Irony in Oedipus the King - Research Paper Example

Oedipus the King or Oedipus Rex is a marvelous tragedy created by the ancient tragedian Sophocles and it is definitely found to be replete with tragic irony. This paper primarily focuses on this ironic element in context of Oedipus Rex and is written in an attempt to critically assess the nature of this element, how it is used repeatedly in the story to grab the attention of the readers, and what impact it produces on the audience. The paper aims at identifying that irony influences most of the dialogues and events involved in the story and the frequent use of irony succeeds in placing a greater emphasis on the sorrowful outcome of the tragedy. In this paper I will argue that on many occasions in Oedipus the King, Oedipus and other characters make such comments which according to them apply to some facts known to them but which in reality apply to many other important facts also that they are oblivious to. The ironic element used in the tragedy suggests that such important facts are seen as holding great potential to drastically change the circumstances once the characters become aware of them. Research suggests that the frequent use of irony in Oedipus Rex is basically an effort by the author to identify how limited human understanding can given birth to gross misunderstandings and how some confusions created by limited knowledge can lead one to highly painful results. Many example of irony are found in Oedipus Rex and it definitely serves as an important tool for the author to form a kind of story which has a very unexpected ending (Woidke). The tale of Oedipus Rex contains many examples of irony If irony remains successful in twisting and shaping the conclusion or outcomes of a story, then it is a proof that irony impacts the story in a phenomenal way. This remains true in the case of Oedipus Rex as if in the beginning Oedipus commits murder of his father and marries his mother, then in the concluding part he takes the pins out of his mother’s dress to plunge them into his own eyes as all the facts once unknown to him are at last revealed in a tragic manner. Irony in the story hugely twists the circumstances for Oedipus for the worst and identifies how sometimes worst natured misunderstandings are created when humans remain unfamiliar to all the facts either by mistake or fate. An example of irony in this tragedy can be found in the event when Oedipus decides to reach Teiresias, who is in fact the oracle of God Apollo, upon learning from Creon that the plague persisted in his city because of the existence of the murderer of Laius in the city and that the disease would not vanish as long as the murderer remained in the city. Now the irony is that while the readers or audience remain aware of who actually is the murderer, Oedipus is found to be ignorant of the facts and this ignorance leads him to Teiresias. Another example of irony is found in the dialogue of Teiresias. He was aware of the hidden secret of Oedipus’ parentage and was quite reluctant to speak his opinion out in front of the crowd but the king made him speak up forcefully upon which, Teiresias revealed that Oedipus himself was his father’s murderer and his mother’s second husband. Having listened this, Oedipus did not believe him and became outraged and called Teiresias “blind in mind and ears / as well as in your eyes” to which the oracle replied, “You are a poor wretch to taunt me with the very insults which everyone will soon heap upon yourself” (Sophocles and Grene). Irony is evident in this exchange of remarks between the two characters as some facts known to the oracle are unknown to Oedipus due to which he is seen to be bearing the painful costs near the end. Later, Teiresias is proved truthful in his claim and now the fully acknowledges Oedipus realizes with great grief how Teiresias was indeed the gods’ mouthpiece. Although Teiresias warns Oedipus not to force him to reveal the truth for he would not like that, he pressurizes him to hear a very ironic comment made by Teiresias which involves the intuition that the more he explores the secret, the more he gets in the trouble. In reply to King Oedipus’s insistence, Teiresias says, “You are all ignorant. I will not reveal the troubling things inside me, which I can call your grief as well” (Sophocles, cited in Personae). Having learnt the oracle’s verdict regarding the murderer finally, Oedipus says to him, “Get out, and may the plague get rid of you! Off with you! Now! Turn your back and go! And don’t come back here to my home again” (Sophocles, cited in Personae). Even then he does not terminate the search of the murderer of the King Laius as tragic irony, the main theme of the story, is meant to shape his circumstances for the worst near the end. He is also told by the oracle