Oedipus Final Assignment

Senior Semitar 2007-8

I want you to reflect on this play in two ways.

Two assignments:

• Write and TYPE a  4-5 paragraph essay  in class Thursday.. 

To prepare, answer 2 or more of these questions, using at least one direct quote from the play:

• What is Oedipus’s tragic flaw?
• Of what is Oedipus guilty and which one of these is most unforgivable?
• If the Greeks believed in fate, then what is the message in this play?  In what specific ways does Oedipus seek knowledge and control over his life?
• The quest for knowledge is one motif in the play.  In his responses to a series of revelations, Oedipus shows aspects of his character to the audience.  Describe both the revelations and his reactions while also explaining what those reactions suggest about his character.

**Extra credit: read what literary critics have said about Oedipus and use this commentary to bolster your discussion.  Come prepared with these outside sources printed out and highlighted.  Also, come with your text of Oedipus

2-Create a visual that touches on a theme in the play: blindness/seeing, perhaps as related to self knowledge; fate; Oedipus’s tragic flaw; the irony in the play at any point.

DUE: FRIDAY, by end of class

Suggestions:

• A one box cartoon that depicts Oedipus
• A comic strip of about 3-5 boxes that encapsulates the story, or depicts crucial scene in original or modern language
• A drawing in colored pencil or watercolor or pastel.  Use words and images, perhaps.
• A collage, using many materials

GOOD LUCK and HAPPY REFLECTING . . .