English Homework for Tuesday, Sept. 16

Act 1 Prologue and Scene 1 Oedipus Rex                                     

1.     Who/What does Creon consult to find out what must be done to help Thebes and Oedipus out of their current crisis? 

a.     To find out what must be done to help Thebes and Oedipus out of their current crisis, Creon consults the oracle, Delphi.

2.     Why do the people of Thebes not find out who killed the King before this time?  Also, why do the people of Thebes think of Oedipus as a great leader?

a.     The people of Thebes do not find out who killed the King before this time because there was no witness to tell how the king died, for only one companion of the King survived and he was so frightened by the ordeal that he could only remember that a band of highwaymen attacked and overwhelmed the King.

b.     The people of Thebes think Oedipus is a great leader because he saved Thebes from the Sphinx and it’s song.

3.     How does the play raise the topic of FATE early in the first two scenes?  Cite and explain one specific example from the text. 

a.     One example of fate occurs in the first act’s prologue when Creon consults the oracle, Delphi, and it predicts that the only way to end Thebes’ troubles is to, “expel from the land of / Thebes / An old defilement we are sheltering. / It is a deathly thing, beyond cure; / We must not let it feed upon us longer.” (Page 7) The oracle tells of the possibility of a different fate than the one Thebes is heading toward if Oedipus can fulfill this task.

4.     What must Oedipus do to solve the murder that is plaguing the city?  How does he go about attacking the problem?

a.     To solve the murder that is plaguing the city, Oedipus must listen to the Delphi and expel the “old defilement,” (Page 7) from Thebes by finding the murderer of Thebes’ previous king, Laïos, and taking revenge upon him.

b.     Oedipus goes about attacking the problem by asking his subjects if they know anything about the murder, assuring them that they will not be penalized for telling information they previously withheld, and even promising a reward for knowledge of the murderer’s identity.

5.     How might Teiresias be able to help them to “detect the criminal”?  What does he proceed to tell Oedipus when he comes before him? 

a.     Teiresias might be able to help them to “detect the criminal” (Page 16) because he is a holy prophet, a blind seer.

b.     When Teiresias comes before Oedipus he proceeds to tell him, “How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be / When there’s no help in truth! I knew this well, / But made myself forget. I should not have come.” (Page 17)

6.     What does Teiresias say about “knowledge of the truth” when he is asked for help?

a.     When Teiresias is asked for help he says that “knowledge of the truth” (Page 17) is dreadful for it provides no help.

7.     Explain the conflict that arises between Oedipus and Teiresias.  Why does the King become so upset with “the seer”?  Who gets the last word in the scene?  Summarize his statement.  What makes this so significant?

a.     The conflict that arises between Oedipus and Teiresias when Oedipus asks Teiresias to use his talents to help find the murderer of Laïos, but Teiresias refuses.

b.     The King becomes so upset with “the seer” because Teiresias admits he knows something but refuses to tell Oedipus.

c.     Teiresias gets the last word in the scene.

d.     Teiresias roughly says that the murderer of Laïos is a man in Thebes who was born a poor Theban but grew rich and married, and had children with, his own mother and killed his father, and that Oedipus is in fact this man.

e.     This statement is so significant because it predicts what Oedipus is to discover as truth throughout the play, as he unearths his identity.