ipl-logo

Oedipus The King Irony Essay

705 Words3 Pages

Eliana Lothrop
Ms. Cook
English 10 Honors
11 May 2023
The Use of Irony in Oedipus the King In the book Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, irony is used in many ways to engage the audience by bringing out different reactions throughout the play since most people already knew the story. The plot follows Oedipus, the king of Thebes, as he uncovers the truth of his own terrible crimes of murder and incest. Eventually, this leads to him blinding himself and having Creon banish him to a life of misery away from Thebes. By using irony throughout the play Sophocles is able to make his audience laugh and also feel awkward with the knowledge that they have. One type of irony Sophocles uses multiple times during the play to get a reaction out of …show more content…

At this point in the story, only the audience knows that Oedipus is the one who actually murdered Laius, and Oedipus is not yet aware that he is cursing himself to his later fate. This causes the audience to feel uncomfortable and cringe at Oedipus’ words knowing that they will come back to haunt him once he later finds out the truth. They know he will carry out his promise to the murderer even when the killer is no one other than himself. Also, this causes the audience to feel pity for Oedipus knowing how much he wants to solve this crime for justice but solving it will only lead to his descent from greatness. Another great example of Sophocles’ use of verbal irony later in …show more content…

Therefore, making the children Oedipus had with Jocasta both Oedipus’ kids and also his siblings. Upon hearing Oedipus say this line the audience feels awkward because they are reminded of the actual relationship between everyone in Oedipus’ family and how very close Oedipus and Laius are connected as father and son. In addition, this line is also slightly funny to the audience due to how unaware Oedipus currently is when talking about his family and how he mentions the death of Laius’ child who is actually Oedipus. Lastly, Sophocles also uses a lot of dramatic irony throughout the play and one great instance where it can be seen is when Jocasta is talking about Laius to Oedipus. She describes Lauis’ looks as similar to Oedipus’ on page 43 where she states, “He was a big man–his hair had just begun to turn white. And he had more or less the same build as you.”. To the audience, this line shows how the reveal of the truth is getting closer as Jocasta seems to be making more connections between Laius and Oedipus. It creates more tension as the story progresses closer to the reveal. Therefore, causing the audience to anticipate and feel a

Show More
Related
230 Words | 1 Pages

The aloof and paranoid tones in Douglass ' passage describe his fear of returning to his past life and it emphasizes his pain of remembering it. Aside from carrying physical scars, Douglass also carries mental and emotional within him that cannot be removed by anyone/anything. Douglass ' nautical imagery and historical allusions reflect his deep emotional pain from his past life and the concern that he will might "be taken back". Furthermore, Douglass feels that he will never be safe from the "money-loving hunters" and "Pirates" that are out there every day looking for vulnerable people like him. Every step he takes, he senses others are watching him and chasing after him.

Read More
1051 Words | 5 Pages

Oedipus as a king has hubris or excessive pride and sees himself as having superiority over all others. “I thought it wrong, my children, to hear the truth from others, messengers. Here I am myself—you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (Lines 1-6). This sets up the view that exactly from the beginning of the story, Oedipus is worshipped as this highly renowned king. This sets up the dramatic irony that even though Oedipus is praised, the people reciting the story are the ones who along with Oedipus will discover the truth about his life.

Read More
542 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel Oedipus the king,what Sophocles strives to reveal to us about his society is that although the truth can often hurt, knowledge to the greeks was very important to them because they were a people who needed to be informed about everything. In Sophocles time gods were revered more than anything, and because of how powerful these divine beings were it was not in any human's control to question them since they could not confront these all divine beings who controlled their fate and actions. Throughout the novel Sophocles intentions are to show the readers the concept of sight and blindness as well as the idea of fate and freewill, greek plays in these ancient times were designed to incorporate throughout the story dramatic irony which a theme that revolves around the story..

Read More
900 Words | 4 Pages

Most people watching the play would probably laugh at this passage because they all know information that Oedipus doesn’t. Oedipus is completely oblivious to the possibility that he may be the son of Laios. Sophocles wrote this passage specifically to be ironic and keep the viewers entertained. The line “[Laios’] son would have been my children’s brother” is especially ironic, because not only would his son be his children’s brother, he would also be Oedipus’ brother. Sophocles also uses this passage to add to the plot of the story.

