Oedipus Flashcards
Settings of the play
Kintharion, Thebes, Delphi, Phocus, Corinth.
supplicant
one who begs the king for something
Clairvoyant
A psychic, Teiresias
Choragus
soloist of the chorus
Prophecy
a statement that comes true if you act upon it.
Oracles
What a god says
Hubris
Excessive pride
Hamartia of Ignorance
A mistake that you didn’t know was wrong
Hamartia of knowledge
A mistake you knew was wrong
The 2 motifs of the play
sight, and man
2 dramatic questions
Who killed Laius?
Who are my mom and dad?
What is Oedipus’ motive at the start of the play
He wants to be the savior again
motive at the middle: Oedipus
wants to avoid being killed
motive of Oedipus at the end
wants to be exiled
Oedipus’ hubris
degrading Apollo
Where is Oedipus’ hubris
at the Oracles of Delphi
Oedipus’ hamartia of knowledge
his hubris; he attempts to flee the fate the gods have laid before him on Corinth.
Oedipus’ hamartia of ignorance
his unintentional wrongdoings, killing the men with his short-tempered rage.
What is the family curse
If you have a kid, they will try to kill you, so that they can overtake you.
Hamartia of ignorance: Jocasta
She wants a child, but she didn’t know about the curse
Hamartia of knowledge
She tells Oedipus to ignore the Oracles
How does Jocasta dies
hanged herself
Jocasta’s theme
No one is right all the time
Percepteia
A strange realization; an unexpected thing that comes.
Themes of Sophocles
- Search of Identity
- Nature of innocence and guilt
- abuse of power
- fate of the gods
- Nature of moral responsibility
Aristotle’s hero cycle
- recognition
- reversal
- suffering
3 prophecies
- your son will kill you; given to Laius
- You’ll kill dad and sleep with mom and have incestual children; given to Oedipus.
- Expell the killer of Laius; given to Creon.
juxtaposition
cause and effect of 2 things (not people)
Sphinx and the riddle
Oedipus’ name helped him get to the answer of MAN.
Oedipus’ Tragic flaw leading to fate
his short temper leads to him killing his father.
Catharsis
emotional cleansing; laugh or cry
Teiresias
The blind man that is a psycic
Merope
Oedipus’ adopted mom
Polybus
Who Oedipus thought was his father
Shepherd
Where the Messenger from Corinth got the baby from
Creon
Jocasta’s brother; took control of the city
Antigone
the daughter that accompanies Oedipus out of the city
Jocasta
Non-believer in the Oracles, the one who slept with her son
Apollo & Plagues
Apollo cursed a plague on Thebes because of the pollution someone caused.
last explicit theme
Let every man in mankind’s frailty consider his last day
2nd explicit theme
- The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves
An example of dramatic irony
I am a child of luck - Oedipus
1st theme
for time and time alone will show the true man. Though scoundrels are discovered in a day.
What does Oedipus beg of Creon at the end?
For his daughters to be safe
