The Use of Irony in OedipusRex

A detailed Summary of The Use of Irony in OedipusRex

To the ancient Greeks, once a person's fate was prophesized, it was set in stone. Nothing at all could be done to change it. Anyone who attempted to alter her/his fate would do so in vain. Fate would overcome all in the end. A prime example of these twisted circumstances is displayed in the play Oedipus the King, written by Sophecles. Oedipus was ill fated since birth. His parents were told that he would marry his mother Jocasta, and murder his father, Laius. Laius and Jocasta both tried to change their son's fate. They discovered too late that their effort was meaningless, and their son's fate destroyed them in the end. When Sophecles wrote this play, he infused it with irony of all types. This was done to better develop his theme of predestination. In Sophecles' Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, both verbal and dramatic irony are used to better comprehend the twisted circumstances of Oedipus' fate.

Situational irony is used throughout the entire play. It is most prevalent in the scenes between Oedipus and Tiresias, the old blind prophet. One would think that because Oedipus has perfectly good eyes he would be able to see more clearly than Tiresias, who is completely blind. This, however, is not the case. In loo

This tragedy epitomizes the foolishness of those who are determined to become masters of their fate. In reality no one can fully control her/his fate. We can however control the circumstances surrounding our lives. We also have the ability to shape our fate if we just open ourselves completely. Not just with out physical senses but with our foresight. We must think rationally to evade a nightmarish and out-of-control destiny. The use of irony in the play helps us to better comprehend what can happen and how to prevent it from happening.

Verbal irony comes from a complicated knowledge of the contrast between what is and what should be said. Oedipus constantly and indirectly talks about himself whenever he refers to the person who killed the King of Thebes. Unbeknownst to Oedipus, he is the person who killed the King of Thebes. In a speech to his people in Thebes he says, " Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is, a lone man unknown in his crime or one among man, let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step - I cures myself as well...if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house, here at my heath, with my full knowledge, may the cure I just called down on him strike me (lines 280-287)!" And the curse he called down upon himself did indeed strike him. Oedipus paid the ultimate price; not death but dignity and honor. In the very first scenes of the play when Oedipus and Creon address the people of Thebes about catching the killer of the former King Laius, Oedipus states, "I will speak out now as a stranger to the story, a stranger to the crime. If I'd been present then, there would have been no mystery, no long hunt without a clue

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Approximate Word count = 1139
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English