Oedipus Rex Reader’s Theatre

1. Oedipus Rex Reader’s Theatre Quick-Writes, Essential Questions, Discussion Points, and More.

5. Sophocles c. 496 BCE-406 BCE • Second greatest writer of tragedies after Aeschylus • Wrote 123 plays of which only 7 survive today • Plays were awarded in dramatic competitions of the time • Most well known for Oedipus Rex and Antigone

6. Drama Conventions • Act: a major division within a play or an opera • Scene: a division of a play or of an act of a play • Dialogue: the conversation between characters in a novel, drama, etc. • Monologue: a long, uninterrupted speech that is spoken in the presence of other characters

7. Drama Conventions • Soliloquy: a speech in which a character, alone on stage, expresses his or her thoughts aloud • Stage Directions: an instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions, movements of performers, or production requirements • Aside: a part of an actor’s lines supposedly not heard by others on the stage and intended only for the audience

8. Greek Drama Structure • Tragedy • Prologue: A monologue or dialogue preceding the entry of the chorus, which presents the tragedy’s topic. • Parode (Entrance Ode): The entry chant of the chorus who generally remains on stage throughout the rest of the play. • Episode: A specific part in the play in which one or two actors interact with the chorus. • Stasimon(Stationary Song): A choral ode in which the chorus may comment on or react to the preceding episode. • Exode(Exit Ode): The exit song of the chorus after the last episode.

9. Greek Drama Conventions • Use of Masks • Alluded to the worship of Dionysus and were dedicated to him after performances • Allowed an actor to play multiple roles and for males to play female roles as only males were allowed to act • No more than three actors on stage plus the Chorus • Chorus was usually composed of 12 to 15 members who would remain on stage during the performance

10. Themes & Symbols in Oedipus Rex • Themes • The search for self-knowledge can destroy the self. • One cannot escape one’s own destiny. • Symbols • Sight VS. Blindness • The place where three wagons meet (the crossroads)

11. Greek Drama Conventions • Use of Masks • Alluded to the worship of Dionysus and were dedicated to him after performances • Allowed an actor to play multiple roles and for males to play female roles as only males were allowed to act • No more than three actors on stage plus the Chorus • Chorus was usually composed of 12 to 15 members who would remain on stage during the performance

12. Wrap-Up Quick Write • Based on your reading of the two comics from the beginning of class, what do you predict the play Oedipus Rex will be about?

13. Lines 1-285 Quick Write • Write the following quote in your writer’s notebook and then respond to the thinking question that follows. “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” (Abraham Lincoln) Can people be trusted with the whole truth? Why or Why not?

14. Mini-Lesson: Lines 58-74 of the Priest’s Speech Closing Discussion: Do you think there is something wrong with the way Oedipus is perceived by the priest and by the people? Why or Why not?

15. Lines 1-185 Essential Questions • How do the stage directions at the beginning of the play foreshadow the conflict presented in the first lines? • How does Oedipus show that he cares for the people of Thebes and desires to resolve their plight? • What report came back with Kreon from his travels to the oracle?

16. Lines 286-552 Quick Write Chorus: “pain pain my sorrows have no sound no name no word no pain like this plague sears my people everywhere everyone army citizens no one escapes no spear of strong anxious thought protects us great Thebes grows nothing seeds rot in the ground our women when they labor cry Apollo Apollo but their children die and lives one after another spilt the air birds taking off…” (Lines 217-227) Choose one line from this excerpt and write it in your writer’s notebook. Respond to the line in whatever way you would like. What does it make you think of ?

17. Lines 286-552 Essential Questions • Why is Oedipus’s curse an example of dramatic irony? • What internal conflict prevents Tieresias from telling the truth at first? What does this reluctance show about Teiresias’s character? • What external conflict does Oedipus’s assumption about Teiresias and Kreon create?

18. Mini-Lesson: Irony • Verbal Irony: words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant. • Situational Irony: an event occurs that directly contradicts the expected • Dramatic Irony: contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader knows to be true.

19. Lines 553 – 837 Quick Write • Teiresias: “The truth will come, by itself, the truth will come no matter how I shroud it in silence.” How do these words echo the theme of one cannot escape one’s own destiny? What truth do you think Teiresias will reveal to Oedipus in these next lines?

20. Lines 553- 837 Essential Questions • What does Teiresias’s response (lines 553-573) to Oedipus’s questions reveal about Oedipus’s search for truth? (Hint: Think about theme.) • What character trait does the Chorus’s song re-emphasize about Oedipus?

21. Lines 838-1158 Quick Write • Oedipus: Taunt me for the gift of my brilliant mind. That gift is what makes me great. • Teiresias: That gift is your destiny. It made you everything you are, and it has ruined you. Think about this excerpt. Write about an example in your own life where knowing too much was not a good thing.

22. Lines 838-1158 Essential Questions • How is Jocasta’s telling of her story an example of situational irony? • Near the end of these lines Oedipus says, “Even so, I want that shepherd summoned here. Now. Do it now.” What in Oedipus’s character is working against him?

23. Lines 1159-1446 Quick Write • Which line would Oedipus be standing in? Explain your thinking using a specific example from the text.

24. Lines 1159-1446 Essential Questions • Why does Jocasta say to Oedipus: “No more questions. For god’s sake, for the sake of your own life!”? • How is the Sheperd’s reluctance to answer the Messenger’s questions similar to Teiresias’s reluctance to answer Oedipus’s questions earlier in the play?

25. Lines 1446-1730 Quick Write 1 Servant: “The griefs we cause ourselves cut deepest of all.” Write this quote inside of your writer’s notebook. Do you agree with this statement? Why or Why not?

26. Lines 1446-1730 Essential Questions • What is the Chorus’s attitude toward Oedipus now that the truth has come out? • Why is it significant that the stage directions indicate that Oedipus looks up at the sun when he finally realizes the truth? • How does the Servant’s story connect with the sight/blindness symbolism of the text?

27. Lines 1446-1730 Quick Write 2 • How does this image relate to Oedipus’s current situation? Explain your thinking.

28. Lines 1731-1988 Quick Write • Could Oedipus have avoided his destiny? Explain your thinking.

29. Lines 1731-1988 Essential Questions • What is Oedipus’s request to Kreon at the end of the play and why does he request this? • How do Kreon’s last words to Oedipus echo one of the themes in the play as a whole?

30. Back to the Beginning…Quick Write on Allusion • Teacher Instruction: Choose one of the cartoons on Slide 2,3,4, for this quick write and insert here. Now that you have deep knowledge about the play Oedipus Rex, explain this allusion. What exactly is the cartoon drawing attention to? What is it poking fun of?

31. Discussion Spark for Oedipus Complex Article • What do you think about the Oedipus Complex? Do Freud’s theories have any validity? • Are you likely to choose a boyfriend/girlfriend that have similar characteristics of your father/mother? • Why is the Oedipus Complex still one of the most discussed theories in psychology today?