1.+Oedipus

==Directions: your group is responsible for compiling and creating responses to all sections and will be graded on the completeness and accuracy of the information provided. In addition, your response must include material covered in class, not information "cut and pasted" from on-line study guides. Assignment is worth 100 points and is due on October 1 (by midnight). Remember, you are helping your classmates by providing a complete response.==

**1) __Plot Summary (no more than 250 words please)__:**
The play begins by discussing a plague that has stricken Thebes. The citizens humbly beg Oedipus to solve their problems, heralding him as a great and knowledgeable king. Oedipus sends Creon to get an oracle to discover what is wrong. Creon returns with an oracle saying they must find the murderer of Laois. Teiresias is then summoned has says Oedipus is the murderer. Oedipus must be banished from the city, but he does not believe the oracle. Oedipus proceeds to threaten Creon with death or exile. Oedipus threatens Creon because Oedipus believes that Creon is conspiring against his life in an attempt to take over the throne. Jocasta describes Laius’ murder, which sparks interest in Oedipus. Oedipus responds by requesting to speak to a shepherd (the only survivor of the attack). Jocasta realized the truth and leaves. Oedipus talks to a messenger (who was the Corinthian Shepherd) who tells him about Polybos' death and that Oedipus was adopted. Oedipus then inquires further by talking to a Theban shepherd. From the Theban shepherd he finds out his parents where Jocasta and Laois. Oedipus is filled with horror and leaves. Oedipus discovers that he in fact is the murderer of Laius. Oedipus is filled with rage at this news and flees the scene. We are told that Jocasta has hung herself, and Oedipus has stabbed out his eyes. In the final scene, Oedipus asks Creon to banish him from Thebes, but to look out for his daughters Antigone and Ismene. In the end, Creon wants to wait to hear from the gods before deciding anything.

**2) __Major Characters, Description, and Relationships__:**
The protagonist of the story, he is the king of Thebes who is acclaimed for his intelligence and ability to solve riddles. However, he does not realize the obvious truth about himself that he murdered Laius, and is often belligerent towards those around him. He fulfills every prophesy that was made towards him. KNOW THIS: Oedipus is Jocasta’s wife and son.
 * Oedipus**

Oedipus’ wife and mother who mediates the quarrels between Oedipus and Creon. She also comforts her husband as much as possible and attempts to keep Oedipus away from knowing the truth about his identity. At the very end, she hangs herself.
 * Jocasta**

Oedipus’ brother-in law who sends for Tiresias. He argues with Oedipus in the beginning, but eventually usurps him.
 * Creon**

The blind prophet who tells Oedipus the truth about the murder of Laius. He contrasts with Oedipus because Tiresias can see the truth clearly from the Gods, but is blind. Oedipus can see, but is blind to his own destiny.
 * Tiresias**

This is the first messenger who tells Oedipus about Polybos' death and that Oedipus was adopted.
 * Corinthian Shepherd**

This is the messenger after the Corinthian shepherd to tells Oedipus that his parents where Jocasta and Laois.
 * Theban Shepherd**

The commentators of the play who react to events on stage. They can be funny, melodramatic, and perceptive. Sometimes what they say can be lessons for those who are in the audience. The member of the chorus who talks to the characters and relates to them.
 * The Chorus**
 * Choragos**

**3) __Literary Terms discussed in class (including a brief definition and how they relate to the text)__:**
Major Elements: Tragic Hero; (in Oedipus Rex its Oedipus) not a bad guy, not a good guy, did not do anything to deserve fate, is of noble birth Tragic Flaw; single flaw that makes tragic hero's tragedy happen; ex hubris (excessive pride in spite of gods) Peripety; also known as reversal of situation, were tragic hero falls from grace Anagnorisis; moment of recignition; when tragic hero realizes fall, often followed by scene of suffering Pity and Fear; Good tragedies should cause the audience to feel either pity or fear; Catharsis; the release of the feelings of pity and fear Recognition; see Anagorisis Prophesy (prophet); most greek tragedies have one The "Machine" (Deus ex Machima); bad ending, god descends, saves everything Greek Tragedy elements; no scene change, chorus etc. Foils; characters whose traits are opposite one another Hamartia*: The tragic flaw or character weakness in a literary character. Hubris: When a character (in greek tragedy) is so confident, they insult the gods (then bad stuff happens to them) Foils: Characters who are oppostie one another by at least one attribute (ex: Creon/Oedipus) Similes; A comparison using "like" or "as" (ex: the film was like a bad TV show) Metaphors: a comparison that does not use "like" or "as" (ex: the Film smelt of rotton fish parts) Personification: When human traits are given to something no human (ex: the happy rock) Symbols: Something that represents something else (ex: money can be a symbol of wealth or snobbishness) Situational Irony*: when an incongruity exists between what is expected to happen and what actually happens Dramatic Irony*: Occurs when the audience of a play or the reader of a work of literature knows something that a character in the work itself does not know (* definitions by google)

**4) __How has the writer created meaning? In other words, what choices has he/she made in plot structure, point of view, character, setting, tone, style and/or symbol in order to convey meaning?__:**
The playwright Sococles, created meaning by following by the letter the form of a traditional greek tragedy. The playwright made the play (whether by design or happensatnce i have no idea) the ideal greek tragedy which was described centuries later as the "perfect tragedy. It embodied all of the common elements of greek tragedies. From the small (setting never changed, no violence on scene, play is "real-time") to the large (how tragic hero is not a totally bad guy, his downfall is not of his own desgin etc.)

