1. Who wrote the play?
- Sophocles was the Author of this play. During his career, he wrote 120 different plays. 90 of these plays were tragedies.
2. Briefly define the Oedipal Complex.
- Oedipal Complex is a term used by Freud. In simple terms, this is when a son has feelings and desires to have his mother sexually. In turn, the son develops a hate towards his father because he is jealous. This feeling of jealously can sometimes lead to the son killing or hurting the father.
3. What is the setting of the story, specifically, the where?
- The scenes and settings of this play take place in Thebes. Most of the scenes are at, outside of, or near the palace that King Oedipus lives in.
4. As the play opens, what horrible thing is going on?
- As the play opens, there are many people gathering at the palace asking for help form Oedipus. There is a widespread plague. The people living in the city do not understand why they are under a plague. The play begins with Oedipus comforting them and helping them to understand he is doing everything in his power to help them and the city.
5. Whose death must be avenged in order for the horrible thing from number 4 to end?
- The death of Laius, who was the king of Thebes right before Oedipus.
6. Who is Oedipus’ wife?
- Jocasta was his wife.
7. Who is Oedipus’ mother?
- Oedipus' wife Jocasta was also his mother.
8. Who is Oedipus’ father?
- Laius, the former king of Thebes was his biological father.
9. Who killed the King of Thebes?
- Oedipus killed the King of Thebes.
10. What is Oedipus’ tragic flaw?
- He murdered his father. He took over his father's role as king of Thebes. He was married to his mother, and he had no clue of all this until the end of the play!
- First, Oedipus can see. He has perfect eyes. He can see everything that is present in the physical world around him. However, he is blind to the truth. He does not know his true identity or the true identity of the people around him. He can see with his eyes, but his mind, spirit, and soul are blind. Second, Tiresias was the total opposite of Oedipus. He had eyes, but they were useless. They did not work properly, in fact, they did not work at all. He was blind to the physical world around him. The only thing that he could see was the truth! He knew everything and just the way it was happening and why. He may not have been able to see with his eyes, but he was able to see something way deeper than human eyes can see. These two scenarios help to explain the plot to the readers. Oedipus has no clue of his true identity, but when Tiresias explained it, the reader now knows his real identity before he does.
13. As a play, there's a lot that can and can not be done on the stage. Explain why you think some things within this play in particular are done on stage while others are done off stage.
- I think that some things must be done on stage to show the audience exactly what happened. On the contrary, many things can be explained well enough without having to act them out on the stage. For example, the murder of Oedipus's dad was not acted out on stage, but everyone who reads or watches the play has a complete understanding of what took place when he was murdered. Creon fully explains this occurrence to the audience. One example of something that must be acted out on stage, is at the end of the play when Oedipus is stabbing his eyes with pins. I feel that the audience needs to see this taking place first hand. I think that if it is not acted out on stage that people may miss the emotional effect that is has on a person to watch that.
14. Do you believe in fate? Explain fully your answer.
- Personally, I do not believe in the word fate. I believe that everyone has a special plan for their lives. God has chosen specific things for each and every person on earth to do. However, it is up to us whether we do those things. It is not forced upon us. It is a choice that we can either accept or decline. One day, everyone will stand before Christ and give an account for all of the things that we have done. Some people could call this fate, but I do not choose to do so!
15. Explain how fate plays a role in Oedipus.
- In this play, the writers obviously believe in fate because they don't give Oedipus a choice. He didn't know he was murdering his father or marrying his mother. He was given up as a baby to be raised by people who were not his biological parents. Babies do not have the capacity to chooses what happens to them, so the term "fate" is the best way to describe what happened in this fictional story. In fiction, fate can be present because anything can happen. In real life, fate is just not reasonable. Even if you come out of a broken home or hard life, you can change that when you have the chance! It is all in our choices.
16. Have you ever thought how ironic this play is? It's weird how the events come together and make everything happen the way it does. If things were to happen just a little bit different the story would be completely changed.
- This statement is true. If one slight thing were to change; it would alter the whole entire drama. For example, if Jocasta had not given up her son, then there would be no reason for the play to even continue. If Oedipus had chosen not to leave the home he grew up in, he would have never found out all of the things that he did. If there had not been a plague, there would have been no need to find a murderer, and Oedipus would have remained king etc. Many solutions like this could change or even eliminate the whole entire story all together.
EXTRA-
- Oedipus at Colonus
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