10th Grade Homework: Oedipus the King Comprehension Questions for 211-234

Oedipus the King
Comprehension Questions for p.211-234

Name:_______________________
Write your answers thoroughly, thoughtfully, and in complete sentences. Provide a page and line reference for each answer.

1. When the messenger comes to see Oedipus, where is Jocasta and what is she doing?


2. What news does the messenger tell Jocasta about Corinth and Polybus?


3. How did Polybus die? When Oedipus and Jocasta hear this news, what does Oedipus conclude about the prophecies of the Oracle? What is ironic about this?



4. When Oedipus mentions the second part of the prophecy that is still uncertain, what advice does Jocasta give him?



5. After Oedipus tells the messenger the prophecy of the Oracle, what does the messenger tell him to assure him that he’s actually safe?



6. What is the true story of Oedipus’s birth according to the messenger?





7. Who was the person who found Oedipus on the mountainside? What other important thing has this person witnessed?



8. When Oedipus begins to ask Jocasta more detailed questions about the shepherd, how does she respond? What is the warning she gives him?



9. When Jocasta warns Oedipus, how does he respond? Why does he think she doesn’t want him to find out the truth?



10. After Oedipus ignores Jocasta’s words, how does she react and what does the Chorus leader fear?



11. According to Oedipus, who is his mother? According to Oedipus, why is it so important to find out the truth?




12. Who does the Chorus think might be Oedipus’s parents?




13. When the shepherd comes and the messenger tries to help him recognize Oedipus as the baby they found, how does the shepherd react?

14. When the shepherd says that he doesn’t want to talk about it, what does Oedipus do to try and make him talk?




15. After Oedipus has his men torture the shepherd, what does the shepherd finally tell him about the baby he found? Who gave him the baby? Why did the shepherd give the baby to the messenger?




16. After Oedipus hears the full truth from the shepherd, what does he say about himself?




17. What is the theme of the Choral ode on pages 233 and 234?


THIS IS DUE TUESDAY, 5/26.