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Dramatic irony in the play oedipus the king
Oedipus’s Downfall
Dramatic irony in the play oedipus the king
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Dramatic irony is a commonly used literary device where the audience understands something that some of the characters may be oblivious to. Among the many playwrights who have employed dramatic irony in their plays, Sophocles is highly popularized for his use of it in his tragedy Oedipus the King. When using this literary device, Sophocles does so to highlight Oedipus’ tragic flaw of ignorance. Throughout the entire play, Oedipus is trying to figure out mysteries such as who his real parents are and who killed Laius. The audience, due to the dramatic irony, knew that in continuing his searches, Oedipus would lead to his own downfall. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony in his drama not only effects how the audience reacts to his tragedy, but …show more content…
If focusing on the play’s plot, much of the dramatic irony is based on lacking and searching for knowledge. This constant hunt for the truth, which only the audience knows and understands, causes the creation of mass disorder in Thebes. Not only are people already dying from the plague, but now they have this hunt for Laius’ killer. Fights and tension-filled discussions are occurring between all different characters from Oedipus to Tiresias to Creon, and chaos is continuing to spread in order to uncover the truth. Dramatic irony affects the audience by filling them with anticipation. They know the background knowledge of the play and are just waiting to see when Oedipus’ downfall will occur as each event happens. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony also helped to portray a central theme that no single human can contain all of life’s knowledge without dealing with major chaos and consequences. If Oedipus stopped trying to learn everything about himself and the people of Thebes, he would not have had such a tragic ending to his life. Most of the things that the audience knows, Oedipus would have been better off without knowing. Since he digs deep to uncover every truth, he has to deal with the fact that he killed his father and married his mother. Jocasta kills herself upon hearing the news and Oedipus claws his eyes out, blinding himself. If he had just minded his business and went on with his life without needing to know every fact of it, it would have been much better than how it turned out to be. Dramatic irony plays a major role in driving the plot of Oedipus the King, conveying its theme, and leading to the tragic downfall of Oedipus
Insuring the portrayal of his theme, Sophocles targets the tension of his tragic play, Oedipus Rex, through the growth of the main character, Oedipus, rather than the mystery. Utilizing literary devices such as dramatic irony, soliloquies, and foreshadowing, Sophocles reveals to the audience the conclusion to the mystery of Oedipus before the hero has solved it himself; forcing the audience’s attention towards character growth of the hero, over the actual development of the mystery.
With dramatic irony, on the other hand, it was used mainly for a comedic effect, rather than creating a plot twist for the audience. By creating a comedy using these two types of irony, Shakespeare was able to deliver his message of the true meaning of love. Situational irony is when the reader or audience is surprised by the outcome of the story. We see more of situational irony later on in the story, especially since it often leads to disputes and fights. For instance, when Robin was supposedly ordered to put flower droplets shot from cupid’s arrow into the eyes of Demetrius, he ended up putting them in the eyes of Lysander instead, mistaking him for the Athenian man Oberon had seen and causing a dispute.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story about two lovers who are from two disputing families, and their eventual suicides. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the play to create tension for the audience and foreshadow the ending. Dramatic irony is when the words or actions of characters in a story have a different meaning to the reader than to the characters. This is because the reader knows something that the characters do not. Romeo and Juliet’s death could have been prevented if the characters in the story weren’t so ignorant of their situations, and often times the reader recognizes this.
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows their attempt is futile, creating irony. When Jocasta and Oedipus mock the oracles, they continue to suspect that they were right. Oedipus discounts the oracles' power, but believes in his ability to uncover the truth, yet they lead to the same outcome. His intelligence is what makes him great, but it is also what causes the tragedy. When he ridded Thebes of the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's saviour, but by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, he is its affliction, causing the blight that strikes the city during the opening. Meanwhile, the characters, especially Teiresias, mention sight, light, darkness, &c as metaphors, while referring to `seeing the truth'. However, while Teiresias knows the truth and is blind, Oedipus can see all but the truth. When he discovers the truth, he becomes blind. Also, he does not just solve the Sphinx's riddle - he is its answer. His birth is mentioned throughout the play (crawling on `4 legs'), and he never relies on anybody but himself (`standing on his own `2 legs'),...
In the play Othello, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to help the reader understand the theme of the story. One of those many literary devices used in the play, is the wide range of irony. Throughout the pages of the book the reader will see the use of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony. Shakespeare does not use irony in an understated way, it is very direct, and can be found on almost every page of the book. The use of irony creates suspense, and adds interest as to what will happen.
Sophocles’ use of symbolism and irony is shown in Oedipus Tyrannus through his use of the notion of seeing and blindness. This common motif is extended throughout the play and takes on a great significance in the development of the plot. In an effort to escape his god given prophecy, Oedipus tragically falls into the depths of unthinkable crimes as a result of the mental blindness of his character; thus never escaping his lot.
