Prof. Norman Prinsky
Dept. of English and Foreign Languages
Augusta State U
Augusta, GA 30904
Test on Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Directions: follow directions for filling out Scantron test forms on my webpage. Also, do not neglect the whole of the assigned reading, or my notes and questions on the assigned reading; remember that many readings, as indicated by asterisk on my webpage have my lectures on the material on audiotape.
1. Besides Oedipus the King (in the translation by Robert Fagles, in the NAWL), other titles of the play in translation have included all of the following except which one: (a) Oedipus Tyrannos (b) Oedipus Rex (c) King Oedipus (d) Oedipus Imperator
2. Sophocles' Oedipus the King represents the language and literature of ancient: (a) Mesopotamia (b) Egypt (c) India (d) Greece (e) Rome
3. Sophocles' plays were written about half way through which century: (a) seventh b.c.e. (b) fifth b.c.e. (c) third b.c.e. (d) first c.e. (e) third c.e.
4. According to Bernard Knox, the editor of the ancient Greek section of NAWL, this play exemplifies the defining trait of the historical time of Sophocles of: (a) reverence for tradition (b) social and philosophical unrest (c) optimism (d) new emphasis on community rather than the individual
5. According to According to Bernard Knox, the editor of the ancient Greek section of NAWL, this play exemplifies the defining trait of the historical time of which attitude toward the gods: (a) traditional (b) nearly-complete disbelief (c) Asiatic (d) newly skeptical and questioning
6. Oedipus' opening, and repeated, address to the Theban people as "my children" shows all the following except which one: (a) pride (b) fatherly concern (c) unwitting allusion to the theme of parentage (d) insecurity about his rule
7. A significant detail left out of the Robert Fagles translation (in NAWL) in Oedipus’s opening words to those kneeling in front of the palace (but included in many other translations) is the reference to the founder’s name of the city: (a) Cadmus or Kadmos (b) Hercules or Herakles (c) Ilus or Ilos (d) Theseus (e) Athena or Athene
8. The significance of the detail referred to in the immediately preceding question is that the person mentioned is: (a) a cousin of Odysseus (b) one of the founders of Sparta (c) Oedipus’s great-great grandfather (d) an Olympian god
9. A motif in Oedipus's first speech, and reiterated throughout the play, that best reveals how he has failed to completely solve the Sphinx's riddle (achieve self knowledge) is that of: (a) stones (b) animals (c) olive plant (d) feet
10. Oedipus’s words to the Priest in the opening speech (lines 9-11) beginning “Speak up, old man” evoke which special, unique component of the drama: (a) nonverbal “language” of action (b) nonverbal “language” of props (c) nonverbal “language” of setting (d) sound effects (e) lighting
11. The component referred to in the immediately preceding question helps convey all the following motifs, subjects, or themes, except which one: (a) desire to help (b) pride (c) standing unaided or not (d) belief in one god or many gods
12. A component of Oedipus's first speeches, and reiterated throughout the play, is: (a) deus ex machina (b) humility (c) dramatic irony (d) prose (e) callipygianism
13. In the priest’s first speech to or reply to Oedipus (lines 16-69) can be found all of the following except which one: (a) flattery of Oedipus (b) careful distinction between Oedipus and the gods (c) criticism of the city’s frivolous visual arts, especially architecture (d) initiation of the ship of state metaphor and motif
14. A key “language of props,” drawn attention to by the Chorus in the first episode, is that Creon returns from the oracle at Delphi: (a) leading a white ox (b) carrying a trident (c) using a walking staff (d) wearing a crown
15. The significance of the immediately preceding detail is that it: (a) helps feed, perhaps subconsciously, Oedipus’s political paranoia (b) pictures how Oedipus should rule his people more forcefully (c) suggests the necessity of struggling against an enemy (d) demonstrates a tie to the land, like a farmer
16. The famous motto of the oracle at Delphi, with ironic application to Oedipus himself, was: (a) “Trust, but verify” (b) “Silence is golden” (c) “Measure twice, cut once” (d) ”Know thyself”
