenger by a different shepherd, who was one of Laius's herdsmen.
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Who tells Jocasta and Oedipus that Polybus and Merope aren't Oedipus's natural parents?
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The messenger from Corinth.
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Why does Oedipus walk with a limp?
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His ankles are injured from when they were tied together as a baby.
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Why does Oedipus think that Jocasta doesn't want him to find the shepherd who rescued him as a baby?
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He thinks that Jocasta is being a snob, and she is upset because she is about to learn that he comes from poor parents.
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True or False: The shepherd who rescued Oedipus as a baby was the same man who witnessed Laius's murder.
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True.
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How does Oedipus convince the shepherd to reveal where he got the baby?
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He threatens to torture him.
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What does the shepherd reveal about the identity of the baby?
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The shepherd answers that the baby came from the house of Laius. Questioned further, he answers that it was Laius's child, and that Jocasta gave it to him to destroy because of a prophecy that the child would kill his parents. But instead, the shepherd gave him to the other shepherd, so that he might be raised as a prince in Corinth.
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Before the truth of Oedipus's parents is revealed, who does the Chorus think is his natural father?
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They think that it may be some god, such as god Dionysus, who roams the hilltops.
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Why does the Chorus cry?
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They feel sorry for Oedipus. Despite his accomplishments, he is afflicted with a lot of pain and ruin. They also speak of the unfairness of human life, and of the cruelty of fate.
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What is the truth about Oedipus's parents? Has he fulfilled the prophecy?
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Oedipus killed his father, Laius, and married/slept with his mother, Jocasta. Because of this, despite it being an accident, he has fulfilled the prophecy.
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According to the messenger, what happens in the palace after Jocasta and Oedipus learn the truth about Oedipus's parents?
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Jocasta is dead, by suicide. She locked herself in her bedroom, crying for Laius and weeping for her monstrous fate. Oedipus came to the door in a fury, asking for a sword and cursing Jocasta. He finally hurled himself at the bedroom door and burst through it, where he saw Jocasta hanging from a noose. Seeing this, Oedipus sobbed and embraced Jocasta. He then took the gold pins that held her robes and, with them, stabbed out his eyes.
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Why does Oedipus stab out his eyes?
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He could not bear to see the world now that he had learned the truth.
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Why does Jocasta blame Laius for their anguish?
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He implanted the seed that had caused all this anguish.
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Why does Oedipus reemerge after he takes out his eyes?
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Oedipus now wants everyone in Thebes to see him, a man who killed his father and wed his mother, and he wants to leave Thebes forever, but has nobody to guide him.
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What is Oedipus's response when the Chorus asks him what demon has overtaken him after he takes out his eyes?
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He answers that it is just a cloud of darkness that isolates him, a cloud that is "inescapable, unspeakable, unstoppable, driven by cruel winds."
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What is Oedipus's response when the Chorus asks him why he took out his eyes?
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He answers that there is nothing sweet for him to see, and that he wishes he had never lived.
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True or False: The Chorus supports Oedipus and his decision to blind himself.
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False. The elders wish that they had never known him, and say that it is better for him to not live than to live blind.
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True or False: The Chorus feels that the man who saved Oedipus should be punished.
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False.
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True or False: After taking out his eyes, Oedipus tells the Chorus not to preach at him and says that he doesn't want their advice.
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True.
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Why does Oedipus want to make himself deaf?
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He feels that there is nothing pleasant in the world to hear.
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What does Oedipus ask the Chorus to do after he takes out his eyes?
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He asks the elders to hide him out of sight of the gods, or to kill him and throw him in the sea.
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Who comes to advise Oedipus after he takes out his eyes?
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Creon.
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Why does Creon take Oedipus inside?
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He takes Oedipus inside so that he does not shame the human race any longer, and because only family should hear about a family's troubles. Also, he claims that the earth, light and holy rain cannot stand the sight of him, and that being such a polluted man, he shouldn't be outside.
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True or False: Creon forgives Oedipus for accusing him of treason.
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True.
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What does Oedipus ask Creon to do?
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He asks Creon to exile him.
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What does Creon feel he must do before exiling Oedipus?
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He will only exile Oedipus if every detail is approved by the gods.
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Where does Oedipus want to be left to die? Why?
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He wants to be left to die in Mount Kithairon, as was supposed to happen many years ago.
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Why doesn't Oedipus want Creon to take care of his sons? How about his daughters? What is Creon's response?
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He says that his two sons are men and can take care of themselves, but asks that Creon take care of his two girls, since they can't take care of themselves. Creon promises to look after them as if they were his own daughters
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Who are Antigone and Ismene?
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Oedipus and Jocasta's daughters.
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Why does Oedipus weep for his daughters?
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They will be excluded from society, and no man will want to marry the offspring of an incestuous marriage.
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What does Creon do when Oedipus reaches out to touch his hand?
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He refuses to touch Oedipus's hand.
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What does Oedipus ask his daughters to pray for?
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Oedipus asks his daughters to pray that they may have a better life than his.
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Why does Creon end Oedipus's farewell with his daughters? What does he do next?
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Creon then puts an end to the farewell, saying that Oedipus has wept shamefully long enough. Creon orders the guards to take Antigone and Ismene away from Oedipus, and tells Oedipus that his power has ended.
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At the end of the play, according to the Chorus, what is the only thing that can bring peace? Why?
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Death is the only thing that can bring peace because life is miserable.
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How does Oedipus feel about Creon at the end of the play?
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He feels that he is a very worthy man.
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How does Creon defy Oedipus's wishes at the end of the play?
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As his daughters are leaving, Oedipus orders that they stay, and Creon must remind him that he no longer has any authority and sends them away.
