SCENE 4 Qs. on Oedipus Rex; EXODOS Qs.

Questions on Scene 4/Choral Ode

1. How does the messenger’s well-meaning effort to jog the old herdsman’s memory remind us of the way a cross-examiner might try to get a recalcitrant witness to « remember » in court ?
2. Why is the old man (herdsman) reluctant to answer ?
3. What does Oedipus threaten to do to make the herdsman talk ?
4. Why does the herdsman shrink from saying what he’s been forced to tell ?
5. Why does Oedipus feel compelled to hear the truth uttered aloud ?
6. The rapid-fire dialogue between Oedipus and the herdsman is an example of what ?
7. Why does Oedipus want never again to see the light of sun now that the truth has been clearly revealed ?
8. Do the Chorus’ words suggest that Oedipus did anything to deserve his fate ?
9. Oedipus’ fall from grace is an example of what ?
10. Explain the metaphor of « Time » in Antistrophe 2.
11. Choruses frequently meditate on the ways in which affection brings suffering. Why ?
Questions on the Exodos

1. Describe the prelude to Jocasta’s death.
2. How did Jocasta die ?
3. What was Oedipus’ reaction to Jocasta’s suicide ?
4. Whay did Oedipus commit this act ?
5. Whom does Oedipus curse ?
6. What does Oedipus mean when he says that Apollo was the curse, but he himself is the agent of his own blinding ?
7. Is it reasonable that Oedipus feels he cannot bear to look on anything in the world anymore ?
8. What ironies are involved in Oedipus’ curse on the man who saved him ?
9. Why is he disturbed that his friends pity him and feel pain for him ?
10. Do you agree or disagree witgh the Chorus that Oedipus would be better off dead than blind and banished ?
11. What might Oedipus’ decision to go on living in blindness, exile, and suffering say about his heroic statue ?
12. Why does Oedipus say that he deserves worse punishment than hanging ?
13. Now that Oedipus is blind, where is his inner vision turned ?
14. How are Creon’s tone and remarks reminiscent of Jocasta ?
15. Is there evidence that Creon is cool and impatient with Oedipus ?
16. Analyze lines 222-242.
17. How is Oedipus’ speech like a funeral lament ?
18. Is Creon’s admonition about Oedipus’ children mean-spirited, kindly, justified ? Why ?