How Does Sophocles use Dramatic Irony in the first two scene

A detailed Summary of How Does Sophocles use Dramatic Irony in the first two scene

At the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus is hugely confident, and with good reason. He had saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx and has become king virtually overnight. He proclaims his name proudly as though it were itself a healing charm: "Here I am myself, you all know me, the world knows my fame, I am Oedipus." Oedipus has successfully built up his character to a degree that failure would be a considerable downfall, with not only embarrassment but also a loss of pride and self worth. He asks the people of Thebes to look to him as their saviour, as once before he had saved them. Of course we as the audience can see the irony: the Theban people posed in a desperate situation put their faith in this character, which adds to a greater shock to his people, mislead and betrayed by the one person they put they put their hope in.

An instance of dramatic irony takes place in the scene in which Oedipus plausibly but mistakenly believes Creon to have conspired to portray him as a suspect of Liaus's murder. He believes Creon has the intention of having him expelled from the city and so that he can take over the kingship. He tells Creon that a man is a fool if he thinks that he can sin against his kinfolk and escape the wrath o

Sophocles has succeeded in creating doubt in not only the people of Thebes, but also the audience. Who do we trust- the prophet who has never failed at his task or Oedipus, the man with no reason to doubt, who saved them from previous disaster. At this point the reader cannot be sure which character is right.

At this point Oedipus can be excused as being ignorant as he is unaware of his actions. Oedipus is unaware of the identity of his parents. He lies ignorant that by killing the traveller he met at the three cross roads - he was murdering his own father King Liaus, and by marrying Jocasta - thereby committing incest with his mother. Dramatic irony is poignant when the audience hear Oedipus make this statement. They know the facts about Oedipus' parricide and incest, and also the fact that Oedipus remains unaware whilst also being aware that these transgressions will eventually be revealed before all of Thebes, and that Oedipus will suffer as a consequence. It would also be common knowledge that Oedipus must suffer the wrath of the gods - divine punishment for the crimes committed.

It is the difference between what Oedipus understands his words to mean and what the audience understands what the true extent of his words actually mean, that constitutes the effect of the dramatic irony. Suspense is created by irony in the dialogs. The audience know more than the hero does and they would like to warn him to avoid his terrible destiny. As Oedipus is arrogant to the true facts he retains his ethical dignity.

References to eyesight and vision are used as a metaphor for knowledge and insight. Eyesight and insight in these plays form an ironic combination with the references to literal and metaphorical blindness. Oedipus is a man of swift action and great insight. At the opening of Oedipus the King, we see that these qualities make hi

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1245
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English