Identifying Titles, Authors, or Schools of Classical Drama

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CLEP Humanities › Identifying Titles, Authors, or Schools of Classical Drama

Questions 1 - 2
1

Oedipus Rex was written by __________________.

Sophocles

Herodotus

Galen

Thucydides

Euripides

Explanation

Sophocles was a playwright from Greece. He wrote three plays about Oedipus. Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, was the most famous of those plays. Oedipus Rex is probably the most famous Greek tragedies ever written, especially since Sigmund Freud used it as the basis for some of his seminal works of psychology.

2

Which Greek playwright wrote the tragedy Oedipus Rex?

Sophocles

Aristophanes

Plautus

Aristotle

Socrates

Explanation

Among the ancient Greek tragedians, the work of Sophocles has been held in high esteem since he worked in the fifth century BCE. His most notable work is Oedipus Rex, which tells the story of the titular ancient king of Thebes who, unbeknownst to him, marries his mother and kills his father. The play, like most Greek drama, hinges on dramatic irony, with the audience knowing Oedipus' secrets throughout.

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