Oedipus Rex Close Reading Quiz

by eNotes

  • Released September 05, 2019
  • Language Arts and Literature subjects
  • 22 pages
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Excerpt

This document includes two versions of the quiz to account for two popular translations of Sophocles's work:

  • Oedipus Rex, translated by J. E. Thomas 
  • Oedipus the King, translated by F. Storr

Example Exercises From This Document:

Read these passages from Oedipus Rex, and then answer the question that follows each passage. Refer to the passage in answering the question. Circle the correct answer to each question.

1) CREON:
I shall say all I heard from the god. (105)
Phoebus clearly ordered us, my lord,
to drive out the pollution being fostered
in this very land, not to nurture it unhealed.
OEDIPUS:
With what cleansing and for what type of disaster? (110)
CREON:
By driving a man into exile,
or undoing murder with murder again,
since this blood shakes our city like a storm.
OEDIPUS:
And who is the man whose fate he decrees?
CREON:
My lord, once Laius was our leader in this land,
before you came to govern this city. (115)
OEDIPUS:
So I have heard, though I never saw him.
CREON:
He died, and the god now orders us clearly
to take violent vengeance on the murderers.

What must be done to lift the plague from Thebes ?

  • The people must make sacrifices to the gods.
  • The people must pray for the soul of the former king.
  • Laius must reign again as king.
  • Whoever killed King Laius must be punished.

2) OEDIPUS:
How did a bandit come to dare so much, (135)
unless he acted with money from here?
CREON:
This was suspected. But with Laius fallen,
we had no helper in our troubles.
OEDIPUS:
What kind of trouble, when your kingship had
fallen thus, made you see to this so poorly? (140)
CREON:
The riddle-singing Sphinx compelled us to look
at what lay at hand, forgetting things unseen.

Why did the Thebans fail to find the murderer of King Laius immediately after he was killed?

  • They were blinded by the Sphinx.
  • They thought the Sphinx wanted them to concentrate on their futures.
  • They believed the murderer went unseen by the Sphinx.
  • They were responding to a terrible circumstance in their city.

About

Our eNotes Close Reading Quizzes have been designed to provide students with more than a simple review of the text. Each multiple-choice question corresponds to a particular selection from the text, promoting opportunities for developing and testing close-reading, critical-thinking, and literary-analysis skills. Each quiz contains the following components:

  • A series of multiple choice questions with accompanying text
  • Several short answer questions for extended, written answers
  • A comprehensive answer key for both sections

In completing these quizzes, students will be able to demonstrate their ability to close read, think critically, and comprehend general and nuanced elements of the text.