Study Questions for Sophocles' Oedipus the King

• Oedipus is a dramatic work, and as such contains much dialogue, but there is also a considerable amount of lyric and choral poetry in the play--what is the function of these episodes?
• What is the dramatic funciton of the chorus in this play?  Can you identify a specific function of each of the choral odes?
• How does the theme of sight and blindness in the play operate as a metaphor for ignorance and truth?
• What is Oedipus' hamartia?  How does the play illustrate other Aristotelian concepts, such as peripeteia (reversal) and anagnorisis (recognition)?
• What kind of person is Oedipus?  How is he described?  What has he achieved in life?  What is the relationship between Oedipus' character and his fate?