MYPNA_TE_G12_U3_web.pdf

PLANNING INDEPENDENT LEARNING

Summary

In this final scene from Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the former king

realizes that he has fulfilled the fate he was trying to avoid. Jocasta,

who is both his wife and his biological mother, has killed herself,

and Oedipus has blinded himself after learning this news. Oedipus is

distraught and asks to be taken out of Thebes or killed. The Chorus

tells Oedipus to put his requests to Creon, the acting king, who

arrives on the scene. Oedipus asks to be exiled so that no one will

ever have to see him again. He requests that Creon give Jocasta a

proper burial and care for his daughters, but he says that his sons

will be able to care for themselves. Oedipus’s daughters, Antigone

and Ismene, arrive, and he bids them a tearful farewell. Creon

eventually sends the daughters away and tells Oedipus that his

rule over Thebes has ended. The Chorus declares that Oedipus, the

greatest of men, has fallen. They warn the audience that Oepidus

has become a model of pain and misfortune.

Insight

Reading this selection from

Oedipus Rex will help students

reflect on the relationship

between human beings and time.

The text raises the question of

whether humans have free will

and can alter the consequences

of their actions.

from Oedipus Rex

Connection to Essential Question

This text offers a strong connection to the Essential Question, “How do our

attitudes toward the past and future shape our actions?” As with Macbeth,

misinterpretation of past events and prophecy about future events play an

essential role in Oedipus Rex. He tries to avoid his fate, but the future is

inevitable and overtakes his past and present. In the end, he worries about

his children’s future, pleading with Creon to take care of them.

Connection to Performance-Based Assessment

This selection will help students respond to the question, “What is the

relationship of human beings to time?” Students may argue that humans

are incapable of changing past actions or of controlling the future. All

humans are subject to the inevitable flow of time.

SELECTION RESOURCES

First-Read Guide: Fiction

Close-Read Guide: Fiction

Oedipus Rex: Text

Questions

Audio Summaries

Selection Audio

Selection Test

Text Complexity Rubric: from Oedipus Rex

Quantitative Measures

Lexile: NP Text Length: 128 lines

Qualitative Measures

Knowledge Demands

1 2 3 4 5

Selection is centered around multiple themes that are complex, theoretical, and sophisticated (fate vs.

free will, guilt and shame, action vs. reflection); students need knowledge of full story to understand

this excerpt.

Structure

1 2 3 4 5

In this excerpt of a Greek tragedy, students will see the use of the chorus, a typical element of Greek

tragedy. The selection also includes other written play elements including character, dialogue, and stage

directions.

Language Conventionality and Clarity

1 2 3 4 5

This section of the play is written in free verse. Syntax of the 1942 translation is archaic and challenging.

Levels of Meaning/Purpose

1 2 3 4 5

Multiple levels of meaning may be difficult to identify; themes are implicit and ambiguous; metaphor is

used throughout play.

404A UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST

LIT17_TE12_U03_C_IN_INTER.indd 1 25/03/16 4:29 AM