Irony, And Situational Irony In Oedipus The King

Irony in Oedipus the King In his play, Oedipus the King, Sophocles brings to life one of the greatest ironic tragic tales. Irony comes in many different forms: Verbal, Dramatic, and Situational irony. The focus of this paper will be on the verbal irony of Oedipus’ words, the dramatic irony of his actions, and the situational irony of the consequences of his actions.

Sophocles uses verbal ironies to move the story along with helpful clues, as well as giving a warning to his readers about the dangers of rash words and actions. Oedipus is all about show, which is evident in his speeches; he is quite eloquent with his words. At the beginning of the story, Oedipus has enjoyed many years of peace and quiet after solving the riddle of the Sphinx. Now however, the city of Thebes has been struck by a deadly plague.

Oedipus is well aware of the condition of his people, he claims that his burden is heavier than theirs as he must carry the weight of the whole city. “but sick as you are, not one is sick as I.”(646) While he does not himself sufferer physically, perhaps conscience and guilt plague him for the murder of the man at the crossroads before he arrived at Thebes. In order to solve the mystery of the curse upon the city, Oedipus has sent his brother-in-law Creon to seek the advice of the god, Apollo. Once Creon arrives back at the Royal House we see another example of verbal irony as Oedipus tells Creon to speak freely, that he does not fear for his own life, but instead for the happiness of his people. “Speak to us all. I grieve for these, my people, far more than I fear for my own life.”(648) This becomes ironic later when he begins to accuse Creon of trying to steal his throne. Additionally he is not aware of the irony in his words that the murderer of King Laius must be exiled from Thebes, even going so far as to curse him. Oedipus uses flowery words and expressions without thoughtfully considering the consequences of those said words. “if by any