CliffsNotes on

Oedipus Trilogy

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Oedipus the King Play Summary

Oedipus at Colonus Play Summary

Antigone Play Summary

Sophocles Biography

Personal Background
Literary Writing
Honors and Awards

About the Oedipus Trilogy

Historical Background
Greek Theater and Its Development
The Oedipus Myth
Dramatic Irony

Oedipus the King: Summary and Analysis

Lines 1–168
Lines 169–244
Lines 245–526
Lines 527–572
Lines 573–953
Lines 954–996
Lines 997–1194
Lines 1195–1214
Lines 1215–1310
Lines 1311–1350
Lines 1351–1684

Oedipus at Colonus: Summary and Analysis

Lines 1–141
Lines 142–268
Lines 269–576
Lines 577–616
Lines 617–761
Lines 762–817
Lines 818–1192
Lines 1193–1239
Lines 1240–1377
Lines 1378–1410
Lines 1411–1645
Lines 1646–1694
Lines 1695–1765
Lines 1766–1788
Lines 1789–2001

Antigone: Summary and Analysis

Lines 1–116
Lines 117–178
Lines 179–376
Lines 377–416
Lines 417–655
Lines 656–700
Lines 701–878
Lines 879–894
Lines 895–969
Lines 970–1034
Lines 1035–1089
Lines 1090–1237
Lines 1238–1273
Lines 1274–1470

The Oedipus Trilogy: Character List

Oedipus the King
Oedipus at Colonus
Antigone

The Oedipus Trilogy: Character Analysis

Oedipus
Creon
Antigone
Ismene
Polynices
Theseus
Tiresias
Jocasta
Eurydice

The Oedipus Trilogy: Critical Essays

The Power of Fate in the Oedipus Trilogy
Ritual and Transcendence in the Oedipus Trilogy

Study and Homework Help

Full Glossary for The Oedipus Trilogy
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Essay Questions
Practice Projects

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Study and Homework Help

Practice Projects

1. Plan and write your own scene dramatizing an event not staged in the Oedipus Trilogy. You might choose to dramatize the life of Ismene after the events of Antigone, or the encounter of Oedipus with the Sphinx.

2. Choose a scene from one of the plays of the Oedipus Trilogy and produce it for the class. Design costumes and masks in the style of fifth-century Athens, or have actors wear street clothes.

3. Design a Web page on the Oedipus Trilogy, featuring themes, legends, or interpretations the class finds particularly helpful or interesting. Correspond by e-mail or post with other classes studying the Oedipus Trilogy.

4. Using library reference materials, research the Eleusian Mysteries. Present your findings about this tradition to the class in an oral presentation featuring illustrations of the legend of Demeter and Persephone.

5. Play a recording of the last scene of Verdi's opera Aida, beginning with Ramades' "La fatal pietra." Discuss the similarities of this scene with the description of Antigone and Haemon's meeting in the tomb. How does opera compare to classical tragedy? Choose a scene from one of the plays of the Oedipus Trilogy and set it to music for presentation as an operatic drama.


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