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

ll 154, 196) . Afterwards when Oedipus’ parenthood was questioned, he had not yet realised or accepted his biological parents as Iocastê and King Laïus, and the truth of his actions towards them. The audience had inferred the truth long before Oedipus, thus giving them a sense of suspense, waiting for the truth to be revealed. This conveys

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

In the beginning of the story, Oedipus is told to find the murder of King Laius so he says “If anyone knows the man who killed Laius, I order him to tell me everything” (Tragedian, 680). Dramatic irony comes into play here because the readers and many other characters within the story know the murder is Oedipus yet Oedipus himself does not know the truth. Dramatic irony can happen in any story, as readers we can understand the situation much more than the character which give us more incite then the single character within the story, allowing us to guess what may happen in the

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Easily perceived as a target by a supernatural force, the concept of an acclaimed Greek Tragedy throughout history lies in the heart of the tragic hero. " Oedipus the King," a classic play written by Sophocles, involves the protagonist named Oedipus leaving his hometown, Thebes, in attempt to escape the fate determined by the gods; however, inevitably fails to save his parents and himself, justifying the belief that man should not oppose their fate. Hence, in the tragedy of "Oedipus the King," Oedipus is meticulously defined as a tragic hero in which he demonstrates his hamartia of overwhelming pride, in turn leading to negative repercussions to others' lives due to Oedipus's downfall. Sophocles's classic tragedy precisely demonstrates Oedipus

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

Niya Kebreab King Oedipus: Moral Ambiguity In the play King Oedipus, Sophocles depicts Oedipus’ inevitable downfall, which represents man’s struggle between free will and fate. In an attempt to use the audience’s knowledge to his advantage, Sophocles opens the play seventeen years after Oedipus murders his father, Laius and marries his mother, Jocasta. The sequence in which the story unravels reveals the strong psychological focus towards Oedipus’ character. In search of his identity, Oedipus’ enigmatic quality and moral ambiguity compels readers to question whether his ignorance renders him morally blameless.

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

When Teiresias accuses Oedipus of being the defiler of the land he forgets the problems of the people and is encased in anger making him accuse Creon of bribing Teiresias. When he is speaking to his wife, Jocasta, he can only concentrate on one thing at a time and forgets the mention of Laius having a child and also forgets the problem concerning his birth. Finally with the message from Corinth he starts to realize how everything ties together. Bloom states that “we learn that the best sort of tragic hero is a man highly esteemed and prosperous who falls into misfortune because of some serious (mega√lh) aÓmarti√a:examples, Oedipus and Thyestes.”(18).

Read More
1219 Words | 5 Pages

Shakespeare used a lot of irony in his drama Othello to make his plays theatrical and dramatic. Everything in this drama ties into something that will later happen in the storyline. One example of this is in Act 1, Scene 3 “It’s silly to live when life is torture. The only cure is death.”.

Read More
1286 Words | 6 Pages

Sophocles uses dramatic irony to show the ignorance of Oedipus Rex as he cannot see the truth. Oedipus cannot see the truth because his hubris is encouraged by the people and himself. Oedipus’ ignorance is also clearly displayed after an effort to save his city. Although Oedipus is a fictional character created thousands of years ago, his actions can easily connect to many people in today 's society. The theme conveyed in Sophocles play Oedipus Rex is hubris often results in one 's ignorance.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

It is ironic how he talks about what could possibly be his own consequences for his actions. While giving the speech Oedipus says “I pray, too, that, if he should become an honoured guest in my own home and with my knowledge, I may suffer all those things I’ve just called down upon the killers” (Sophocles). Oedipus explains how the suspect will face bad things, and that if the murderer was let into his own house, with his knowledge, he shall be punished for it. The reader can infer that Oedipus may be the culprit considering he may ironically be the “honored guest in his own home.” This can seem like a reasonable outcome considering the reader knows that the position of a king is honorable.

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

past. Throughout the play, we notice that Sophocles makes the center of attention Oedipus's family origin, where we can tell that his true identity is still very much so attached to the past. In the forms of dramatic irony, the reader can see that Oedipus displays that he has been living a lie. The boy who didn't know he was adopted, not knowing he killed his own father, and certainly not knowing he was involved in incestuous relations with his own mother. Anger is a trait that King Oedipus definitely possess.

Read More
1252 Words | 6 Pages

This blindness towards doom is made even more ironic by the fact that he was made king by his knowledge and insight. Oedipus was known as the person who solved the famous riddle of the Sphinx, a monster which terrorized the citizens. As the play proceed, we can see how much of a contrast between the two groups of character there is, even the messengers knows stuff that the king doesn’t. Sentences like “My son, it is clear that you don’t know what you are doing” (Sophocles 55) salutes to the ignorance of the supposedly “wise” king. Using words like “son”, Sophocles gives an sign that even the messenger It illustrates the flaws that exist in Oedipus, amplifies it by comparing him to other who are supposedly

Read More
1224 Words | 5 Pages

So in the end, Oedipus no longer thinks of himself. Thinking of his children 's impending marriage, Oedipus begs for his children and no longer can think of himself as anything more than a creature that embodies what it means to be pathetic: “When you come to the age ripe for marriage, who will he be who will run the risk, children, to take for himself the reproaches that will be banes for my parents and offspring alike? What evil is absent? Your father slew his father; he ploughed his mother, where he himself was sown, and he sired you in the same fount where he himself was sired.

Read More

More about Oedipus The King Irony Essay

Related Topics

Open Document