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Teaching Oedipus at Colonus

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  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 38

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Oedipus at Colonus, which is sort of a prequel to Antigone and a sequel to Oedipus the King, is like a B-side track on your favorite band's album: you gotta be a true-blue fan to know about it. Oedipus the King gets all the glory for being gory, and Antigone's been revived countless times as a protest play, pointing out dictatorial tendencies since the fifth century BCE. In all the hubbub, Oedipus at Colonus can be forgotten, sandwiched between these two biggies of dramatic literature.

Don't let this happen—arguably, this play is Sophocles' way of comforting us. Oedipus the King comes down hard on disobedience of the law, whether it's intentional or not (for the sort-of-brutal Greeks there was no difference between first-degree homicide and involuntary manslaughter). But Oedipus at Colonus shows that, because Oedipus accepts his fate and sees that justice is being served, he gets a semi-happy ending.

Holla.

Our guide will help you make sense of all this mythology and also ensure that your students walk away with an understanding of this play's major significance.

In this guide, you'll find

  • an FAQ activity that gives the lowdown on Oedipus and his origins.
  • a chance to write Oedipus' will for his children, parcing out his treasured posessions (island, anyone?).
  • an opportunity to imagine Oedipus' parting words to his kids.

These plays all follow the fall of the great king, Oedipus, and later the tragedies that his children suffer, but our Shmoop guide will make sure that it's fun to watch it all crumble.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
  • A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Teaching Oedipus at Colonus?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Sophocles' tragedy ends sadly (shocker), with Oedipus swallowed up by the earth and leaving his daughters behind. What pearls of wisdom would he have left them, we wonder?

In this 60-minute activity, the students are going to stage a conversation between Oedipus and his daughters just before he dies (just after he leaves the stage for the last time). He's going to pass on all his sagest advice, based on what he's learned in his seriously dramatic life.

Grab a box of hankies, and let's do this.

Materials Needed: a copy of the text and/or Shmoop's summary of the play

Step 1: Split the class into groups of four, where they'll have five minutes to analyze the following quote from the play about Antigone:

"Many times she roams in the wild/
Forests, without food, barefoot,/
Afflicted by many storms and by the heat of the sun,/
A wretched one. But she believes that having a life in a home/
Is of secondary importance, if her father has nurture." (348 – 352)

The students have to write a brief 50-word piece that explains how this passage reflects Antigone's life at present, a.k.a. taking care of Oedipus. One student can lead, quickly asking the rest of the group for ideas before using the best ones to shape his or her piece.

Step 2: Next up, they're going to stage a short section of the play that we only hear about and never see, when Oedipus says goodbye to his daughters and is swallowed up by the earth, literally.

All four students have to take part, with each taking on a particular role: Oedipus, Ismene, Antigone, and Theseus. Oedipus may leave his daughters behind, but we're not going to do that with any of the students. Oh, and the dramatic piece should be four minutes long, meaning the script should be about 200 words in length.

The students can have creative license with plot and staging, but there's a few things they should incorporate into their production:

  • Oedipus giving his daughters advice about how to live
  • Oedipus giving Theseus advice about how to rule a kingdom
  • Antigone, Theseus, and Ismene responding to Oedipus' advice

Students should also include these plot elements by

  • Using advice that refers to events in the text.
  • Having Oedipus use at least one quote from the text when talking to each person (so three in total).
  • Having all other characters include at least one quote from the text when responding to Oedipus' advice.

Each group has 25 minutes to prepare their script.

Step 3: Places, please. Each group will perform their piece for the class.

Step 4: When everyone's finished, you can choose a number of students to give their opinion on which of Oedipus' lessons is most important. They must back up their idea with reference to the text, suggesting why this lesson will be particularly useful.

For example, if Oedipus tells his daughters to value family above all else, the students could cite Eteocles and Polyneices when stating the importance of this message. They could show how the bros turn on each other when Oedipus was exiled and hope that history won't repeat itself among the sisters when the former king of Thebes passes away.

Instructions for Your Students

Sophocles' tragedy ends sadly (shocker), with Oedipus swallowed up by the earth and leaving his daughters behind. What pearls of wisdom would he have left them, we wonder?

Today you're going to stage a conversation between Oedipus and his daughters just before he dies (just after he leaves the stage for the last time). He's going to pass on all his sagest advice based on what he's learned in his extremely dramatic life.

Grab a box of hankies, and let's do this.

Step 1: Split into groups of four, where you'll have five minutes to analyze the following quote from the play about Antigone:

"Many times she roams in the wild/
Forests, without food, barefoot,/
Afflicted by many storms and by the heat of the sun,/
A wretched one. But she believes that having a life in a home/
Is of secondary importance, if her father has nurture." (348 – 352)

Your group will write a brief 50-word piece that explains how this passage reflects Antigone's life at present, a.k.a. taking care of Oedipus. One student can lead, quickly asking the rest of the group for ideas before using the best ones to shape their piece.

Step 2: Next up, you're going to stage a short section of the play that we only hear about and never see, when Oedipus says goodbye to his daughters and is swallowed up by the earth.

All four students in your group have to take part, with each taking on a particular role: Oedipus, Ismene, Antigone, and Theseus. Oedipus may leave his daughters behind, but we're not going to do that with any of you. Oh, and the dramatic piece should be four minutes long, meaning the script should be about 200 words in length.

You can have creative license with plot and staging, but there's a few things you should incorporate into your production:

  • Oedipus giving his daughters advice about how to live
  • Oedipus giving Theseus advice about how to rule a kingdom
  • Antigone, Theseus, and Ismene responding to Oedipus' advice

You should also include these plot elements by

  • Using advice that refers to events in the text.
  • Having Oedipus use at least one quote from the text when talking to each person (so three in total).
  • Having all other characters include at least one quote from the text when responding to Oedipus' advice.

You have 25 minutes to prepare their script.

Step 3: Once you're finished, your group will perform your piece for the class.

Step 4: When everyone's finished, your teacher will choose a number of students to give their opinion on which of Oedipus' lessons is most important. You'll need back up your idea with reference to the text, suggesting why this lesson will be particularly useful.

For example, if Oedipus tells his daughters to value family above all else, you could cite Eteocles and Polyneices when stating the importance of this message. You could show how the bros turn on each other when Oedipus was exiled and hope that history won't repeat itself among the sisters when the former king of Thebes passes away.