All of the above come together to make the most (arguably) meaningful greek tragedy ever. Even when restrained by the tight restrictions of a traditional greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex is a play that has captured our attention throughout the ages. The plot caught us all by surprise (the first time we heard it) and it still shocks us today. The author created meaning by making a story that was almost taboo in nature, but was a moving piece about the fall of a great man to nothing. There is little in the way of "artistic flair" in the play (greek tragedies don't allow for it) and so it is the plot and how the characters react to the plot alone that sets this play apart from the rest. To think that someone would accidentally kill his father and then marry his mother is almost unthinkable and that storyline alone is what sets this play apart and gives it meaning. How does the use of foils, symbols, characterization, imagery, and irony create meaning? Aristotle uses foils, symbols, characterization, imagery and irony to great effect while writing Oedipus Rex. He uses all the elements to emphasize the tragedy of Oedipus by better defining who Oedipus is. Aristotle uses foils to show who Oedipus is not (Creon), and thus, provide a set of actions that a character is more likely to display. Aristotle uses symbols to better create a world in which the Gods have sway over as many of the symbols are rather ironic. For example, Oedipus' name (Oedipus means "swollen foot" in Greek) is ironic in numerous ways. First off, that fact the Oedipus had this name as he had swollen feet, yet he never found out how or why he got these swollen feet. These symbols also provide imagery to help build the character Oedipus, like when the shepherd recounted the tale of how Oedipus got swollen feet. Aristotle uses irony to emphasize the foreboding nature (how it was foretold) of Oedipus' demise.

5) __Themes/Motifs(at least 4)__:
Themes: Fate; Oedipus' fate was decided the moment he was born and it came to haunt him later in life Pursuit of Knowlegde/Truth; always good? or sometimes bad? always justified? (all questions that can be argued for or against with support from the text) The Nature of Intelligence: Oedipus knows nothing about where he came from and he can not put together that his life is following the prophecy. Greatness: Can Oedipus's actions prove or disprove his greatness? What is greatness and does Oedipus fulfill those requirements.

6) __Quotes from the text that capture major themes (at least 3)__:
1) "Fear? What should a man fear? It’s all chance, chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth can see a day ahead, groping through the dark. Better to live at random, best we can." - Jocasta was insisting that chance, not fate, ruled people's lives. She was insisting that the prophecy was pure poppycock. 2) "Who could behold his greatness without envy? Now what a black sea of terror has overwhelmed him. Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last." - Oedipus's intelligence allowed him to overcome many obstacles, but, it was his intelligence and his need to seek the truth that lead to his downfall. 3) "Aye, 'tis no secret. Loxias once foretold that I should mate with mine own mother, and shed with my own hands the blood of my own sire." - If Oedipus had been told of this prophecy, why would he murder those men at the cross-roads? He believed that he was the determiner of his fate and not the Gods. His arrogance lead to his eventual downfall. This ties into the themes of Greatness, Fate, and the nature of Oedipus's intelligence.

**7) __Interpretive Questions (at least 3)__:**
1. Do you feel bad for Oedipus and his fate, or think that he deserves it due to his ignorance? 2. What is the significance of the rhiddle of the sphinx in the story? How does it connect with Oedipus? 3. Do you think Oedipus sought out his fate due to the gods, or because of fate itself?

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Sophocles grew up in Colonus near Athens where he grew up with a wealthy father. He was very talented in the arts and music, and was a "ladys man". Throughout his life he won many competitions for his plays due to his poetry. During the time of Sophocles plays were performed on a single stage with no changing settings. If someone were to travel somewhere different, this would be included in the play; it would be told out loud of the new setting and features. Sophocles plays attracted much attention due to his artistic skills: his scenery was painted carefully and was spectacular. Though he wrote plays much of his life, around the age of fifty-six he was appointed to be a general in a war against Samos. He also became a priest later on in life. Sophocles lived a long life and died before his country was overthrown and Athens fell to ruin.====== Note added by Ms. Oren: during this time period, people were starting to question the power of the gods. Hippocrates started the 1st school of medicine and now man had the ability to heal. This began a conflict between religion and science. One can view the play as warning against scientific inquiry--Oedipus systematically, and to an extent, scientifically seeks the truth and look what happens to him.