17. The query by Kreon (or Creon) to Oedipus about how the news from the oracle should be delivered suggests about Kreon a: (a) humility in the presence of royalty (b) politician’s caution about public disclosure (c) secretiveness in someone plotting a political coup (d) spiritual irreverence by disrespect to the priest who is the leader of the Chorus
18. Oedipus's switching between singular and plural (one murderer or a band of them) in talking about Laius's murder, just after hearing Creon's report from the Delphic oracle, mainly suggests: (a) a problem in the textual transmission of Sophocles' plays (b) Oedipus's being torn between belief in one god and many (c) the bubbling up and then suppression of Oedipus's guilty knowledge (d) the problem of witnesses' accurate perception and reporting of any event
19. With reference to his traffic accident at the crossroads when Oedipus first arrived in Thebes, Oedipus’s criticism of the Thebans for not pressing their investigation into Laius’s death exemplifies the proverb: (a) “look before you leap” (b) ”the pot calling the kettle black” (c) “the grass is always greener” (d) “all that glitters not being gold”
20. The number of gods or goddesses referred to in the first Chorus or Choral ode (lines 168-244) is: (a) one (b) three (c) five (d) seven (e) nine
21. The first choral ode (lines 168-244) could be characterized as: (a) pleading (b) arguing (c) rationalizing (d) condemning
22. Oedipus’s first line in responding to the choral ode -- “You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers” (line 245) -- exemplifies, as do similar remarks later what the ancient Greeks called: (a) hubris (b) moira (c) polis (d) themis
23. Oedipus's first meeting with Teiresias reveals all of the following in Oedipus except which one: (a) corruption due to power (b) lack of self control (c) hubris in relation to the gods (d) hesitance about learning a terrible truth
24. Teiresias' remarks about Oedipus's ultimate ambulatory mode (lines 500-524) again relate to the motif in the play of: (a) chains (b) Platonic philosophy (c) the Sphinx's riddle (d) the power of romantic love (e) Nike shoes
25. The interchange of single lines or short passages of dialogue back and forth between two characters, as between Oedipus and Teiresias, or between Oedipus and Creon, is the device in Greek drama known as: (a) stichomythia (b) eccyclema (or ekkyklema) (c) deus ex machina (d) paronomasia
26. The device referred to in the immediately preceding question is often used in the ancient Greek drama to convey and embody: (a) narration (b) description (c) exposition (d) argumentation
27. The choral ode (lines 527-72) following the episode between Oedipus and Teiresias expresses a favorable attitude toward: (a) Oedipus (b) Teiresias (c) both Oedipus and Teiresias (d) neither Oedipus or Teiresias
28. The device referred to in question 25, when it occurs between Oedipus and Creon (lines 573-750), when the latter appears to defend himself against Oedipus's charge of political conspiracy with Teiresias, reveals not only an emphasis on what it does in the preceding encounter between Oedipus and Teiresias, but also an emphasis on: (a) Creon's rationality (b) Oedipus's ability with javelins and spears (c) the greater bond between male and male than male and female in Oedipus's (and Sophocles') world (d) comic dance routines in Sophocles' plays to alleviate tragic gloom
29. Oedipus’s attack on Creon (lines 573-750) illustrates what a famous American historian would later point out as what danger to American government: (a) the Self-Effacing Congress (b) the Legislating Supreme Court (c) the Imperial Presidency (d) the Apathetic Electorate
30. In the scene of the first entrance of Jocasta (lines 751-953), the Chorus’s ship-of-state imagery (e.g., lines 765 and later) helps convey the idea of: (a) persevering through rough weather (b) navigating correctly (c) successful managing the economics of shipping (d) recognizing Poseidon’s power
31. In Jocasta’s speech to Oedipus beginning “A prophet?/ Well, then free yourself” (lines 778-779) occurs the motif of the recurrent imagery in the play of: (a) wet vs. dry (b) male vs. female (c) light vs. dark (d) sweet vs. sour
32. In the scene of the first entrance of Jocasta (lines 751-953) -- to help mediate the quarrel between Creon and Oedipus -- Oedipus' explanation of an ancient traffic accident begins the repeated emphasis in the play that Laius was killed "where three roads meet," a verbal motif that primarily helps convey the symbolism of: (a) taking chances (b) making choices (c) epic-convention, primitive awe of the number 3 (d) creating artifacts (buildings, roads, bridges, etc.)
