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The Oedipus Plays

Sophocles

Study Guide Full Text

Study Guide
Full Text

Summary
- Plot Overview
Characters
- Character List
- Oedipus
- Antigone
- Creon
- The Chorus
Main Ideas
- Themes
- Motifs
- Symbols
- Key Facts
Quotes
- Important Quotes Explained
- Quotes By Character
- Antigone
- Oedipus
- Creon
- Tiresias
- Jocasta
Further Study
- Context
- Full Book Quiz
- Study Questions
- Suggestions for Further Reading
Writing Help

Further Study

Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Quiz

Further Study Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Quiz

1 of 5
Why does Creon think his treatment of Polynices is acceptable?

Polynices is his nephew and thus his ward.
Polynices broke his duty to the state.
Creon can do what he wants as king.
Creon has the approval of the gods.

2 of 5
Why is the fact that Sophocles' audience already knew the Oedipus story important?

It heightens the sense of inevitability.
It allowed him to leave out some details.
It limited his artistic creativity.
It enabled him to criticize Athens by implication.

3 of 5
How do most characters in the plays die?

They are executed.
They die in combat.
They succumb to disease.
They commit suicide.

4 of 5
What do the plays suggest is a basic duty people owe to the dead?

Burial
Positive remarks
Vengeance
Remembrance

5 of 5
What is the significance of the three-way crossroad?

It represents the fundamental ignorance of humanity.
It symbolizes choice and consequences.
It embodies the conflict between public duty and private feeling.
It stands for the relationship between the individual, the state, and the gods.

Previous section Plot Overview Quick Quiz Next section Themes, Motifs & Symbols Quick Quiz

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