OEDIPUS REX TEST QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
He is sensitive to the ravages of the plague and feels the people's pain more than they do
themselves ANSW✅✅Why does Oedipus say to his people, "Sick as you are, not one is as sick as
I"?
Oedipus is hoping that the eyewitness to Laius' murder. will solve the mystery of the king's death
ANSW✅✅After Creon returns from the oracle at Delphi, what compels Oedipus to say to Creon,
"One may be the key / to everything"?
Bacchus (Dionysus) ANSW✅✅In the Parados, the Chorus sings of the gods and of the need to pray
to them for deliverance. Who is the last god (and perhaps the most significant in terms of Greek
drama) mentioned?
Immunity for anyone who comes forward with information ANSW✅✅When Oedipus issues his
edict regarding the investigation for Laius' killer, what does he say?
Laius never had any children ANSW✅✅Why does Oedipus claim Laius had "ill luck in fatherhood"?
Teiresias ANSW✅✅Who states the following: "Let me go home. Bear your own fate, and I'll bear
mine. It is better so: trust what I say."
Truth ANSW✅✅Symbolism is when an author uses one thing to represent another. Eyes and
vision are used as symbols for:
It is Oedipus who curses the murderer of Laius ANSW✅✅Irony is the opposite of what is
expected. Which of the following is ironic?
Ridding Thebes of the Sphinx ANSW✅✅Oedipus became the King of Thebes by:
He had left the oracle at Delphi, believing himself to be an outcast forever ANSW✅✅Why did
Oedipus find himself at Phocis?
, The Priest ANSW✅✅Who claims that, although Oedipus is not an immortal god, he is the wisest
man in the ways of the gods?
Creon and Teiresias are conspiring against him ANSW✅✅As evidence of Oedipus' rash judgement,
what does he conclude based on the words in #11?
That the prophet was useless during the time when the Sphinx reigned over Thebes
ANSW✅✅What example from the past does Oedipus use to mock the old soothsayer?
Foreshadowing ANSW✅✅Oedipus hears these words in Scene I of the play: "A blind man, / who
has his eyes now; a penniless man, who is rich now; / And he will go tapping the strange earth with
his staff / To the children with whom he lives now he will be / Brother and father..." These words are
an example of
Creon ANSW✅✅Who describes himself as a man "who holds his tongue when he has no facts to
go on"?
In the heated discussion between Creon and Oedipus ANSW✅✅When does Jocasta play the role
of peacemaker?
When she mentions the location of Laius' murder ANSW✅✅When does Oedipus say to Jocasta
"what net has god been weaving for me"?
Is making sacrifices to them ANSW✅✅One minute Jocasta is scoffing at the gods, and the next
she:
He asked permission to move to another district after reporting the news of Laius' death
ANSW✅✅What interesting detail does Jocasta reveal regarding the one eyewitness to Laius'
murder?
They forced him off the road ANSW✅✅Why did Oedipus kill the people he encountered at
Phocis?
A helmsman...helpless sailors ANSW✅✅Jocasta uses an analogy that compares Oedipus to
_________ and the Thebans to _______
ANSWERS
He is sensitive to the ravages of the plague and feels the people's pain more than they do
themselves ANSW✅✅Why does Oedipus say to his people, "Sick as you are, not one is as sick as
I"?
Oedipus is hoping that the eyewitness to Laius' murder. will solve the mystery of the king's death
ANSW✅✅After Creon returns from the oracle at Delphi, what compels Oedipus to say to Creon,
"One may be the key / to everything"?
Bacchus (Dionysus) ANSW✅✅In the Parados, the Chorus sings of the gods and of the need to pray
to them for deliverance. Who is the last god (and perhaps the most significant in terms of Greek
drama) mentioned?
Immunity for anyone who comes forward with information ANSW✅✅When Oedipus issues his
edict regarding the investigation for Laius' killer, what does he say?
Laius never had any children ANSW✅✅Why does Oedipus claim Laius had "ill luck in fatherhood"?
Teiresias ANSW✅✅Who states the following: "Let me go home. Bear your own fate, and I'll bear
mine. It is better so: trust what I say."
Truth ANSW✅✅Symbolism is when an author uses one thing to represent another. Eyes and
vision are used as symbols for:
It is Oedipus who curses the murderer of Laius ANSW✅✅Irony is the opposite of what is
expected. Which of the following is ironic?
Ridding Thebes of the Sphinx ANSW✅✅Oedipus became the King of Thebes by:
He had left the oracle at Delphi, believing himself to be an outcast forever ANSW✅✅Why did
Oedipus find himself at Phocis?
, The Priest ANSW✅✅Who claims that, although Oedipus is not an immortal god, he is the wisest
man in the ways of the gods?
Creon and Teiresias are conspiring against him ANSW✅✅As evidence of Oedipus' rash judgement,
what does he conclude based on the words in #11?
That the prophet was useless during the time when the Sphinx reigned over Thebes
ANSW✅✅What example from the past does Oedipus use to mock the old soothsayer?
Foreshadowing ANSW✅✅Oedipus hears these words in Scene I of the play: "A blind man, / who
has his eyes now; a penniless man, who is rich now; / And he will go tapping the strange earth with
his staff / To the children with whom he lives now he will be / Brother and father..." These words are
an example of
Creon ANSW✅✅Who describes himself as a man "who holds his tongue when he has no facts to
go on"?
In the heated discussion between Creon and Oedipus ANSW✅✅When does Jocasta play the role
of peacemaker?
When she mentions the location of Laius' murder ANSW✅✅When does Oedipus say to Jocasta
"what net has god been weaving for me"?
Is making sacrifices to them ANSW✅✅One minute Jocasta is scoffing at the gods, and the next
she:
He asked permission to move to another district after reporting the news of Laius' death
ANSW✅✅What interesting detail does Jocasta reveal regarding the one eyewitness to Laius'
murder?
They forced him off the road ANSW✅✅Why did Oedipus kill the people he encountered at
Phocis?
A helmsman...helpless sailors ANSW✅✅Jocasta uses an analogy that compares Oedipus to
_________ and the Thebans to _______
