OEDIPUS REX:  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS


"Sons and daughters of Theses, behold: this was Oedipus,

Greatest of men.  He held the key to the deepest mysteries,

Was envied by all his fellow men for his great prosperity.

Behold, what a tide of misfortune swept over his head.

Learn, then, that mortal man must look to his own end,

And none can be called happy till the day they carry

Their happiness down to the grave in peace."

-- The Chorus in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex

SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Is Oedipus a hero?  Why or why not?

How would you characterize Oedipus as a ruler and as a person?  Why is it so important for him to seek the truth?

How would you begin to make sense of the relationship between fate and free will as portrayed in the play?  To what extent is Oedipus the architect of his own misfortune?

How would you describe Oedipus' relationship with the gods?  What role do the gods play in the drama?

The motto "Know Thyself" was written on the temple at Delphi.  To what extent could "Know Thyself" be described as the message of this play?  What do you think we are supposed to learn from this story?

What view of the human condition is offered by Oedipus Rex?

What role do sight, insight and blindness play in the tragedy?  Where and how are images of light and darkness used?

How would you compare and contrast Oedipus and Medea as characters?

How would you begin to compare Sophocles' Oedipus Rex with Euripides' Medea?

How would you compare and contrast the character of Oedipus with that of Odysseus?  Are there other mythological figures you might introduce for comparative purposes?  How would you compare and contrast Oedipus' "swollen-foot" with Achilles' heel?

How would you frame Oedipus' encounter with the Sphinx against the backdrop of the entire play?

Oedipus kills his father at a trivium,  a place where three roads meet.  Analyze the this three-way crossroads as a mythological symbol.

How did Sigmund Freud use Oedipus Rex to help construct his psychological theories and what is your response to such a reading of the tragedy?


The Seminar Note

General instructions for seminar notes are on the Assignments Page or can be accessed HERE.

If you choose to write a seminar note on Medea, I would like you to complete a short Assignment Wrapper and attach that at the very end of your Seminar Note.

The Specifications For The Assignment Wrapper

Your wrapper should include answers to two questions and then a few sentences in which you respond to the prompts below to reflect upon this mini-assignment.

The Questions:

1)  Did you base your seminar note upon your reading of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex from our Greek Tragedy text?

2)  Did you use any other resources and/or tools in completing your seminar note than the play itself?  If so, please describe.

The Prompts:

In a very few sentences, offer some self-reflection after completing this mini-assignment.  What were the steps you took in completing this seminar note?  How and why did you choose your topic and structure?  Did you connect to this play?  How interesting or uninteresting was it for you?  What difficulties, if any, did you experience in completing your seminar note?  How would you begin to evaluate your own work here?  Are you pleased with what you have written?

The Purpose Of The Assignment Wrapper

The purpose of the Assignment Wrapper is two-fold.

It is designed in part as an accountability measure.  I want to emphasize that seminar notes should represent your own direct engagement with the course's core texts and to ask you whether this is indeed the case.  In recent semesters, I've often received work that leaves me completely baffled as to what it represents and how it was completed.  The Assignment Wrapper will provide at least a clear statement from you in this regard.

The Wrapper is also intended to serve as a small exercise in self-reflection.  I would like you to move beyond a reliance upon my feedback to actively reflect upon your own processes and your own academic output.  Your own self-appraisal here may well be more valuable to you than the evaluation you receive from me.


 

free
web stats