33. The Laius crossroads episode, when finally discussed in detail (lines 751-953), mainly shows: (a) all that glitters is not gold (b) the gods help those that help themselves (c) don't count your chickens before they hatch (d) like father, like son
34. The Laius crossroads incident could be said to illustrate in Western literature the first example of: (a) female liberation (b) phallic symbolism (c) road rage (d) vigilante justice
35. The Chorus in the choral ode (beginning “Destiny guide me always” [lines 954-997]) following the episode between Oedipus and Jocasta: (a) rejects the doubt of Oedipus and Jocasta about prophecy (b) comes to accept the doubt of Oedipus and Jocasta about prophecy (c) does not deal with the issue of doubting prophecy (d) accepts Christian prophecy but rejects non-Christian prophecy
36. Oedipus' explanation to a messenger bearing the news of Polybus' death that Apollo's oracle said "I must make love with my own mother,/ shed my father's blood with my own hands./ So for years I've given Corinth a wide berth"(lines 1091-93), as translated by Robert Fagles, shows that one literary device used by ancient Greek tragedians (as the Fagles translation attempts to reflect) is: (a) simile (b) chiasmus (c) hyperbole (d) pun (e) understatement
37. When Jocasta attempts to reassure Oedipus about some things that have been bothering him, during the scene with the messenger announcing the death of Polybus (lines 998-1178), she says some things that proved to be of great interest to: (a) Sigmund Freud (b) Werner K. Heisenberg (c) Ludwig Wittgenstein (d) G.W.F. Hegel (e) Immanuel Kant
38. The Choral ode (beginning “O the generations of men” [lines 1311-1350]) following the episode between Oedipus and the shepherd (lines 1215-1310) could be characterized as overall: (a) summary (b) argumentation (c) digression (d) encomium
39. In the messenger’s report to the Chorus about Jocasta’s and Oedipus’s actions after exiting the stage (lines 1351-1425), the symbolism of the details of Jocasta’s suicide is: (a) internal, secret guilt (b) soldier’s weapons of war (c) paternal authority (d) mother’s umbilical cord
40. In the messenger’s report to the Chorus about Jocasta’s and Oedipus’s actions after exiting the stage (lines 1351-1425), the symbolism of the exact objects used by Oedipus for self mutilation the details of Jocasta’s suicide is: (a) religious (b) Athenian (c) sexual (d) Egyptian (e) commercial
41. The punishment Oedipus exacts of himself at the close of the play symbolizes all the following except which one: (a) the need for unending expiation (b) the need for written law (c) the gain of true insight, like Teiresias' (d) acknowledgment of former blindness
42. At the close of the play, the primary trait Creon demonstrates is: (a) courage (b) insight (c) prudence (d) lack of self control (e) urolagnia
43. As cited in lecture or Prinsky’s notes and questions, or played in class, two famous composers who did operas performed in the 1920's, which were based on Sophocles' Oedipus the King (or Oedipus Rex) were: (a) Claude Debussy and Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (b) Arnold Schoenberg and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (c) Aleksandr Skryabin and Darius Milhaud (d) Gustav Holst and Erik Satie (e) Ruggiero Leoncavallo and Igor Stravinsky
44. As noted in Prinsky’s Notes and Questions (PNQ), the Oedipus story and Sophocles’ play had a profound impact on which one of the ancient Greek visual arts: (a) oil painting (b) architecture (c) pottery (vases) (d) sculpture (e) women's (olive) oil wrestling
45. As cited in lecture or Prinsky’s notes and questions, important artists who have portrayed Sophocles’ play have included all of the following except which one: (a) anonymous Greek vase painters (b) Rembrandt Von Rijn (c) J.A.D. Ingres (d) Gustav Moreau (e) Francis Bacon