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Oedipus Background

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The play begins "in medias res," which is a literary technque where the author....

a)

ends the play with tragedy.

b)

begins the play in the middle of things.

c)

uses figurative language.

d)

uses rhetoric to prove a character's worth.

2.

What is Oedipus' biological mother's name?

a)

Jocasta

b)

Merope

c)

Tiresias

d)

Sarah

3.

What is Oedipus' biological father's name?

a)

Laius

b)

Polybus

c)

Oedipus Sr.

d)

John

4.

Oedipus was told by a drunk guy that he was adopted.

a)

True

b)

False

5.
Oedipus seeks the help of a(n)___________ to find out if he is adopted.
a)
priest
b)
prophet
c)
fortune-teller
d)
oracle
6.
Oedipus is told by an oracle that he his fated to _______________.
a)
have 4 children.
b)
sleep with his mom and kill his dad.
c)
die at a young age.
d)
be prosperous.
7.

When Oedipus arrives in ____________, a Sphinx is holding the city under a spell and has cursed it with a plague.

a)

Thebes

b)

Corinth

c)

Raleigh

d)

Athens

8.

Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sphinx. She dies and Thebes is freed from the plague.

a)

True

b)

False

9.
How does Oedipus become King of Thebes?
a)
He is the strongest man the city has ever seen.
b)
He is responsible for solving the riddle and freeing the city.
c)
He is next in line.
d)
He is the smartest man the city has seen.
10.
In what city-state did Oedipus grow up?
a)
Cary
b)
Thebes
c)
Sparta
d)
Corinth
11.
Who is the old King of Thebes?
a)
Merope
b)
Jocasta
c)
Laius
d)
Polybus
12.
King Laius was murdered while traveling to an oracle to seek information in order to rid Thebes of the Sphinx.
a)
True
b)
False
13.

Oedipus marries...

a)

No one. He remains single.

b)

Jocasta, Laius' surviving wife (and Oedipus' birth mother).

c)

Merope, his mother.

d)

Crean, his brother-in-law.

14.

Travel was difficult for the ancient greek people because...

a)

...the horses were thin and weak.

b)

...of the heat.

c)

...of the mountainous terrain.

d)

...food was hard to find.

15.
Oedipus has ____ children as King of Thebes.
a)
6
b)
2
c)
3
d)
4
16.

When the play opens, twenty years have passed since Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx and freed the city of the plague. Now there is a new_______ in the city of Thebes.

a)

famine

b)

plague

c)

war

d)

flood

17.

Dramatic irony exists when...

a)

when a character knows what another character does not.

b)

the audience knows what a character knows.

c)

the audience knows something that a character does not.

d)

when what is said is different from what is meant.

18.

Hubris is...

a)

when the reader knows something that a character does not.

b)

a way of showing gratitude.

c)

excessive wealth that leads to destruction.

d)

excessive pride which is considered a tragic flaw.

19.

Oedipus means....

a)

swollen foot

b)

king to be

c)

arrogant man

d)

murderer

20.

Imagery is...

a)

the time and place of a story.

b)

writing that helps the reader hear something.

c)

writing that helps the reader visualize the scene.

d)

writing that appeals to one or more of the five senses.