Test: ANSWER KEY

Part 1: Character Identification

A. Oedipus AB. Creon

B. Sphinx AC. Tiresias
C. Thebes AD. Laius
D. Jocasta AE. Polybus
E. Chorus BC. Cithaeron

1. This group is composed of Thebans; it speaks collectively to reveal their

thoughts. E
2. Oedipus is king of this city. C
3. This man was the former king of Thebes. AD
4. She is Oedipus’ wife and Creon’s sister. D
5. This creature killed passers-by who couldn’t answer her riddle. B
6. He claimed to be Oedipus’ biological father, but he was really Oedipus’
adoptive father. AE
7. This blind prophet delivered a devastating prophecy. AC
8. This city was being ravaged by a plague. C
9. This was the place where baby Oedipus was left to die. BC
10. This man will take Oedipus’ place as king at the end of the tragedy. AB
11. This character’s hamartia led to his downfall. A
Part 2: Multiple Choice
12. Oedipus takes great pride in this former accomplishment:
a. He rescued his wife from drowning.
b. He led Thebes successfully through war.
c. He solved the Sphinx’s riddle and saved Thebes from further
deaths.
d. He assisted Laius on his pilgrimage to Delphi.
13. The Thebans appealed to Oedipus when the play opened because
of what event?
a. a plague was ravaging Thebes
b. a war had been declared on Thebes
c. a hurricane was predicted to hit Thebes
d. Thebes was in an economic recession.
14. Whose murder had never been investigated or avenged?
a. Oedipus’ murder
b. Polybus’ murder
c. Jocasta’s murder
d. Laius’ murder
15. It was reported that Laius was murdered by what?
a. one thief
b. several thieves
c. the Sphinx
d. his daughter
16. What prevented the Thebans from investigating the murder
thoroughly?
a. Oedipus forbade them from investigating.
b. The Sphinx’s killing of Thebans took precedence.
c. They didn’t know there had been a murder.
d. Jocasta forbade them from investigating.
17. How did Oedipus treat Tiresias?
a. Rudely--Oedipus accused him of lying and conspiracy.
b. Kindly--even though Oedipus didn’t like his message, he thanked
him politely.
c. Indifferently--Oedipus didn’t listen to what Tiresias had to say.
d. Graciously--Oedipus was thankful of Tiresias’ time and offered him
gifts in exchange for his efforts.
18. Oedipus accused Tiresias of conspiring with whom?
a. Apollo
b. Jocasta
c. the messenger
d. Creon
19. What was the location of Laius’ murder?
a. Delphi near the altar of Apollo
b. Cithaeron, on a mountainside
c. Phocis, where three roads meet
d. Thebes, near the river
20. This King of Corinth died of natural causes.
a. Laius
b. Polybus
c. Merope
d. Oedipus
21. When Oedipus was a younger man, why did he seek an oracle?
a. He wanted to know how to solve the Sphinx’s riddle.
b. He wanted to learn if he’d ever become king.
c. He wanted to find out if the drunkard at the banquet was right
about his parents.
d. He wanted to know if he was special and gifted.
22. What murder had Oedipus previously committed?
a. He killed a chariot-driver who wouldn’t give him the right-of-way on
the road.
b. He killed a prophet who delivered a prophecy that he didn’t like.
c. He killed his first wife in a fit of rage.
d. He killed his best friend in war, accidentally.
23. Because Jocasta believes in chance, we can infer that she does not
believe in what?
a. love
b. government
c. education
d. fate
24. What revealing marks does Oedipus have on his body?
a. He has a scar on his forehead from when he fell as a toddler.
b. He has a scar on his arm from when his broken elbow was reset.
c. He has a scar on the back of his head from when Laius hit him.
d. He has scars on his ankles from his feet being bound together as an
infant.
25. What news did the shepherd reveal?
a. He revealed that he was conspiring with Creon for the throne.
b. He admitted that he was Oedipus’ brother.
c. He revealed that he saved the baby’s life and gave the baby to the
messenger.
d. He revealed that Oedipus was under investigation for corruption.
26. What did Jocasta beg Oedipus to do?
a. She begged him to stop investigating the circumstances of his birth.
b. She begged him to apologize to Creon and give him another
chance.
c. She begged him to kill Tiresias.
d. She begged him to attend his father’s funeral.
27. Mark the two terrible events that the messenger witnessed and
reported. (Mark both letters.)
a. He reported that Jocasta hanged herself.
b. He reported that Oedipus’ daughters were found sobbing in their
bedrooms.
c. He reported that the barn was on fire and the fire was set by Creon.
d. He reported that Oedipus gouged out his eyes with Jocasta’s
brooches.
28. In hindsight, was Tiresias’ prophecy true?
a. no
b. yes
c. We can’t tell from the events in the play.

Part 3: Long Passage Questions

Read the passages and answer the questions.

