Discussion Questions: Oedipus

 

Please respond to and discuss all four questions in your seminar.

 

 

1. Oedipus starts out in a search for one thing and winds up searching for something else. Can you explain the dual exploration he makes and where in the play (be specific) you see this change happen?

2. Plato and Nutting each have visions of what makes a good leader. By their standards, was Oedipus a good leader? Why or why not?

3. Can a man be guilty of 'searching for knowledge?" Are there things we should not attempt to know?

4. Sophocles writes a play about a man who was destined to fulfill the fate of the gods: to marry his mother and kill his father. Does Oedipus have any control over any of the actions that take place during the 24 hours of the play? If so, what are they? Of what might he be guilty? Or does Sophocles intend to illustrate that Oedipus is totally blameless and simply an example of the malevolence and whimsy of the fates? If that is not Sophocles' intent, what might his intent be?