Sophocles Use Of Dramatic Irony In Oedipus

Decent Essays
Irony in Oedipus
In Oedipus the King a play written by Sophocles, contains many irony for a purpose. Dramatic irony are words and actions known to the audience but the characters are unaware. “I know or so I’ve. I never saw the man myself”(119). Oedipus not having a clue that he has seen Laius before, because he is the one who killed his father. “You are the curse, the corruption of the land”(401). Tiresias, the blind, prophet accuses Oedipus of murdering his father as a result bringing the plague to Thebes. Situation irony is used to represents the character's actions leading to his tragic fall. “I’ve given Corinth a wide berth, and it’s been my good fortune too”(1094). Oedipus fled Corinth on purpose to escape his fate but instead carried

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Katy Van Zandt Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 20 September 2017 How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Analysis! In the book ‘How to Read Literature Like a Professor’, Thomas C. Foster uses examples of literary devices such as theme, symbols, and irony to give us the tools we need to succeed in analyzing literature on a deeper level. He also incorporates the importance of theme throughout the entire book, by addressing it in almost every chapter.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, Shows irony to prove that shame can destroy a person’s well being. To begin with, there was a prophecy that was told to King Laius and Jocasta that their own son will king his own father, and marry his own mother. King Laius ordered the messenger to kill his own son by drowning it in the ocean. But the messenger took pity on Oedipus. So the messenger just left Oedipus there on the field.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Irony is a disagreement between what is actually being said and what is misunderstood, or what is expected it happen compared to what actually occurs. Authors will usually use this in their stories intentionally to make their audience stop and think about what was just said. The readers must realize when irony is taking place or what is being said in order for the use of irony to be successful. Dramatic irony is most found within books in which they put their characters in certain situations. In “Good Country People (O’Connor 116) we find two different types of irony, there is situational irony and dramatic irony.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    An unknown author once said, “Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains.” Irony can be seen in three different ways, which include dramatic, verbal, and situational irony. Verbal irony is when the opposite of what is meant, is said. Dramatic irony is when the audience or some characters know something that others don’t. Situational irony is when when the opposite of what you expect to happen, happens.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The play, Oedipus The King, is believed to have been written by Sophocles around 430B.C., and produced, in Athens, Greece. The overall tone throughout the play is tragic, similar to the other plays written by Sophocles. Also just like other plays written by Sophocles, the time of this play is in the mythical past of ancient Greece, and takes place in Thebes. The main character, Oedipus himself, is a Greek mythical king of Thebes. Oedipus was a tragic hero in Greek mythology who accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father, King Laius, and marrying his mother, Jocasta, bringing tragedy to his city and family.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles, who was famous drama writers in ancient Athens in fifth century B.C.E. Sophocles held the idea of the unity and close relationship of society and the governor of the state. He described Oedipus as a king who feels responsibility for his people’s future, for homeland and he is ready to find a resolution that can help to stop the plaque in Thebes. Sophocles tries to show the human desire to control their own life by their own accord. Sophocles believed, even though a person cannot avoid the troubles “predicted by the gods”, but the cause of these problems is the nature of the person, which is shown by the person’s actions.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Is one's fate predetermined? Fate is irresistible. At birth, one's fate is already determined. William Shakespeare is widely known for his use of figurative language and long detailed plays. One of his most famous play is Romeo and Juliet.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Oedipus Hubris Analysis

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a Greek play often called the perfect tragedy. After hearing an oracle that kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus tries to escape his fate by leaving his family in Corinth. Oedipus believes that he has outwitted fate by running to Thebes; however, the tragic king has unknowingly run into the very fate he was trying to avoid. Oedipus’ hubris leads to his downfall because his arrogance results in an exchange of his happiness for misery in a reversal. This downfall is seen when he realizes he murdered King Laius.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tragic Destiny In Oedipus

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Tragic Destiny of Oedipus Oedipus the king by Sophocles is a distressing play filled with transgression, grief, and tragedies. The unfortunate incidents that the tragic hero, Oedipus, goes through invoke catharsis in the readers. He has been prophesied a dreadful fortune and feels as though “...no one suffers more than [him]” (Sophocles 27).Foretold destiny cannot be derailed as fate will always interfere and insure that the prophecy is fulfilled. Moreover, every tragic hero has a tragic flaw; rashness and temper are two of the major ones that lead Oedipus to make poor decisions. In addition, many humans use ignorance as a shield to protect themselves from a harsh reality and therefore restrain themselves from the light of true knowledge.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe makes extensive use of literary irony in many of his short stories. The irony is defined as the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect, in his story's to make the story being told more interesting. Poe incorporates irony to make his characters more intriguing both verbally and situationally. In Poes stories, my favorite type of irony that he uses is verbal irony because it is very interesting and sometimes funny to see and experience when you know the real intentions behind his words.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex shows how people let their emotions control them to the point where they can no longer think rationally. There are many instances where the characters in the play let their emotions cloud their judgement, which leads to the gods punishing them for their actions. King Laius and Queen Jocasta are told that their infant son is fated to kill its father, and couple with its mother, which causes them to panic. They decide to try to prevent this prophecy by leaving him to die on a mountaintop. A servant feels pity for the baby, and gives him away to another king so that he will not have to die.…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Shakespeare is one of literatures greatest writers who is best known for his sonnets and plays. One of his most famous plays is Othello. Like most of Shakespeare’s plays, Othello is a tragedy. Othello is the main character of the play who falls in love with Desdemona. Their lives seem to be moving along in happiness, but the infamous Iago has an evil plan in store for them.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sophocles’ tragic play, Oedipus the King, serves as yet another didactic tool of Ancient Greek culture. It heavily focuses on the recurrent theme that a fate assigned by the gods can not be escaped by any means. Sophocles embodies this theme through his tragic hero Oedipus. Even though Oedipus proves himself as a confident capable leader, his tragic flaw is seen through his consistent use of human reason in his attempt to locate the murderer of king Laius. His hubris contributes to his downfall because it allows him to think he can use reason to conquer his fate.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are numerous types of literary devices used in literature, but few devices have had an impact on literature such as Irony. In literature irony can be defined as a literary device that is either spoken or written in which the words are use express and indicate a meaning but the implied words may actually have different literal meaning. There are many types of irony; the three most commonly used in literature are verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Verbal irony can be exemplified when a speaker speaks somethings contradictory to what he or she intends to, while situational irony can be exemplified when incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead, and dramatic irony can be exemplified…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Oh, Ohhh - the agony! I am agony - where am I going where on earth?where does all this agony hurl me? where’s my voice? - winging, swept away on a dark tide - My destiny, my dark power, what a leap you made!”(line 1444-1449) these are the words spoken by a king now broken in his darkest hour. In the play Oedipus The King, written by Sophocles, Oedipus represents the tragic theme that making rash decisions without reason and overstepping one’s limits to defy those of superior status can cause suffering to not only oneself but those around them. Oedipus, through bringing a plague upon his people, condemning himself to a life of misery, and dooming his family to lives of shame and grisly deaths, acts as the great conductor of doom for the people of the city of Thebes.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays