Odes to Olympians Poetry Contest
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Iokaste: Description of the Novel
Iokaste:
Reading Guide - for Readers' Circles, Students, Teachers and Professors Pronunciation Guide to Characters in Iokaste and Works in Progress
Current
Writing Project:Niobe & Pelops: Children of Tantalus Collaborative
Writing: Why Two Heads Are Better Than One
Reading Guide for Iokaste
If you are part of a readers' circle, you may want to use the following points to guide your discussion. Also, if you are part of a readers' circle and choose to discuss this book, send an e-mail to
Contact Tapestry
and let us know if you would like one of the
authors to participate by speaker phone. Be sure to include a return e-mail address so that we can write back!
And, if your browser does not support e-mailing by clicking, then write to "tapestry "@" tapestryofbronze.com".
If you are a student, writing a paper on Oedipus Rex, you may want to look at the following
questions for inspiration. If you are a teacher or a professor, and would like to use
Iokaste in one of your courses, we would love to hear from you! And, if you wish,
we will send you our thoughts on the points mentioned below. Please contact tapestry
by clicking above, and send us an e-mail with your request. Be sure to give us your name,
where you're teaching, and a return e-mail address.
Discussion Points
1. In Iokaste, blindness is a recurring theme. Who is blind literally? Who is blind figuratively? Who has the clearest vision of what is happening?
2. In Iokaste, the characters -- Iokaste, Oedipus, Kreon, Menoeceus, Melanthe, Niobe -- all have different attitudes toward the gods. Compare and contrast them.
3. If you are familiar with Sophocles play, Oedipus Rex, compare it with the version of the myth told in Iokaste.
4. In Iokaste, three different people served as the Tiresias. Which do you think was the most human? Could they all see the future equally well?
5. If you are familiar with the myth about the Sphinx controlling Thebes, contrast it with the version related in Iokaste. Which version seems most likely? Do you think something else really happened?
6. Did Iokaste trust Oedipus more than she trusted Kreon?
7. Was Iokaste right to ask Pelorus to save her baby?
8. Do you think Iokaste was a good queen? Why or why not?
9. If you are familiar with the myth of Niobe and the death of her children, how does the version in Iokaste differ?
10. Iokaste, Laius and Oedipus were all a part of the prophecy that Oedipus would kill Laius and marry Iokaste. Compare and contrast their reactions when they learned their fate.
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