OEDIPUS REX: EXAM NOTES AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
A skene was the only building on the stage. ANSW✅✅It served as the place for the actors to
change costumes and make entrances and exits.
Violence and sex took place off stage "ob skene" meaning out-of-sight. This is where we get the
word obscene.
Role of the Greek Chorus: ANSW✅✅To represent the populace
To comment on the action
To reveal what the main character could not say: desires, secrets, fears
What is a Greek "Tragedy"? ANSW✅✅Centers on a dramatic conflict
Depicts the fall of a person of noble character and good fortune
The lead character unknowingly commits an error because of a "flaw" in his personality
Inspires fear and pity in the audience (catharsis)
What to Look for in Oedipus Rex, as a tragedy & more: ANSW✅✅Dramatic conflict
Qualities of a tragic hero (noble birth, good person, tragic flaw)
Dramatic Irony - the audience knows something the lead character does not
Theme of free will vs. fate
, Dramatic Irony ANSW✅✅The audience knows something the lead character does not.
The audience would have already known the story of Oedipus. They know what is going to happen
to him, so... ANSW✅✅The suspense comes from watching him realize the truth.
Main Characters of Oedipus Rex ANSW✅✅Oedipus
Creon
Tiresias
Jocasta
Former King Lauis (only mentioned)
OEDIPUS: My poor children, I know why you have come—
I am not ignorant of what you yearn for.
For I well know that you are ill, and yet,
sick as you are, there is not one of you "
whose illness equals mine. Your agony
comes to each one of you as his alone,
a special pain for him and no one else.
But the soul inside me sorrows for myself,
and for the city, and for you—all together.
You are not rousing me from a deep sleep.
You must know I've been shedding many tears
and, in my wandering thoughts, exploring
many pathways. After a careful search
I followed up the one thing I could find "
and acted on it. So I have sent away
my brother-in-law, son of Menoeceus,
CORRECT ANSWERS
A skene was the only building on the stage. ANSW✅✅It served as the place for the actors to
change costumes and make entrances and exits.
Violence and sex took place off stage "ob skene" meaning out-of-sight. This is where we get the
word obscene.
Role of the Greek Chorus: ANSW✅✅To represent the populace
To comment on the action
To reveal what the main character could not say: desires, secrets, fears
What is a Greek "Tragedy"? ANSW✅✅Centers on a dramatic conflict
Depicts the fall of a person of noble character and good fortune
The lead character unknowingly commits an error because of a "flaw" in his personality
Inspires fear and pity in the audience (catharsis)
What to Look for in Oedipus Rex, as a tragedy & more: ANSW✅✅Dramatic conflict
Qualities of a tragic hero (noble birth, good person, tragic flaw)
Dramatic Irony - the audience knows something the lead character does not
Theme of free will vs. fate
, Dramatic Irony ANSW✅✅The audience knows something the lead character does not.
The audience would have already known the story of Oedipus. They know what is going to happen
to him, so... ANSW✅✅The suspense comes from watching him realize the truth.
Main Characters of Oedipus Rex ANSW✅✅Oedipus
Creon
Tiresias
Jocasta
Former King Lauis (only mentioned)
OEDIPUS: My poor children, I know why you have come—
I am not ignorant of what you yearn for.
For I well know that you are ill, and yet,
sick as you are, there is not one of you "
whose illness equals mine. Your agony
comes to each one of you as his alone,
a special pain for him and no one else.
But the soul inside me sorrows for myself,
and for the city, and for you—all together.
You are not rousing me from a deep sleep.
You must know I've been shedding many tears
and, in my wandering thoughts, exploring
many pathways. After a careful search
I followed up the one thing I could find "
and acted on it. So I have sent away
my brother-in-law, son of Menoeceus,
