Oedipus Flashcards
Key themes in the play
Loyalty, Pride, Fate and Gods
Secondary themes the play
Guilt, Blame and Shame
“So I will fight for him…” [Oedipus]
“….as if he were my own father”
“….as if he were my own father” [Oedipus]
“So I will fight for him…”
“He is the…” [Tiresias]
“…plague”
What does Oedipus say about the curse in relation to the King’s murder?
“May the curse I just called down on him strike me” [Oedipus]
What curse does Oedipus call on the King’s murderer?
“Let that man [the king’s killer] drag out his life in agony, step by painful step” [Oedipus]
What does Oedipus say to Creon?
“No, I want you [Creon] dead.” [Oedipus]
How does Oedipus attack Creon’s Loyalty?
“Show your stripes - you betray a kinsman” [Oedipus]
How does Oedpius describe his new blindness?
“dark, horror of darkness… my darkness, drowning swirling around me” [Oedipus]
What quotes seals Oedipus’s fall in irony?
“Blind in the darkness - blind!” [Oedipus]
(He knows, and yet he’s blind now)
Which character in the play show loyalty?
Chorus, Oedipus and Creon
Who/What is the chorus loyal to?
The truth
“….never in my heart” [Chorus]
“Never will I convict my king…”
“No man happy…” [Chorus]
“… till he dies, free of pain at last”
Who/What is Creon loyal to?
Tradition, the gods and family
Who/What is Oedipus loyal to?
The Kingdom of Thebes and his word
How does Oedipus show his commitment to the Kingdom of Thebes?
“I grieve for these, my people, far more than I fear for my own life.” [Oedipus]
“…grieves for the city” [Oedipus]
“But my spirit…”
How does Oedipus show his loyalty to his word?
“Let that man [the king’s killer] drag out his life in agony, step by painful step” [Oedipus]
OR
“Drive me out of Thebes in exile” [Oedipus]
How does Creon show his loyalty to the gods?
“I wanted the god to clarify my duties” [Creon]
OR
“Only the gods can give you that” [Creon]
“All of us are…” [Creon]
“…equal”
How is Oedipus NOT a tragic hero?
“O triple roads - it all comes back” [Oedipus]
What is a tragic hero?
A tragic hero is one who is of noble birth and is a prisoner of his destiny. In this undoinging he elicits emotions of fear and pity from the audience. His downfall is due to his hamartia (fatal flaw) and as a result of the reversal of fortune.
4 reasons….
How is Oedipus a tragic hero?
Oedipus is a well liked/respectable character.
His undoing was predetermined by fate.
Oedipus had a reversal of fate.
Oedipus was a character full of pride.
“King of the land…” [Chorus]
“…our greatest power.”
“We rate you the…” [Chorus]
”..first of men”
“Better to die than…” [Oedipus]
“…be alive and blind”
How do the gods have free will?
They are above all
The world knows my fame…”
“…I am Oedipus”
When/How does Oedipus have free will?
Blinding himself.
Choosing to kill the king.
The Crossroads
When/How does Creon have free will?
When he was being confronted by Oedipus
Letting Oedipus see his kids.
Free choice of where his loyalty lies
“How could ____ please me?” [Creon]
Kingship
Who has free will?
The Gods
Oedipus
Creon
Who does not have free will?
Jocasta
Shepherd
Oedipus
Creon
When/How does Jocasta not have free will?
Marrying Oedipus
When/How does the Shepherd not have free will?
forced to tell Oedipus the truth about himself
When/How does Oedipus not have free will?
His fate. (Forced to live the prophecy)
What is the Prologus?
Start of the play
When/How does Creon not have free will?
Has to do what Oedipus tells him too (Going to the oracle of Delphi)
What is the Parados?
The first Choral ode
