Oedipus Rex Irony Essay

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

Irony comes in many different forms verbally, dramatically and situationally. Writers consider irony to be a potent tool to sustain the the interest of the readers in key points of a story, and to generate curiosity of what is to happen next. The primary characteristic of Sophocles Oedipus Rex is that it is an ironic play, specifically dramatic irony although situational and verbal irony also played some key roles in it. Sophocles also incorporates 3 main characteristics of a tragic hero in his play which are Hubris, Hamartia and Anagnorisis.

There is no denying in the fact that Oedipus is a man with pride, which of course is reasonable since if he had not solved the Sphinx’s riddle, Thebes would have been in shambles. Oedipus’ greatest act of hubris, is when he tried to escape his own fate. Long ago an Oracle of Delphi stated that Oedipus would one day kill his own father and sleep with his mother. He tried to escape his fate by vowing that he would never return to Corinth and to never see his adoptive parents again. In trying to avoid his fate this is what caused him to kill his biological father Laius, and to marry his mother Jocasta. It is undeniable that if Oedipus had stayed in

In this case arrogancy is his hamartia. He is very stubborn and arrogant, he feels as though he understands everything around him and that his able to control his own fate, which in the end it turns out he can’t. He is not able to hold in his temper, and he consistently judges a situation incorrectly. Oedipus could have avoided his fate if taken certain precautions, if he had instead promised to never lay a hand on his father or to not sleep with his mother he could have been living a normal life as stated above. His wife/biological mother also encouraged him to not follow his plans to find out the truth, but in the end he does and this is what brings him to his inevitable