Oedipus Irony Essay

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We have been telling sad stories for thousands of years. Greek theater is one of the most well-known pieces of literature in the world. Greek theater started in the city of Athens around 700 b.c. An example of this happening in Oedipus is because the story of Oedipus is a sad story from Greek theater. In the story, Oedipus who's the son of king Lauis and queen Jocasta is cursed by a prophecy that Oedipus will kill his father and sleep with his mother, but Oedipus thinks he's in the clear. While all this is happening, the play also discusses the concept of irony. To sum up, Oedipus is to blame for the plays ending because he thought he could change his fate.

Specifically, sight and blindness are shown in Oedipus through irony in the character …show more content…

Oedipus didn't know that the person he killed at the road crossing was his father, the ruler of Thebes, King Laius. Oedipus also didn't know that the Queen of Thebes was his mom, which shows the irony of this story because the reader already knew this. In addition, the irony is that the blind prophet Teiresias says to Oedipus “If you find that I have not spoken truth you can say I have no gift for prophecy” (687). Teiresias is saying that if he was not telling the truth about Oedipus being the killer of King Lauis that he could say he was not a prophet. He's saying this because Oedipus doesn't believe him and he is trying to tell Oedipus what he's guilty of. To summarize, Oedipus is to blame for the ending of Oedipus because he ended up slaughtering his father, King Lauis, and married his …show more content…

He's telling his wife that she shouldn't worry anymore because his dad is dead. Oedipus thinks he is free from hiding and doesn't have to worry about the prophecy. An example from the text is “Ha! Oh my wife, where are the oracles now? Why believe in the screams of whirling birds?” (705). The prophecy can't be real. Oedipus is excited that his dad is dead. This is ironic because he's adopted. [[, fate is to blame because Oedipus could not stop him from killing his