In the play "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author presents us with several instances of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. Dramatic irony plays an important part in "Oedipus the King", because it is used to describe Oedipus' character as arrogant and blind toward the truth. The audience is expected to understand Oedipus' history well before he does. In the first three episodes, Oedipus uses a lot of dramatic irony in his speeches.
“Old age and the passage of time teach all things” (Sophocles). Sophocles wrote things in his time that had a different meaning than what he actually said. All of his old ways of saying certain things with different meanings, teach people in our time irony. Throughout Sophocles’ Antigone, he writes using irony, which is a literary technique. Sophocles expresses irony through Antigone and Creon. Antigone is a very headstrong, sarcastic, bitter and careless character. Antigone believes in certain things and won’t do the opposite. Creon is also a very headstrong character. Along with being headstrong, Creon is very oblivious to things happening throughout the play.
Another motif in this play is death. At the beginning of the play, many people in the town were dying because of the play. Then town finds out that king Laius also died but no one knows that Oedipus killed him because he was too stubborn to get out of his way. Without knowing that he killed king Laius he threatens the murderer of king Laius that he would be killed terribly. Then in the middle of the play, Oedipus finds out that his dad died due to an illness and that he was now crowned as the king of Corinth. Then at the end of the play, Jocasta suicides herself because she finds out that she married and has kids with her son. This whole play had many deaths, which is why it is considered to be a tragic
When Oedipus was three days old, his parents received a prophecy saying that he would one day kill his father. So, they pierced and bound his feet and sent him off to be abandoned on a mountainside. Oedipus survived the incident, but was left with scars on his feet. In fact, his name in Greek translates to "swollen foot”. Oedipus’s scarred feet are more than symbolic. They show the fact that he has been marked for suffering right from his birth. This shows how Sophocles had the idea that humans have no power in the face of the gods. The scars also demonstrate the irony of Oedipus's ignorance. Although his name blatantly points attention to his feet. Which are the keys to discovering his identity, Oedipus doesn’t realize his true identity until it’s too late.
Tiresias, from “Oedipus the King” by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, is a blind prophet and whilst he is only on the stage for a little time he plays a major role by what he does and what he represents. Tiresias enters the play after being summoned by Oedipus to tell him of the murderer of Laius, the recent King. Tiresias for the sake of Oedipus does not tell him the truth at the start saying that “what will come will come. Even if I shroud it all in silence”. In is conversation, Sophocles, uses Tiresias as a turning point in the plot as it is the beginning of Oedipus’ downfall. As well as that Sophocles uses Tiresias to represent many of the key ideas in the play. Tiresias represents the idea of fate and how
Oedipus is self-confident, intelligent and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his demise. Sophocles makes liberal use of irony throughout “Oedipus the King”. He creates various situations in which dramatic and verbal irony play key roles in the downfall of Oedipus. Dramatic irony depends on the audience’s knowing something that the character does not and verbal irony is presented when there is a contradiction between what a character says and what they mean. Both of these elements are used effectively to develop the tale of Oedipus.
Another major theme in Oedipus the King deals with the ideas of plague and health. This theme can be taken as both literal, but metaphorical as well. This theme is literal in the sense that there is a genuine plague affecting Thebes. The health in Thebes only occurs at the end of the play when the plague has disappeared and after Oedipus blinds himself.
Elements of Tragedy in Oedipus Rex It is not the tragic subject matter of the text that is of primary interest but rather the manner in which the plot is developed. The story line progresses as if the reader is "unpeeling an onion. " The tale of King Oedipus is well known. An enraged Oedipus unknowingly slays his father (Laiusq, King of Thebes) and supplants him as monarch and as husband to his own mother (Queen Jocasta).
Irony used from beginning to end and with each statement made by Oedipus about finding the killer of Laius. Although the audience is familiar with the story they are fully invested in Oedipus. Because Sophocles uses irony in his play it makes the audience empathize with the protagonist. Oedipus becomes human, a tangible character that experiences the same emotions as everyday people. The thing that makes Oedipus even more human is that he is a victim of a fate assigned to him before he was born. He unknowingly carries out the prophecy destined for him which leads to the discovery that he was abandoned at birth by his biological parents; with this discovery a sense of his identity is taken from him. A character so arrogant normally does not receive empathy from the audience, however, he is still very much an innocent fragile human being punished for his father’s defiance. Sophocles used irony to bring a new twist to a familiar story. The use of irony keeps the audience ahead of the protagonist yet still eagerly awaiting his reaction to the obstacles before him; even though they know his fate the audience wants to see how he deals with his unfortunate