how he is unknown to certain important facts as when he asks how Teiresias can get away with such shameful words, he replies, “I am getting away with it. The truth within me makes me strong” (Sophocles, cited in Personae). What a great irony that as he discerns the horrible truth about his acts near the end, he says with great grief before gouging his out, “I, Oedipus, Oedipus, damned in his birth, in his marriage damned, Damned in the blood he shed with his own hand!” (Gwynn 70). It is evident from the story that though unaware of the facts which is quite ironical, it is King Oedipus’s own conscience that does not let him rely on the information given by Jocasta that Laius had been killed by a group of robbers especially when he remembers that he also murdered a man at the junction of the three roads. It is due to the immense amount of responsibility Oedipus feels for his people that he considers it utterly disgraceful in the story not to investigate the murder of a king who had once led the city (Pope 159). He even curses the unknown person who had killed Laius as he does not know that he himself happens to be the person he vows to search for in addition to not knowing that the woman he calls his wife happens to be his real mother. Even though he runs away in order to not commit the sins indicated by the oracle, he both commits them and remains unaware and this is ironical. Though facts are not obvious, the readers can sense while going through the story that Oedipus intuitively knew that he was on the loosing end (Erickson 706) which is why he would not give up and is seen as acting relentlessly in his struggle to find out the murderer. The dramatic use of irony in the play Oedipus Rex lays emphasis on “how limited human understanding can be even when it is most plausible, and how painful can be the costs of the misunderstandings, in some sense inevitable, that result” (Baker 2000). Irony can also be found in the way Laius gets killed because though he leaves his child alive on the hillside so that there would remain at least one per cent chance of his survival (Vellacott 139), he is still seen as having no idea whether Oedipus happens to be alive or dead. Had he known about his child’s whereabouts, he would definitely have had him killed which is why the theme of the story and this paper again repeats itself that many times limited knowledge can lead one to face the worst circumstances. It is also interesting that Oedipus unknowingly also wants the murderer of King Laius in the play to be punished and it is ironic that he is unaware that he himself happens to be the murderer. It is also ironic that such “events happening to the characters are unknown to them but well-known to the audience” (Dems). The play suggests that the extent of knowledge and understanding outlines one’s destiny and even shapes it. But this choice and freedom of knowing facts was never really allowed to Oedipus as the prophetic warning doomed his entire life (Java). Summing up, this much remains clear from the above discussion that it definitely cannot be suggested by anyone that Oedipus Rex is devoid of irony as it happens to be fraught with this element. The main character of Oedipus is shown to be so considerate and caring that it becomes evident at once that he is potentially incapable of knowingly committing such a heinous sin that would plague the whole land under his rule. It is also evident that Oedipus could not be called responsible or considered sinful for any of the events of his life like murdering his father and marrying his mother as he did not know the truth at all. The tragic events happening to the characters like King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta are unknown to them but well-known to the audience which lays the foundation of irony in Oedipus Rex. Works cited: Baker, Lyman A. “Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King.” 20 Feb. 2000. Web. 17 Jun. 2012. Dems, Kristina. “Oedipus Rex Irony.” 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 17 Jun. 2012. Erickson, Michael. “Review: [untitled].” Theatre Journal: Theatre and Activism 55 (2003): 706-708. Print. Gwynn, R.S. Drama: A Pocket Anthology. 2nd ed. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2002. Print. Java, Amy. “Critical Analysis of “Oedipus the King.” 2011. Web. 17 Jun. 2012. Personae, Dramatis. “Oedipus the King.” n.d. Web. 17 Jun. 2012. Pope, Maurice. “Addressing Oedipus.” Greece & Rome. 2nd Series 38. no. 2. (1991): 156- 170. Print. Sophocles, and Grene, D. Oedipus the King (translated by David Grene). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. Print. Vellacott, P. H. “The Guilt of Oedipus.” Greece & Rome. 2nd Series 11. no. 2. (1964): 137- 148. Print. Woidke, Paul. “The Irony of Oedipus Rex.” 11 Nov. 2004. Web. 17 Jun. 2012. Read More