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
Quiz
Essay Questions
Practice Projects

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Study and Homework Help

Quiz

1:  Oedipus is the king of which city?

a. Athens

b. Thrace

c. Thebes


2:  What does the oracle say must be done in order to save the city from the plague?

a. The murderer of the past king must be discovered.

b. Creon must murder his brother-in-law, Oedipus.

c. Oedipus must sacrifice his daughter, Antigone.

d. Jocasta must marry her brother.


3:  Who is revealed to be Oedipus’ mother?

a. Ismene

b. Merope

c. Jocasta

d. Antigone


4:  Who is Oedipus’ father?

a. Laius

b. Polybus

c. Apollo


5:  What does Oedipus do when he finds out the truth about his birth?

a. He kills his father.

b. He blinds himself.

c. He kills his wife.

d. He sets fire to his palace.


6:  When Oedipus and Antigone arrive at Colonus, who is the King of Athens who grants Oedipus citizenship?

a. Polynices

b. Polybus

c. Theseus

d. Creon


7:  Why does Creon come to Colonus and take Oedipus’ daughters hostage?

a. He is trying to secure Antigone’s hand in marriage.

b. He is trying to force Oedipus to return to Thebes.

c. He has been ordered by the prophet to do so.

d. He is punishing them for revealing the oracle to their father.


8:  What prophecy does Oedipus tell to Polynices?

a. that he will become king

b. that Polynices will marry his mother

c. that Polynices and Eteocles will kill each other

d. that Creon will kill Polynices and Eteocles


9:  Who witnesses Oedipus’ death?

a. Creon

b. Theseus

c. Ismene

d. Antigone


10:  Whom does Creon decree shall not be buried but left to rot?

a. Polynices

b. Eteocles

c. Haemon

d. Theseus


11:  What is Antigone’s main argument for attempting to violate Creon’s decree?

a. that the dead man is actually Creon’s son

b. that Creon doesn’t know the truth surrounding the death

c. that leaving the body to rot will start a war

d. that the decree goes against the laws of the gods


12:  Who tries to convince Creon not to execute Antigone and her sister?

a. Haemon

b. Eurydice

c. Theseus

d. Agamemnon


13:  Who is dead at the end of Antigone?

a. Haemon, Antigone, and Eurydice

b. Haemon, Antigone, and Creon

c. Haemon, Tiresias, and Creon

d. Haemon, Eurydice, and Creon


14:  Who says the following: “Blind who now has eyes, beggar who now is rich, he will grope his way toward a foreign soil, a stick tapping before him step by step.”

a. Tiresias

b. Oedipus

c. Creon

d. Antigone


15:  Who says the following: “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.”

a. Tiresias

b. Jocasta

c. Antigone

d. Oedipus





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