Teaching Oedipus the King

Instructions for You

Objective: We all wear a few masks, right? Well, in this activity, students will learn about ancient Greek theater and the use of masks. And of course, we'll bring it back to the text by having them analyze the characters of Oedipus the King and create masks that express their major character traits.

Length of Lesson: 2-3 class periods. You'll need 1-2 up front to give students the necessary background and get them started on their projects and one more class a week or so later for students to present their original work.

Materials Needed: 

• Access to images of theater masks, such as these on Wikimedia Commons
• Basic art supplies (ultimately, pen and paper will do) for creating masks
• Student access to Shmoop's character analysis page for Oedipus

Step 1: Start by introducing the assignment. There's no way the students won't be psyched when you tell them they get to make masks. If you do the activity around Halloween, they might be even more into it.

Get specific by discussing with students the use of masks in ancient Greek theater. We recommend checking out this easy-to-understand and totally legitimate blog for the dish.

Step 2: Once they know the deal behind masks, show the students a few images so they can have a clear picture in their heads. We don't want them thinking everyone looked like The Joker.

You can find a bunch of neat (and public domain!) images on Wikimedia Commons.

While you're scrolling through the images, ask students what character they think each mask represents. How can they tell? What distinguishes each mask?

Step 3: Next, have students choose a character from the play—let them know that eventually (but not yet) they'll be making a mask for whichever character they choose.

They should refer to the Shmoop character analysis for the character that they've chosen and jot down some notes to answer the following questions:

• What are their most important character traits?
• Are they characterized differently by different people?
• What stands out the most—their appearance? their personality? their status?

And last but not least:

• What textual evidence (quotes!) support your arguments?

NOTE: If you run out of class time, you can let students finish this part for homework and proceed to Step 4 in your next class.

Step 4: Have students pair up with someone else who has chosen the same character. (Groups of three are okay, too.) Have each pair (or small group) discuss their answers to the questions in Step 3.

Step 5: Now for the fun part. Students will create a mask of their own for one of the characters in Oedipus the King. Give them some time in class to plan—working together can get the creative juices flowing—and then give them a week to complete their character masks. They can use any material they want, from good old fashioned paper and colored pencils to papier-mache or a design tool on a computer. They shouldn't imitate the real Greek theater masks you showed them; instead, they should get creative and make it modern.

Step 6: Have the students present their character masks to the class and explain in what ways the mask represents their character. Here are some questions to answer in the presentation:

• Why did you choose these colors? This shape? These materials?
• How does your mask represent this specific character? What distinguishes it?
• How do the specific elements create a holistic picture of the character?

(California English Language Arts Standards Met: 9th & 10th grade Literary Response & Analysis: 3.3, 3.4, 3.7, 3.11; Writing: 2.2. 11th and 12th grade Literary Response & Analysis: 3.2, 3.3, 3.4; Writing: 2.2.)

Instructions for Your Students

We all wear a few masks, right? Well, Ancient Greek tragedies and comedies were always performed wearing masks. The masks helped the actors portray their larger-than-life characters to the audience and may have even helped project their voices out into the audience. For this assignment, you'll get to create your own modern spin on a mask for one of the characters in Oedipus the King.

Step 1: In class, you'll be thinking about the role of masks in ancient Greek theater. These aren't just your ordinary Halloween masks—they had very specific elements and purposes.

If you're hungry for more after class discussion, check out this easy-to-understand and totally legitimate blog for the dish.

Step 2: Next, take a look at some images of masks (like, say, these images from Wikimedia Commons) so you can have a clear picture in your head. Yeah, the Greek actors didn't end up looking like The Joker, that's for sure. While you're looking at the images, think about what each mask represents. How can you tell? What distinguishes each mask?

Step 3: Now choose a character from the play. Keep in mind, you'll eventually be making a mask for whichever character you choose, so make sure it's a character that inspires some creativity in you.

Refer to the Shmoop character analysis for the character that you've chosen and think about the following questions:

• What are their most important character traits?
• Are they characterized differently by different people?
• What stands out the most—their appearance? their personality? their status?

And last but not least:

• What textual evidence (quotes!) support your arguments?

Step 4: Pair up with someone else who chose the same character you did and chat through the questions from Step 3. 

Step 5: Now for the fun part. You will create a mask of your own for the character you've chosen.

You can use any material you want—from good old fashioned paper and colored pencils to papier-mache or a design tool on a computer—but make sure that the materials you select are in some way representative of your character. For example, if you choose Tiresias, you might decorate your mask with feathers to show the way he reads the future from the flights of birds.

If you need some inspiration, go back and check out those images of Greek theater masks again. But don't imitate the real masks! Instead, get creative and make it modern.

Step 6: Present your mask to the class and make sure to answer the following questions:

• Why did you choose these colors? This shape? These materials?
• How does your mask represent this specific character? What distinguishes it?
• How do the specific elements create a holistic picture of the character?