Passage I:
“Oh, Oedipus, king of the land, our greatest power! You see us before you
now, men of all ages clinging to your altars...Our city--look around you, see
with your own eyes--our ship pitches wildly, cannot lift her head from the
depths, the red waves of death...Thebes is dying. A blight on the fresh
crops and the rich pastures, cattle sicken and die, and the women die in
labor, children stillborn, and the plague, the fiery god of fever hurls down
on the city, his lightning slashing through us--raging plague in all its
vengeance, devastating the house of Cadmus! And black Death luxuriates
in the raw, wailing miseries of Thebes…”
29. Why was the priest pleading with Oedipus?
a. The Thebans wanted Oedipus to act to stop the plague.
b. The Thebans were warning Oedipus about bad weather.
c. The Thebans were asking Oedipus why there were fevers.
d. The Thebans were telling Oedipus that there’s corruption in his
house.
30. The words “red waves of death” signify what?
a. money
b. success
c. power
d. blood

31. Who is the god of fever?

a. Zeus
b. Poseidon
c. Ares
d. Apollo

32. Which is not one of the characteristics of the plague?

a. lightning strikes were causing raging fires
b. crops were blighted
c. babies were born stillborn
d. cattle were dying

33. How did Oedipus respond to this priest’s plea?

a. He dismissed it as nonsense.

b. He asked many follow-up questions.

c. He acknowledged that the plague has affected him deeply; he had

been grieving it.

d. He asked his wife, Jocasta’s, opinion.

Passage II:
“I’ll bring it all to light myself! Apollo is right, and so are you, Creon, to
turn our attention back to the murdered man. Now you have me to fight
for you, you’ll see; I am the land’s avenger by all rights, and Apollo’s
champion too. But not to assist some distant kinsman, no, for my own
sake I’ll rid us of this corruption. Whoever killed the king may decide to
kill me too, with the same violent hand--by avenging Laius I defend
myself.”

34. Who is the “murdered man” to which Oedipus refers?

a. Tiresias
b. Apollo
c. Creon
d. Laius

35. Why is Oedipus motivated to find the killer?

a. He believes that all killers should be brought to justice.
b. He believes that the killer may come after him, too.
c. He believes that Creon conspired with the killer.
d. He believes that the killer is the one who started the fires that were
ravaging Thebes.

36. After reading the whole play, we can see that the words “with the
same violent hand” are ironic because
a. the killer did not have hands.
b. the killer used a weapon shaped like hands.
c. the hands that killed Laius were the speaker’s, Oedipus’.
d. when he said this, Oedipus literally had blood on his hands.
Passage III:
“...if any one of you knows who murdered Laius, the son of Labdacus, I
order him to reveal the whole truth to me. Nothing to fear...let him speak
up...he will suffer no unbearable punishment, nothing worse than exile...if
anyone knows the murderer is a stranger, a man from alien soil, come
speak up. I will give him a handsome reward...But if you keep silent...I
order you...banish this man--never shelter him, never speak a word to him,
never make him partner to your prayers, your victims burned to the
gods...Drive him out, each of you, from every home. He is the plague, the
heart of our corruption...Whoever he is...let that man drag out his life in
agony, step by painful step--I curse myself as well...if by any chance he
proves to be an intimate of our house...may the curse I just called down on
him strike me!”
37. What information is Oedipus trying to coax out of the Thebans?
a. He’s trying to learn the identity of the dead man.
b. He’s trying to ask a prophet for a prophecy.
c. He’s trying to get a Theban to identify the killer.
d. He’s trying to get Creon to admit to the conspiracy.

38. Why is it ironic that Oedipus curses himself?

a. It’s ironic because he is the killer but doesn’t know it yet.
b. It’s ironic because Oedipus doesn’t believe in curses.
c. It’s ironic because his wife has already cursed him in front of the
priest and the Thebans.
d. It’s ironic because Oedipus had his fingers crossed behind his back
when he said this.

39. As a result of this monologue, does any Theban come forward to

identify the killer?
a. yes
b. no
c. The information is not revealed.
Passage IV
“So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this. You with your precious
eyes, you’re blind to the corruption of your life, to the house you live in,
those you live with--who are your parents? Do you know? All unknowing
you are the scourge of your own flesh and blood, the dead below the
earth and the living here above, and the double lash of your mother and
your father’s curse will whip you from this land one day, their footfall
treading you down in terror, darkness shrouding your eyes that now can
see the light!”
40. Who is the speaker?
a. Oedipus
b. the chorus
c. Creon
d. Tiresias

41. The words “darkness shrouding your eyes” predict what event at the
end of the play?
a. Oedipus’ daughters’ crying.
b. Oedipus’ sons’ deaths.
c. Jocasta’s suicide.
d. Oedipus’ blinding himself with Jocasta’s brooches.

