Irony In Oedipus
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Irony in Oedipus
Dramatic irony is best defined as “The dramatic effect achieved by leading an audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and the accompanying speeches, while the characters in the play remain unaware of the incongruity.” Throughout the play of Oedipus there seems to be a excessive amount of this irony being used by the author Sophocles. Sophocles grabs and holds the attention of the audience by using irony in the plot as well as the dialogue. Three instances of Sophocles irony are Oedipus’ excommunication of the one who murdered the previous king, his use of Teiresias the blind prophet, and also the haunting of Oedipus’ fate.
Oedipus is self-confident, intelligent and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his demise. In an honest effort to satisfy the people of his land, he orders the finding and killing of the one who killed the previous king. The killing of the previous king is believed to be the reason for the state of turmoil in their nation. Oedipus makes a public announcement that anyone who knows anything must come forward, and that if the killer steps forward, Oedipus will spare his life and let him leave the land on his own. You may ask yourself “Why is this ironic?” Well Oedipus is unaware of the fact that the one who killed this man was himself and also that this king was also his father.
The second great use of irony in the play consists of the use of Teiresias, the blind prophet. When Oedipus says that anyone who knows anything must come forward Teiresias makes his way to the stage. Teiresias knows all about his history, how he was cursed from birth, how he killed his father, and how he is sleeping with is mother. The character of Teiresias is an example of irony because he is blind, yet he is the only one who can see what is really going on.
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