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Oedipus Part 2

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 3600secs

Name
Class
Date
1.

A central issue of Oedipus the King concerns the:

a)

Acceptance of Destiny

b)

Death of a loved one

c)

Loss of power prestige

d)

Duties of a ruler

2.

The personality traits that determine Oedipus’ actions throughout the play are:

a)

Weakness and Deterioration

b)

Stubbornness and Perseverance

c)

Selfishness and Insensitivity

d)

Recklessness and Defiance

3.

What does Creon deny that he has the desire to do?

a)

Gain wealth

b)

Rule as king

c)

Hurt his sister

d)

Conspire with oracles

4.

Creon claims that his current position brings:

a)

Royal benefits but no freedom

b)

Freedom from fear but no power

c)

Power and benefits without anxiety

d)

Fear and power but no freedom

5.

What sentence does Oedipus want to give Creon for his crime?

a)

Death

b)

Exile

c)

Imprisonment

d)

Banishment

6.

What does Jocasta say about human prophecy?

a)

Some human prophets are true and some are false

b)

One must use caution while discerning the truth of an oracle

c)

Human prophets are the voice of the Gods

d)

No human has the ability of prophecy

7.

Jocasta shows hypocrisy by praying to _________ for her husband:

a)

Apollo

b)

Tiresias

c)

Zeus

d)

Lauis's spirit

8.

Jocasta immediately recants her prayer when a messenger arrives bringing news of:

a)

The death of Polybus

b)

Creon's guilt

c)

Oedipus's true birth parents

d)

The lifting of the plague

9.

Oedipus refuses to return to Corinth with the messenger, saying, “I will never come near my parents.” This statement is ironic because he:

a)

Is admired for his bravery

b)

Loves his own children deeply

c)

Killed Lauis and married Jocasta

d)

Has been offered Polybus's throne

10.

The messenger’s ignorance of which fact lends dramatic irony to his meeting with Oedipus and Jocasta?

a)

Oedipus was not Polybus's son

b)

Polybus did not have any children of his own

c)

Oedipus was abandoned as an infant

d)

Laius was the father of Oedipus

11.

Jocasta reveals that she knows the truth about Oedipus when she:

a)

Makes an offering of a suppliant's branch in wool

b)

Is glad to learn of Polybus's death

c)

Mocks the wisdom of the oracle

d)

Discourages Oedipus from summoning the shepherd

12.

Before Oedipus fled Corinth, who did he overhear saying “that I am not my father’s son”?

a)

Tiresias

b)

A drunken man at a banquet

c)

Apollo

d)

An oracle who read the flight of the birds

13.

What did Oedipus’ adoptive parents say about the accusation that Oedipus was not their son?

a)

They said it was untrue, but they seemed to be lying

b)

They told Oedipus that it was true

c)

They were enraged and still claimed to be his parents

d)

Polybus denied it, but Merope admitted it

14.

What gives Oedipus hope that he did not kill Laius?

a)

The murder seems to have taken place at a different time than Oedipus remembers

b)

The survivor reported being attacked by a band of thieve, not one man

c)

The survivor may see Oedipus’ face and be able to identify that he’s not the killer

d)

The description of the carriage does not match the one Oedipus remembers

15.

Oedipus finally learns his identity by which of the following actions?

a)

Listening to the chorus

b)

Threatening to kill the shepherd

c)

Requesting Apollo's intervention

d)

Calling the messenger

16.

Oedipus blinds himself as a direct result of:

a)

Polybus's death

b)

The messenger's news

c)

Jocasta's suicide

d)

The shepherd's disclosures

17.

At the end of the play, Oedipus is most like Tiresias in his blindness and his:

a)

Knowledge of the truth

b)

Exercise of his free will

c)

Isolation from his people

d)

Respect for Creon

18.

By asking Creon to let him return to the mountain of Cithaeron, Oedipus hopes to:

a)

Live in order to learn that his daughters have married happily

b)

Escape the wrath of the people of Thebes

c)

Carry out his fate by dying in the manner his parents intended

d)

Continue on his quest for self-knowledge

19.

Jocasta doesn't believe in prophets because...

a)

Laius was supposed to be killed by his own son and he was killed by a group of thieves

b)

Her son was killed as a teenager by a dragon

c)

She killed Laius and no one ever noticed the blood running down her arms.

d)

Her uncle was a prophet and told her they are all fake.

20.

What news is Oedipus given that Jocasta considers "good" news?

a)

Oedipus has been named supreme ruler of all of Greece

b)

Oedipus's father Polybus has died

c)

Tiresias was found to be a liar and manipulative of the people

d)

Both of them will be able to travel to Corinth to take over

21.
What is Oedipus afraid will happen if he returns to Corinth?
a)
Creon will attack him.
b)
Jocasta will leave him.
c)
The prophesy will come true and he will marry his mother.
d)
Merope will disown him.
22.
The servant Oedipus and Jocasta were seeking for his testimony about Lauis's death is also the servant who_____?
a)
killed the king.
b)
knows about Jocasta's true identity.
c)
knows about Oedipus being given up as a baby by Laius.
d)
is Oedipus's true father.
23.
Oedipus receives his name because of______________.  
a)
 the Oracle
b)
his prophecy
c)
his swollen feet  
d)
his hair color
24.
Why does Jocasta beg Oedipus to forget about finding the truth of his parentage?
a)
She knows the truth now.
b)
She doesn't believe the messenger.
c)
She loves the messenger and wants to leave Oedipus.
d)
She believes he is a god and has no parents. 
25.

What is the second piece of news the Corinthian Messenger shares with Oedipus and Jocasta?

a)

That Oedipus is adopted

b)

That Oedipus and Jocasta are siblings

c)

That all of the shepherds were fired

d)

That Merope is also dead

26.

Where does Oedipus wish to be banished and left to die?

a)

The mountain where his parents abandoned him

b)

At the Oracle of Delphi

c)

Mount Vesuvius with his daughters

d)

He does not say, just tells Creon to send him away

27.

Who ends the play as king of Thebes?

a)

Antigone

b)

Oedipus

c)

Creon

d)

Tiresias

28.

How does the audience learn of Jocasta's death?

a)

They see it

b)

A messenger shares the news

c)

Oedipus tells them

d)

Through a song by the chorus

29.

What is Jocasta's final act?

a)

Running away

b)

Blinding herself

c)

Killing herself

d)

Banishing Creon

30.

How does Oedipus end the play?

a)

No different than how he started

b)

Dead

c)

Blind and banished

d)

Unsure of himself but still king