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Oedipus Rex
More than 2,420 years old but still studied today, the play ‘Oedipus Rex’ tells a tragic tale of mistaken identities, inescapable fates, and horrific human misdeeds. Contributors typically compare and contrast the play’s characters, storytelling techniques, and subject matter with similar pieces of literature from the same and different settings and time periods.
3,240 Questions
How does Creon react to Teiresias' warning?
An attempt to undo what he has done is the reaction of Theban King Creon to the warning from Teiresias the blind prophet. Teiresias says that there soon will be misery and mourning within the King's very household as a result of royal misdeeds. Creon immediately makes an about face. Previously, he refuses to allow the dead Polyneices a proper Theban burial. Previously, he insists upon carrying out a death sentence against his own niece and future daughter-in-law, Antigone.
The King manages to get proper funerary care extended to Polyneices' corpse. But he can't stop the misery and mourning from entering the royal household. Specifically, he doesn't get to the cave in time to stop Antigone's suicide. As a result, he witnesses the suicide of Haemon, his only surviving child and Antigone's cousin and fiance. Also as a result, he learns of the suicide of his wife, Theban Queen Eurydice. And he faces a miserable existence as a homeless, miserable beggar who loses his reputation, his possessions, his job, his home, and his family.
Who is Oedipus' wife in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Theban Queen Jocasta is Theban King Creon's wife in 'Oedipus Rex'. She's the mother of his four children. She also is Oedipus' mother, through her first marriage to Theban King Laius.
What change does Creon make in his plan to kill both Antigone and Ismene?
The decision to spare Ismene is the change that Theban King Creon makes in his plan to kill Antigone and Ismene. Antigone is found breaking the law of non burial to the disloyal Theban dead. Ismene isn't. But Ismene claims that she's an accessory. At first, Creon decides that the death sentence is going to be carried out against both of his nieces. But he then backs down, and decides the only his future daughter-in-law Antigone is going to be executed.
When did Jean Anouilh write 'Antigone'?
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh [June 23, 1910-October 3, 1987] wrote his version of the legend of 'Antigone' in 1942. Its first performance on the stage was in Paris on February 6, 1944. It was adapted to television, as a PBS program, in 1974.
Theban King Oedipus can't bear to look on the incestuous, murderous mess that he makes of his life, and the lives of his family and his people. So he blinds himself. He then carries out upon himself the very sentence that he issues for the murderer of his father and his sovereign, the deceased Theban King Laius. He stumbles away from his beloved city, as a beggar, an exile, and an outcast among mortals.
Which scenario does Sophocles use for dramatic irony?
Oedipus ridicules a man for being blind, and he later becomes blind.
The dramatic irony in Oedipus Rex arises in part from the audience's knowledge that?
Oedipus is Laius's murderer.
Who does Oedipus send to Delphi in Oedipus Rex?
Oedipus sends Creon, his brother-in-law, to go see the Oracle in Delphi, in hopes that he will return with a solution to the problem in Thebes.
How far is Antigone prepared to go on behalf of her loved one?
In the play 'Antigone', the main character of the same name is prepared to go as far as any mortal can go on behalf of loved ones. A recent decree by her uncle and future father-in-law, Theban King Creon, denies god-given, traditional rights of proper burial to all Thebans who betray their city. The punishment is death. Antigone goes ahead and buries her brother Polyneices. She knows her uncle well, and realizes that capital punishment will be carried out.
When does 'Antigone' take place?
The play 'Antigone' begins not too long after the successful conclusion of the Theban defenses against the Argive invaders and their Theban collaborators. No dates are mentioned in the play, which was written around 443, 441 B.C.E.* But it's possible to guesstimate a date for the action of the play. For Thebes may have been founded around 2000 B.C.E.* by Cadmus, who was the great great grandfather of Theban King Creon, and the great great great grandfather of Antigone. That's five generations Cadmus-Creon, and six Cadmus-Antigone. A generation typically may range 20-40 years. So the play 'Antigone' may have taken place about 120-240 years later, anywhere between 1880 B.C.E. - 1760 B.C.E. *Before the Christian Era.
Which element of tragedy does the chorus show in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Dramatic irony refers to a character presenting the existing situation as being quite different from what it actually is. It tends to imply that the character doesn't know the entire truth about a particular situation. This is the element of tragedy that the choir shows in 'Oedipus Rex'. The mention of the possibility that Theban King Oedipus might be doomed to banishment by his own decree represents an element of tragedy that also is an example of dramatic irony.
