 VCCS Litonline Introduction to LiteratureEnglish 112 (English Composition II) |
 Click on the
sphinx to read the play. |
Oedipus the Wreck
Sitemap of Summary, Archive, and Questions for Oedipus the King
(Pages 1 - 9 have been recorded in Real Player.)
0. Objectives for using this web--for the summary and the archive
1. Background for reading the play: Oedipus' 2 problems and modern readers
2. Prologue: The people of Thebes turn to Oedipus to save them.
3. Parados: The Thebans pray to other gods to save them from the plague-bringer, Ares.
4. Tiresias: Oedipus seeks the truth (the murderer's identity) from the local prophet (seer), Tiresias [teh-REE-see-us]--and gets it.
5. Creon: Oedipus accuses Creon of conspiring with Teiresias to take the throne, and Jocasta, trying to soothe her husband, offers the first corroboration that he may really be the murderer.
6. The Messenger from Corinth: A messenger from Corinth notifies Oedipus that his father is dead and the throne of Corinth is his.
7. Recognition: The messenger confronts the herdsman.
8. Exodos: An eyewitness tells about Jocasta's suicide and Oedipus' blinding himself in humiliation and grief.
9. Considerations: Further thinking on the play toward a possible essay
10. Links to other sites on Oedipus. (See also the reconstituted Oedipus Forum.)
11. Archives of forums on Oedipus the King
A1. Oedipus Complex: Was Freud right about the play?
A2. Pity and Fear: Does the play encourage a catharsis?
A3. Study Guide: Frequently asked questions about the play
A4. Teaching the Play: Ideas for involving a class
12. Forum Questions: Archives of the Original Questions for the 1998-2003 Forum
F2. Is Oedipus Selfless or Self-Centered?
F3. The Punishment Fits the Crime?
F6. Is Oedipus a Free Man or a Fool of the Gods?
F7. Jocasta's Shame
F9. Theme
F11. Oedipus vs. Hamlet
13. Assessment
| Writing Tasks for This Module
Word 7 (.doc) || Rich Text Format (.rtf) || Generic Text (.txt) Here's a word processing hint. (Click here for a hint on re-opening a word processor.) |
Click
the appropriate link below for a word processing file containing all of the writing tasks
that appear in this module. Use the file as assigned by your instructor or to gather
your thinking in response to the questions about the play that you encounter as you study
this module.See also the triangle graph by Barbara McManus on the structure of the play and its "unity of action."
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