42. To what “corruption” was Oedipus “blind”?

a. He never noticed Creon’s stealing.
b. He didn’t know that he was his father’s murderer and his mother’s
husband.
c. He didn’t know that Tiresias was taking bribes.
d. He didn’t know that he was going to be arrested the next day.
Passage V:
“...see things calmly, rationally, as I do...who in his right mind would rather
rule and live in anxiety than sleep in peace? Particularly if he enjoys the
same authority. Not I. I’m not the man to yearn for kingship, not with a
king’s power in my hands. Who would...if I wore the crown there’d be many
painful duties to perform, hardly to my taste...Do you want proof? Go to
Delphi yourself, examine the oracle and see if I’ve reported the message
word-for-word...if you detect that I and the clairvoyant have plotted
anything in common, arrest me, execute me.”
43. Who is the speaker?
a. Creon
b. Oedipus
c. Tiresias
d. Jocasta

44. What is the “king’s power” to which the speaker refers?

a. The speaker is the minister of justice and has the power to indict
criminals.
b. The speaker is the king’s secretary, who has knowledge of all his
shady dealings.
c. The speaker is the king’s brother-in-law, and he enjoys all the perks
of the kingdom without the hassle of being the ruler.
d. The speaker is the god Apollo, who will strike down Oedipus for
saying these words.

Passage VI
“Listen to me and learn some peace of mind: no skill in the world, nothing
human can penetrate the future. Here is proof...An oracle came to Laius
one fine day...and it declared that doom would strike him down at the
hands of a son, our son, to be born of our own flesh and blood. But
Laius...was killed by strangers...my son--he wasn’t three days old and the
boy’s father fastened his ankles, had a henchman fling him away on a
barren, trackless mountain.”
45. Who is the speaker?
a. Jocasta
b. Creon
c. Tiresias
d. Oedipus

46. Why does she say this?

a. She wants to prove that Tiresias’ prophecy was correct.
b. She wants to thank Apollo for looking out for her and Laius.
c. She wants to convince Oedipus that oracles aren’t trustworthy.
d. She wants Oedipus to admit his crime and pay the consequences.

47. She and Laius did this to their son to escape their what?
a. luck
b. beliefs
c. fate
d. failure

Passage VII
“...I went to mother and father, questioned them closely, and they were
enraged at the accusation and the fool who let it fly. So as for my parents
I was satisfied, but still this thing kept gnawing at me, the slander
spread--And so, unknown to mother and father I set out for Delphi, and
the god Apollo spurned me...but first he flashed before my eyes a future
great with pain, terror, disaster…’You are fated to couple with your mother,
you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to
see--you will kill your father, the one who gave you life!’ I heard all that
and ran…”
48. Who made Oedipus question whether his parents were his birth
parents?
a. Oedipus’ brother
b. a drunkard at a banquet
c. Creon
d. Jocasta

49. Was Apollo’s prophecy true?

a. yes
b. no
c. We can’t tell from the information in the play.

Passage VIII
“He was raging--one of the dark powers pointing the way, none of us
mortals crowding around him, no, with a great shattering cry...he hurled at
the twin doors and bending the bolts back out of their sockets, crashed
through the chamber. And there we saw the woman hanging by the neck,
cradled high in a woven noose, spinning...he eased her down, in a slow
embrace he laid her down, poor thing…”
50. Who witnessed the scene and reported this information?
a. the messenger
b. Tiresias
c. Creon
d. Oedipus
51. Who was the woman, hanging?
a. Oedipus’ daughter
b. Merope
c. Jocasta
d. an oracle

52. After speaking these lines, the speaker reported that Oedipus did
something horrifying. What was it?
a. He demands to see Creon.
b. He fainted and hit his head on a dresser.
c. He set fire to the castle.
d. He gouged out his eyes with Jocasta’s brooches.

Passage IX
“How I weep for you...just thinking of all your days to come, the bitterness,
the life that rough mankind will thrust upon you.. Where are the public
gatherings you can join, the banquets of the clans? Home you’ll come, in
tears, cut off from the sight of it all, the brilliant rites unfinished. And
when you reach perfection, ripe for marriage, who will be he, my dear
ones...Your father killed his father, sowed his mother, one, one and the
selfsame womb sprang you--he cropped the very roots of his existence.”
53. Who is the speaker?
a. Creon
b. Tiresias
c. Oedipus
d. the messenger
54. This passage indicates what?
a. That his daughters will suffer because they will be outcast, rejected,
and undesirable for marriage.
b. That his daughters will never be able to rule Thebes.
c. That he looks forward to Creon’s rule of Thebes.
d. That he will follow Jocasta to the hospital and try to save her.

55. What event happened after Oedipus spoke his final monologue?
a. He apologized to Tiresias.
b. He murdered Creon.
c. He was struck dead by Apollo.
d. He departed Thebes to spend the rest of his days alone and
wandering.