What event makes Antigone so upset?
The issuing of a royal decree that contradicts the will of the gods by not respecting her brother Polyneices' god given rights to below ground burial and funeral services is what upsets Antigone.
What does Oedipus do when he learns the truth of his past?
he blinds himself with his dead wife's broach, summons Creon back to the castle to appoint him the new king of Thebes, asks him to take care of his children and then asks Creon to exile him from the city
What did Oedipus do for the city of Thebes 20 years before the action of 'Oedipus Rex'?
Deliverance from the monster Sphinx was what King Oedipus did for Thebes long before the action of 'Oedipus Rex'. He headed towards the city in an attempt to escape a dreadful fate and to start life anew. Instead, he found the Sphinx demanding and receiving high taxes. He also found the Sphinx killing the city's residents and visitors.
Oedipus rescued Thebes by solving the life or death riddle that the Sphinx posed to all of the intended victims. The riddle asked what life form got around on four legs in the morning of life, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening. Only Oedipus realized that it was a human who crawled in the morning, stood tall in the afternoon, and used a cane in the evening.
What does the Oracle prophesize to Laius about the birth of Oedipus?
That Oedipus will kill Laius is what the Oracle prophesizes to the Theban King about the birth of the future Oedipus. In ancient Greece, it's considered far less heinous to kill a child than to kill one's father and one's sovereign. It particularly is considered as an acceptable response if it stops the child from committing a grave offense against the gods and a serious crime among mortals.
Was Oedipus King of Corinth before he was King of Thebes?
No, he was the adopted son of the king of Corinth, Polybus.
What are Antigone and Ismene like?
Passionate is what Antigone is like. In particular, she's passionate about divine will, family, and justice. This orientation tends towards recklessness.
In contrast, obedient is what Antigone's sister Ismene is like. In particular, she's cowed by male authorities and their punitive powers as royalty. This orientation tends towards reluctance to stand out in a crowd.
Yes, Theban King Creon is the uncle of Theban King Oedipus. He's the brother of Theban Queen Jocasta, who is Oedipus' mother and becomes his wife. So Creon also becomes Oedipus' brother-in-law.
What does Haemon ask Creon to do?
Haemon tells his father Creon to not act with sovereign and to listen to other people's thoughts.
What is the name of Antigone's father?
Antigone's father has the name of Oedipus. Unknowingly, Oedipus kills his father, Theban King Laius; and marries his mother, Queen Jocasta. By both parents, Oedipus is descended from Cadmus and Harmonia. Cadmus was the founder of Thebes, around 2000 B.C.E.* He came from Phoenicia, where he lived as the son of Telephassa and King Agenor of Tyre. *Before the Christian Era.
The play 'Antigone' is known for clear, straightforward dialogue and elegant odes. It also is known for economy of stage props and setting. And it's known for the mental and physical actions of the main characters. And it also is known for its timeless appeal through its treatment of questions of universal applicability and concern. For example, does one obey only manmade laws? What does one do if manmade laws contradict one's moral or spiritual beliefs or customs? What is the responsibility of the ruler to the ruled, and vice versa?
Eteocles is Polyneices' brother. The two are actually twins. They're among the four children of disgraced Theban King Creon and Theban Queen Jocasta. They inherit the throne with their father's blinding and exile, and their mother's suicide. They're supposed to share royal powers by alternating years of rule. But Eteocles refuses to give up his powers when his year is over. He banishes Polyneices, who returns with a vengeance as part of a combined force of invading Argives and discontented Thebans. Polyneices loses the battle, which ends with the brothers killing each other.
Plot summary of the first half of Oedipus Rex?
In the first part of Oedipus Rex, a plague is rampaging in the City of Thebes. Oedipus sends for an oracle. The oracle says the plague will end when the murder of the former King is killed or sent away. A search is on for the murderer. Oedipus himself is accused of the murder. As the plot unfolds, Oedipus begins to worry that he may actually be the murderer. Oedipus later learns that he is the son of the former King. He discovers that he has killed his father and married his mother (the queen).
What does oedipus want creon to do at the end of the play?
Oedipus asks Creon to look after his daughters because he believes that no man will want them with the parentage they have. His sons, he says, can look after themselves.
