Use of Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King

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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.

The behavior of Oedipus is ironic, because he is not capable to grasp the truth that is being unrevealed before his eyes. Oedipus is blinded by his ignorance. He is a very confident man and powerful in the way he acts and talks. Oedipus is so blind to himself, that instead of relying on the oracles, he counts on his own knowledge to find out the truth. Oedipus is destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father.

One example of dramatic irony is when Oedipus is looking for the killer of the king Laius-his father. The irony here is that he is looking for himself because he is the murder of his father. Oedipus knows that he killed someone, but what he does not know is that it was Laius, the one he murder. Oedipus wants to punish the person who killed Laius, but we, the audience know that Oedipus was the one who killed Laius. Also Oedipus married Jocasta without knowing that she is his mother. We, the audience knew that he was Jocasta's son, but he was unaware of that.

When Creon, brother in law of Oedipus accuses him of being a murder, Oedipus was really mad. He accuses Creon of betrayal and hypocrisy. In another speech, Oedipus accuses Creon for pointing him as guilty for the murder of Laius. We can see that when Oedipus says:

"I curse myself as well...if by any chance

he proves to be an intimate of our house,

here at my hearth, with my full knowledge,"

The irony here is that he is cursing himself, because in reality he is blind to what is really happening. Oedipus is in denial to his guilty, even though all of the evidence points to him.

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