Oedipus Rex Part 2 Flashcards
What seems to be Creon’s greatest concern in the opening lines of Part 2 (lines 1-11; lines 573-583)?
Creon’s greatest concern is with being accused of being a traitor and his reputation is on the line.
What does Creon infer about Oedipus in lines 18-19 (590-591)
Creon infers that Oedipus’s mind was not in the right place when he accused him of being a traitor.
Summarize Oedipus’s speech in lines 23-24 (594-606).
Oedipus accuses Creon to his face and says they are not equal. He also says Creon needs riches and armies to take him down, but he does not have any of that.
What wisdom does the Leader of the Chorus provide on page 181 (80)? Your answer should cover all three of the Leader’s responses.
The Leader says anger could have caused Oedipus to accuse Creon. He also says he does not know if Oedipus’s words had purpose. He does not judge those in power.
Explain how Creon’s lines (43-44;614-616) echo something he has already said.
He’s just repeating that he believes that Oedipus has lost his mind and gone crazy.
To what question is Oedipus responding in lines 78-79 (650-651)? Use a quote.
- Explain the importance of this question and Oedipus’s answer.
“And I am the third, all of us are equals?” -Creon (line 77)
- Oedipus answers by saying he is a part of the royal family, this is important because he is admitting that they are equal even though he has referred to himself as greater.
How does Creon characterize himself in line 80-81 (652-653)?
He is characterizing himself as being calm and rational.
Explain what point Creon is making in lines 81-87 (653-659). “Not if you see things calmly, rationally, as I do. Look at it this way first: who in his right mind would rather rule and live in anxiety than sleep in peace? Particularly if he enjoys the same authority. Not I, I’m not the man to yearn for kingship, not with a king’s power in my hands. Who would?”
Creon is making the point that he would rather enjoy power but not be King, than to actually be King but have all the troubles and responsibilities that come with it.
According to Creon himself, what reputation does he have with the people?
He is praised and respected. He claims he is the best hope for the people. ????
Remember that an epigram is a proverb or saying that presents truth. Quote an epigram you find between lines 100-101. (668-675).
- explain the epigram.
“Now all men sing my praises, all salute me, now all who request your favors curry mind. I am their best hope: success rests in me. Why give up that, I ask you, and borrow trouble? A man of sense, someone who sees things clearly would never resort to treason. No, I have no lust for conspiracy in me, nor could I ever supper one who does.”
“A man of sense, so someone who sees things clearly would never resort to treason.”
- When things are going wrong, a wise man would not resort to treason first like Oedipus. (Creon is saying because he sees things clearly and rationally that he would never go so low as to cheat.”
Quote another epigram from Creon in lines 111-118 (683-690).
-Explain the epigram.
“But don’t convict me on sheer unverified surmise. How wrong is it to take the good for bad, purely at random, or take the bad for good. But reject a friend, a kinsman? I would as soon tear out the life within us, priceless life itself. You’ll learn this well, without fail, in time. Time alone can bring the just man to light- the criminal you can spot in one short day.”
“Time alone can bring the just man to light; the criminal you can spot in one short day.” (lines 689-690)
- The truth comes out with time.
What is Oedipus’s answer to Creon’s question in line 128 (699)?
Oedipus wants Creon dead.
What is Creon’s opinion of Oedipus in the conversation right before Jocasta’s entrance?
Creon thinks Oedipus is power obsessed, insane, not reasonable, and quick to anger.
When Creon asks “What if you’re wholly wrong?” (132) (701), what is Oedipus’s answer?
- What does this answer reveal about Oedipus?
He says “no matter what- I must rule.”
- this shows that he’s obsessed with power and he’s a prideful ruler.
After Oedipus responds angrily to the Chorus (lines 760-761), the Chorus says that they will never turn their backs on Oedipus, but they bed him to set the city “straight on course,” and they call him “good helmsman.” (lines 765-767). Why do they refer to Oedipus by this name? What are they asking him to do?
A helmsman is someone who steers ships. The chorus call him that because they look at him as a captain of a ship and they want Oedipus to lead them.
