Isn't It Ironic?-Oedipus Rex
A traffic jam when you're already late. A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break. Ten thousands spoons when all you need is a knife. Meeting the man of your dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife. Irony is everywhere; you just cannot seem to get away from it no matter where you go. Even back in the day, they used irony to entertain as well as get a point across. Sophocles used three different types of irony in one of his most famous Greek tragedies, Oedipus the King, to set the tone of the story. As main character and tragic hero, Oedipus, encounters several difficulties and conflicts, the audience is both entertained and informed through this irony that Sophocles has used. Aristotle defined a Tragic Hero as a man who is usually religious and of royalty. He hears that there is a murder to be avenged, and goes to seek the murderer. Sophocles embellishes on Aristotle's definition and adds his own twist. In the case of Oedipus, the murderer he seeks is himself. Tragic, very tragic. He does not realize what he has done until the very end because his hubris, excessive pride, makes it hard for him to accept that he is the one to be avenged. Dramatic irony is incongruity between a situa
tion developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play, which happens to be the basic framework of Oedipus the King. Throughout the beginning of the play, Oedipus talks about how he has never seen Laius, will avenge Laius' murderer, and about Jocasta, his mother and unknowingly his wife, but Oedipus does not know that. In the beginning, Oedipus gets fired up when the messenger tells him he has to avenge Laius' murderer. Oedipus "knows [the story of Laius] well-by hearsay, for [he] saw him never" (Oedipus the King 115). The audience knows that Oedipus has seen Lauis, but Oedipus does not know that; so he did see Laius-when he killed him. Oedipus also ironically vows to find this murderer by saying "For whoever was the slayer of Laius might wish to take vengeance on me also with a hand as fierce. Therefore in doing right to Laius I serve myself" (116). It is known to all but Oedipus that he is the slayer, and the only way the slayer of Laius can kill Oedipus, is for Oedipus to commit suicide. Ironic. Another type of irony is verbal irony, which is identified by an overstatement, an understatement, or a double entendre-a word with two meanings. The plot thickens when Oedipus
Some common words found in the essay are:
Tragic Hero, Oedipus Oedipus, Ironic-Oedipus Rex, King Throughout, Oedipus Jocasta, Jocasta Oedipus, Oedipus King, Oedipus Laius-when, Eventually Oedipus, Lycean Apollo, oedipus king, oedipus beginning, avenge laius', slayer laius, tragic hero, laius' murderer, avenge laius' murderer,
Approximate Word count = 856
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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