Oedipus The King Irony Essay

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

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

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