Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex a Greek tragedy written by
Sophocles in the early days of antiquity
is based upon an even more ancient
story in Greek mythology. Sophocles, however,
knowing that his audience is
aware of the outcome of the play utilizes that
foreknowledge to create
various situations in which dramatic and verbal irony
play key roles.
However, citing all of the irony in Oedipus Rex would require
the writing of
quite a hefty book, for time and convenience only a few examples
will be
cited. Through his use of irony Sophocles manages to avoid simply
retelling
an old tale, though the audience is cognizant of the story’s end
they are
intrigued by the irony present in the story. For instance when
Oedipus
pronounces his curse upon the head of King Laius’s murderer in the
opening
scenes of the play : So will I fight on the gods’ side, And on the
side of the
slain man! But my curse be on the one who did this, whether he is
alone Or
conceals his share in it with others. Let him be free of no misery
if he share
my house Or sit at my hearth and I have knowledge of it. On
myself may it fall,
as I have called it down! -Oedipus from Oedipus Rex When
Oedipus pronounces this
sentence he has already unwittingly judged himself,
and to the excitement of the
crowd foreshadowed later events to come. This
statement, is a classic example of
verbal irony. In it Oedipus thinking that
he is directing his pronouncement upon
some bandit, or conspirator, in all
actuality he is truly condemning himself.
Further examples of irony
include his speech when he first answers the chorus
"...Because of all
these things I will fight for him as I would my own
murdered father." The
irony inherent in this speech that Oedipus makes to the
chorus lies for the
most part in this single line, since the murdered King Laius
is his father.
Sophocles does not reserve his use of irony to verbal irony, but
he also
ranges into areas of irony dramatic in nature. The entire play could be
said
to be an example of this, after all throughout the entire play Oedipus
is
unaware of the fate that awaits him, even though the viewer is intensely
aware
that Oedipus the King will become Oedipus the Beggar. Sophocles was a
pioneer in
his field. The plays that he penned, that survived through the
eons are revered
as much now as they were during his day. He often wrote
scripts for events in
mythology that had already "occurred" and were common
knowledge to the
populace that viewed his productions. In order to keep these
audiences returning
for more, Sophocles made liberal use of irony. By doing
this he tantalized the
viewer into wanting to see how the events that
occurred later would mentally
affect the main character, in this case
Oedipus.