Dramatic irony is a kind of irony where there is something you know that the characters are not aware of. Another one of the three kinds of irony is verbal. An example of verbal irony is when Helena uses sarcasm against Lysander because he said that he loves her.(Shakespeare 2.2.100-105)This is a good example because Helena thinks that Lysander is playing a joke on her because h is really in love with Hermia. Another example of verbal irony is when Hermia and Helena were arguing and using sarcasm.(Shakespeare 3.2.195- 210)This is a good example because Hermia and thinks Lysander and Demetrius are in love with her but they are possessed by the flower .
One of Shakespeare’s plays, Much Ado About Nothing, has quite a few examples of dramatic irony, and it is used for both comedy and suspense. These are some of the best examples of dramatic irony in the book, and they include the following characters: Beatrice, Benedick, Don Pedro, Leonato, Claudio, Hero, Margaret, Borachio, and Ursula. The first great example is when Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato make Benedick think that Beatrice loves him, and elsewhere, Ursula and Hero are tricking Beatrice into thinking that Benedick loves her, and only Beatrice and Benedick believe their deceivers. This is dramatic irony because the deceivers and the audience know that it is a trick.
Here are some examples. In a Midsummer Night’s Dream, a lot of dramatic and verbal irony is used. The first example of irony is the dramatic irony between the four lovers and the magic flower.
A great example of dramatic irony is when Montresor forewarns the readers that he is plotting his payback against Fortunato (Poe 83). By doing this Montresor let the readers in on a little secret. Causing the reader to feel a suspenseful tension, trying to figure out what the payback will consist of. This leads the reader's concept of the story to the point that Montresor is planning a vicious revenge on Fortunato, while Fortunato is under the understanding that they are still good friends. Another piece of dramatic irony is, “He did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe 83).
Irony Is Everywhere Irony can happen to many people, even heros. In the dramatic story ‘Oedipus the King’, Sophocles tells us of a story about a king realising his past and that a prophecy had came true. Types of ironies that can influence a hero’s tragic fall are situational, dramatic, and verbal. First, an irony that made a major influence to Oedipus’s tragic fall was situational irony. Oedipus started unraveling his past, finding out that he was saved as a child by a shepherd which said,”I felt such pity for the child.
In Sophocles’s Oedipus The King, there are numerous examples of dramatic irony. First, Oedipus mocks Tiresias with dramatic irony. The chorus, also known as the people of Thebes in the play, are talking to Oedipus the king of Thebes about how their city is dying. The chorus tells Oedipus to see Tiresias, the blind prophet of Apollo but Creon, Oedipus's uncle and brother-in-law, has already sent for him to come. When Tiresias came he explained that Oedipus was the killer of Laius, confirming a prophecy that Oedipus, the son of Jocasta and Lauis, would kill his father and marry his mother.
Tragedy yields irony, and Oedipus Rex is no exception to this rule. There was dramatic irony in the play, because the audience knew the backstory of Oedipus but neither Oedipus, Jocaste, nor the people of Thebes knew. The audience knew that the murderer Oedipus was trying to find is himself. Also, Oedipus showed dramatic irony, when he says the murderer might come after him, when the audience knows he was the killer. There is also tragic irony when Oedipus pledged to exile or kill the murderer.
In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and agency are very strong throughout the play. Both sides of the argument can be greatly supported. The attributes of a person have either a positive or negative affect on the choices that they make. For Oedipus, his main attribute was the desire for knowledge and understanding about his own life. Because of this strong will and desire, this was Oedipus’ driving force in the play to lead him to the truth of his beginnings.
Some of the clever and ironic word play Tiresias uses is when he says “How terrible- to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees” (Sophocles 176), “You bear your burdens, I’ll bear mine. It’s better that way” (Sophocles 177), and “ You criticize my temper . . . unaware of the one you live with” (Sophocles 178). In the first quote, Tiresias uses clever word play to show how the truth brings pains to those who see it, just like when Oedipus sees the truth leads down a path of pain and eventually making him become blind. In the second quote, Tiresias use clever word play to show that everyone has something their burdens some that may not know about them, just like the Oedipus had the burden of killing his father.
Dramatic irony is when the audience and other characters know information that one specific character does not, causing irony. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’ blindness to his past causes an extensive amount of dramatic irony. As the play goes on, and Oedipus is revealed more of the truth, the dramatic irony increases. Oedipus starts off being oblivious to his past, but as he gets deeper into his conversation with Tiresias, more is revealed to him. Tiresias is very wise and knows all, unlike Oedipus.
Dramatic irony is an elaborate literary device commonly used in Greek theater. Dramatic irony creates situations where the reader possesses knowledge that the characters do not. In the play, Oedipus the King, dramatic irony is a key component in the events that take place. It sets the audience superior to the characters because of its knowledge of the plot. Therefore the audience is more intrigued in the play as they anticipate the action to come.
[Your Name] [Instructor Name] [Course Number] [Date] Oedipus Throughout the play Sophocles, Teiresias accuses Oedipus directly of murder, but Oedipus, in denial, believes he has been bribed by Oedipus' enemies. Oedipus constantly dodges the question of murder is making Teiresias angry, which brings him to be more explicit about the murdering accusations that adds dramatic irony to the play. So Yes.
Irony is important to the making of a tragedy as it heightens the audience’s sense of hopelessness as they watch the characters try to avoid an ending the audience knows is inevitable. In Oedipus Rex, it enforces Sophocles’ message by increasing the contempt the audience feels towards Iocaste and Oedipus for flouting the oracle. There are two separate attempts to evade the prophecy: first Iocasta and Laios's attempt to kill Oedipus and later when Oedipus flees from Polybos and Merope. The paradox is that in trying to escape the prophecy, they set it in motion.
(Question 6) Discuss the use of irony in Oedipus. Be sure to give two or more specific examples. Because the broad story of Oedipus was already well known at the time of the plays original productions, Sophocles added many instances of dramatic irony that would be interesting and amusing for the audience. One such instance would be when after Oedipus learns that King Laios’ killer is still in the city and the cause of the plague, declares that he will root whoever it is out, even if he was found in his, Oedipus’s, own household.
In many people’s eyes, it is seen that fate is something that one can not escape. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus gives a speech to the citizens of Thebes, about the murder of their previous leader, Laius. And in this speech, he explains the hardship that the murderer will have to eventually face. In Oedipus’s speech from Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses the literary device of dramatic irony to develop the central idea that fate is destined to happen, and can possibly bring more intensified consequences when avoided. If one tries to escape their fate, the conflicts that occur can be more severe than they were supposed to be. One can infer that what Oedipus is stating will eventually happen to him in the end of the play, if he is classified as the murderer.
