Irony in Oedipus the King Free Essay Example, 1500 words

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 â €Å"blind in mind and ears / as well as in your eyes† to which the oracle replied, â€Å"You are a poor wretch to taunt me with the very insults which everyone will soon heap upon yourself† (Sophocles and Grene). We will write a custom essay sample on Irony in Oedipus the King or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now 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, â€Å"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, â€Å"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, â€Å"I am getting away with it.