Essay on Sophocles' Clever Use of Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King

Frank Jevons in “In Sophoclean Tragedy, Humans Create Their Own Fate” comments on Sophocles’ irony:

Irony, particularly dramatic irony, is the key reason for the story of Oedipus progressively becoming a tragedy. In the story Oedipus digs himself a bigger and bigger hole as time goes on. Dramatic irony is firstly seen when Oedipus gives a public speech about the killer and what will happen to him. Furthermore, irony takes place when Oedipus blames others for the crime he committed; then, forcefully denies the possibility of himself being the killer. These events are ironic because later Oedipus finds out that he is the killer. Firstly, Oedipus publicly causes the killer, announces the punishment he will receive for the crime, and tells the citizens multiple ways they are to shun the killer. Oedipus says,” I solemnly forbid the people of this country, where power and throne are mine, ever to receive that man or speak of him, no matter who he is, or let him join in sacrifice, lustration, or in prayer”(Part 1; 316).

Dramatic irony is defined as drama of information known by the audience but not know by the characters. In Oedipus the king dramatic irony is definitely a key part of the story, constantly keeping the audience on edge knowing such a huge thing Oedipus can’t figure out even when it is told right to him. The dramatic irony in this play is what makes it great.

Sophocles use of verbal irony demonstrates the capability to live without the truth. Throughout the play Oedipus is unknowing of how ironic his statements are. Oedipus is

Before modern culture, traveling plays were a popular source of entertainment. They were very dramatic and over exaggerated situations with death being the common dramatic ending. In order to bring suspense, often times there was a lot of dramatic irony used. Oedipus the King and Othello both played on the dramatic irony as the fact that neither of them could see the truth is what lead to their dramatic end. They were unable to see the complete picture because they didn’t take the time to get the whole picture until it was too late. Oedipus and Othello were both subject to make decisions based on their biases.

Oedipus was arrogant enough to believe that he could see better than servants of the gods, but his sight was blind ignorance. In the end, Oedipus blinds himself, but he still tells his daughters that “I had neither sight nor knowledge then,” (Exodus. 253). Ultimately, Oedipus' fall from grace is an illustration of dramatic irony since Oedipus' heroics ruin his fate and he thus discovers that he was a truly a cursed villain rather than

In this play, verbal, dramatic, and situational irony can be found to show the “contradictory statements or situations.” Oedipus shows verbal irony through the beginning of the play. Verbal irony is defined as, “a figure of speech that occurs when a person says

In the play Oedipus, the audience finds out what happened to Oedipus and what his origins are before the characters do. As Oedipus searches for the cause of the plague and how his origins fit into it, the audience already knows the answers to these questions. This is an example of dramatic irony. That the audience knows, gives them a different perspective on Oedipus’s decisions, his thoughts, and his interactions with other characters, than had they not already known the background of the story. The characters’ actions are viewed differently by the audience, because they know what will be the result of the Oedipus’s search and of the other characters’ motivations. In addition, knowing the origin and background of the story gives the audience a different understanding of the characters’ control of their own fates. All of these aspects of dramatic irony affect the audience’s understanding of the story check for commas

There Oedipus marries Jocasta, his mother, but he does not know it’s his mother. There is dramatic irony in the play because the audience knows that Oedipus has killed his father, the Chorus on the other hand

The famed Greek tragedy assumes much of its appeal from Sophocles's use of dramatic, cosmic, and situational irony. In a prelude to the play, the audience is assumed aware of Oedipus’ fate. Before the play even begins, common spectators enter with the common knowledge that Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta. The aire of dramatic irony meets its peak when Oedipus desperately tries to find Laius’ murderer while the audience is aware that

Sophocles was born a hundred years before Aristotle and perhaps was not aware that he wrote a near-perfect representation of the tragic form. Almost certainly, however, he was conscious of the dramatic irony he carefully intertwined throughout the plot. Dramatic irony was a tool for Sophocles to advance the notion of the tragic one step beyond the simple fate of the main character. Dramatic irony is a literary technique allowing the audience to know of the character's fate well before such fate occurs. The difference between the audience's knowledge of the tragic circumstances and that of the ignorant characters heightens the depth of the tragedy. The more significant the ultimate sacrifice which the innocent hero makes, the more powerful the message sent to those in

In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the theme of irony plays an important part through the play. What Oedipus does, what he says, and even who he is can sometimes be ironic. This irony can help us to see the character of Oedipus as truly a 'blind' man, or a wholly 'public' man.

A close interpretation of a scene in Oedipus King reveals interesting themes from the play. In this scene, Oedipus summons the blind prophet Tiresias, and asks about Laius’ killers. Oedipus explains about the curse placed in Thebes, and asks for Tiresias help. At first, Oedipus requests for help humbly, but with the prophet's refusal, the king grows increasingly impatient, eventually revealing his temper and even accusing Tiresias of being a complotter of the murder.

Dramatic irony involves the audience and encourages viewers to feel sympathy for Oedipus before the fatal truth of his birth is

Sophocles, an ancient Greek tragedian, composed a famous play known as Oedipus Rex. Sophocles use of different types of irony throughout his play allowed him to create a popular play. Irony can be best defined as that middle ground between what is said and what is meant, or others understanding of what was said and what was meant. Irony can be broken down into three different types: Dramatic, Verbal, and Situational. Sophocles enriched his play, Oedipus Rex, with irony to develop an easily understood and intriguing story.