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Irony in Oedipus the King (358 words)

First performed in 429 BCE, Oedipus the King is an ancient tragedy playwright that follows the story of King Oedipus as he discovered the truth about his father’s death, King Laius. The play is characterized as a Greek tragedy, plays that employ characters that are already known to the audience. The entire play is a dramatic irony as it entirely focuses on Oedipus condemning himself by wanting to know who killed the former kind. The irony is that Oedipus is the murderer that he seeks himself. This essay discusses examples of irony in Oedipus the King.

The first example of irony is seen in the first scene of the play. Oedipus says, “ I did not think it fit that I should hear myself, I Oedipus whom all men call the Great”(5-7). The opening of the play is already a dramatic scene. Thebes city is suffering a plague and people have turned to King Oedipus for assistance. In the past, Oedipus has rescued them from Sphinx, which is why they trust him to resolve this problem for them. However, none of them or Oedipus himself realizes that he is the reason for their predicament. In the second instance, Oedipus writes, ” Whoe’er he be, I order that…all men from their houses banish him; Since it is he contaminates us all, Even the Pythian oracle divine Revealed but now to me.” At this point, oracle had just informed Oedipus about the plague in the City of Thebes as the murderer is yet to be found and punished (Zachrisson, 314). Here Oedipus says that once found the murderer must be punished which is ironic because the audience knows Oedipus is the culprit. The third example of irony is demonstrated in Oedipus’s words. He says, “On these accounts I, as for my own father, will fight this fight and follow out every clue, Seeking to seize the author of his murder.”. Here, Oedipus insists again that he will not rest until Laius’s murder is punished. He curses himself unknowingly. He says that he will look for the murderer all night just like his father would. This is a classic example of dramatic irony since we already know he is the murderer.

In closing, the use of dramatic irony is demonstrated throughout the play Oedipus the King. Irony is showcased right from the opening scene, where the people turn to Oedipus for help after the king dies. Irony is also showed in the way Oedipus vows to locate his father’s murderer yet the audience knows he is the one that killed him.

Works Cited

Sophocles, E. A. Oedipus the king. Canada: Vancouver Island University, 2014.

Zachrisson, Anders. “Oedipus the King: Quest for self‐knowledge–denial of reality. Sophocles’ vision of man and psychoanalytic concept formation.” The International journal of psychoanalysis 94.2 (2013): 313-331.