1 Outline i. Dramatic Irony 1. Oedipus calling Tiresias Blind 2. Tiresias sees the truth though blind 3. Oedipus does not see the truth of his identity even though he has sight ii. Verbal irony 1. Oedipus seeking the murderer of King Laius 2. Oedipus accusing Creon of wanting the thrown 3. Oedipus cursing the person who murdered the king yet it’s him iii. Tragic Irony 1. Oedipus marrying his mother and killing his father 2. Oedipus Knows his identity and plucks off his eyes 3. Jocasta discovers the truth and commits suicide. 2 Students Name: Professors ‘Name: Course: Date: Irony in Oedipus the King Introduction Taking a look at the Play by Sophocles ‘ Oedipus the king’, it is clear that a lot of events in the play don’t add up to the expectation of the reader and is a manifestation of what the reader does not expect as an outcome thus this events become ironical or rather the opposite of what is not expected. Instances of irony are evident in the play and are brought out by different characters such as Oedipus himself, Tiresias the soothsayer among other key characters. To start with the play is full of dramatic irony. Oedipus calls Tiresias who is the blind soothsayer blind yet he himself is blind to the truth. Oedipus ridicules Tiresias without the knowledge that the soothsayer though being blind has the vision to see everything including the truth of Oedipus’ identity. Tiresias tells Oedipus that though he is blind he can see the truth unlike him Oedipus Cannot see that all the suffering in Thebes is brought about by him. He also cannot see the truth of his identity and the fact that his wife is actually his mother. All 3 this show instances of dramatic irony that only the reader can identify but the characters in the story are unaware of.(Zachrisson, Anders,2013) Secondly Oedipus seeks to find the murder of King Laius in order to restore peace in Thebes and end the never ending plague that saw the subjects of Thebes suffer. Oedipus goes even to the extent of cursing the murder of the King when in reality he is the one who killed the king himself. He accuses Creon his uncle of pinning the murder of the king on him so that he could take over the thrown and rule Thebes a statement that Creon refuses telling Oedipus that he was not interested with the thrown. This clearly shows an instance of verbal irony. Finally we have the tragic irony in the play. Tragic irony is whereby the actions of the characters have severe outcomes. (Chase, Cynthia ,1979)Oedipus married his mother Jocasta and had four children and killed his Father Laius. Oedipus does all this blindly without knowing and it’s an act of fate as foretold by the Oracle that the son to king Laius would kill his father and marry his mother. Which brings up the complex nature of Oedipus the king and his tragedy? The outcomes of Oedipus actions have severe consequences and outcomes because Jocasta ends up committing suicide and Oedipus himself plucks out his eyes so that he may not see. All this reveals the tragic ending of the story. Conclusion In conclusion, Oedipus the King as a play portrays both verbal irony that is evident in the characters speech and what they say (Rose, John Murder, 1982) taking an example of Oedipus’ conversation with Tiresias as he ridicules him of being blind. Also there are instances of dramatic irony where the reader is aware of what is happening but the characters are not as in the instance of Oedipus not knowing that he killed the further and married the 4 mother. Lastly there is tragic irony that brings forth consequences and outcomes that are tragic and disheartening a good example is the outcome of Jocasta after she knows the truth she commits suicide and Oedipus plucks out his eyes. References Chase, Cynthia. “Oedipal textuality: reading Freud’s reading of Oedipus.” Diacritics 9.1 (1979): 54-68. Ross, John Munder. “Oedipus revisited: Laius and the “Laius complex”.” The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 37.1 (1982): 169-200. 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. 1 Outline i. Dramatic Irony 1. Oedipus calling Tiresias Blind 2. Tiresias sees the truth though blind 3. Oedipus does not see the truth of his identity even though he has sight ii. Verbal irony 1. Oedipus seeking the murderer of King Laius 2. Oedipus accusing Creon of wanting the thrown 3. Oedipus cursing the person who murdered the king yet it’s him iii. Tragic Irony 1. Oedipus marrying his mother and killing his father 2. Oedipus Knows his identity and plucks off his eyes 3. Jocasta discovers the truth and commits suicide. 2 Students Name: Professors ‘Name: Course: Date: Irony in Oedipus the King Introduction Taking a look at the Play by Sophocles ‘ Oedipus the king’, it is clear that a lot of events in the play don’t add up to the expectation of the reader and is a manifestation of what the reader does not expect as an outcome thus this events become ironical or rather the opposite of what is not expected. Instances of irony are evident in the play and are brought out by different characters such as Oedipus himself, Tiresias the soothsayer among other key characters. To start with the play is full of dramatic irony. Oedipus calls Tiresias who is the blind soothsayer blind yet he himself is blind to the truth. Oedipus ridicules Tiresias without the knowledge that the soothsayer though being blind has the vision to see everything including the truth of Oedipus’ identity. Tiresias tells Oedipus that though he is blind he can see the truth unlike him Oedipus Cannot see that all the suffering in Thebes is brought about by him. He also cannot see the truth of his identity and the fact that his wife is actually his mother. All 3 this show instances of dramatic irony that only the reader can identify but the characters in the story are unaware of.(Zachrisson, Anders,2013) Secondly Oedipus seeks to find the murder of King Laius in order to restore peace in Thebes and end the never ending plague that saw the subjects of Thebes suffer. Oedipus goes even to the extent of cursing the murder of the King when in reality he is the one who killed the king himself. He accuses Creon his uncle of pinning the murder of the king on him so that he could take over the thrown and rule Thebes a statement that Creon refuses telling Oedipus that he was not interested with the thrown. This clearly shows an instance of verbal irony. Finally we have the tragic irony in the play. Tragic irony is whereby the actions of the characters have severe outcomes. (Chase, Cynthia ,1979)Oedipus married his mother Jocasta and had four children and killed his Father Laius. Oedipus does all this blindly without knowing and it’s an act of fate as foretold by the Oracle that the son to king Laius would kill his father and marry his mother. Which brings up the complex nature of Oedipus the king and his tragedy? The outcomes of Oedipus actions have severe consequences and outcomes because Jocasta ends up committing suicide and Oedipus himself plucks out his eyes so that he may not see. All this reveals the tragic ending of the story. Conclusion In conclusion, Oedipus the King as a play portrays both verbal irony that is evident in the characters speech and what they say (Rose, John Murder, 1982) taking an example of Oedipus’ conversation with Tiresias as he ridicules him of being blind. Also there are instances of dramatic irony where the reader is aware of what is happening but the characters are not as in the instance of Oedipus not knowing that he killed the further and married the 4 mother. Lastly there is tragic irony that brings forth consequences and outcomes that are tragic and disheartening a good example is the outcome of Jocasta after she knows the truth she commits suicide and Oedipus plucks out his eyes. References Chase, Cynthia. “Oedipal textuality: reading Freud’s reading of Oedipus.” Diacritics 9.1 (1979): 54-68. Ross, John Munder. “Oedipus revisited: Laius and the “Laius complex”.” The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 37.1 (1982): 169-200. 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.