Read the second play in the Greek Tragedy, "Oedpius Rex" that begins on page 71. Remember, this play is based on the events of Oedipus recounted in the "Royal House of Thebes" chapter that we read for Tuesday. Since you know the overall plot, pay attention to how Sophocles tells the story, and what he specifically focuses on that Hamilton couldn't include in her brief summary of the overall myth.
Answer two of the following:
Q1: How does the Chorus differ in this play compared to Medea? Does it have more of an active role in this play? Or is it merely watching the play unfold from the sidelines? Does it tell us how to feel or think about the characters? Does it share privileged information with us, or is it just as clueless as we are?
Q2: When Oedipus threatens Creon with death for (in his eyes) betraying him with a false prophecy, the Leader tells him that "Quick thinkers can stumble," and that he should think carefully before acting. Oedipus responds that "when a conspirator moves/abruptly and in secret against me...I must out-plot him and strike first." What does this response reveal about Oedipus' philosophy in life? Why is he so impulsive and quick to judgement?
Q3: Both Oedipus and Jocasta are quick to dismiss prophecy, and Jocasta even tells her husband that "In their very dreams, too, many men/have slept with their mothers./Those who believe such things mean nothing/will have an easier time in life." This is a strange passage, since it suggests that it is better not to question things or to know what they mean. Is that the true message of the play: that it's better to live with a lie than die with the truth? In a sense, do you think she has always guessed the truth, and simply preferred to lie to herself? Is happiness always based on not knowing?
Q4: In the chapter about "The House of Atreus," we learnt that later authors, such as Euripides, claimed that "if the gods do evil they are not gods." But aren't the events of this play evil? Didn't the gods curse Oedipus to destroy his own family and ruin the kingdom of Thebes? Or does this play and its events have nothing to do with the gods at all? Is this another example of men blaming their bad decisions on the gods?
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