NOTES ON KING OEDIPUS IRONY AND DRAMATIC IRONY Two definitions: (1) Irony is the tension between the

e meaning of words and their intended meaning. The original word meant twist. (2) Dramatic irony is a reversal in fortunes which is unexpected (tension between expectations and the outcome of events). Sophocles is the master of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony works best when the audience is aware of the truth before the character(s) in the play. This creates tension and suspense giving the play great force. So how does irony work? It produces mingled pain and amusement, it usually involves misunderstanding and there have to be two meanings. Its basic feature is a contrast between reality and appearance, but a lie is not irony. For irony to be really effective it has to be interpreted and understood properly. This usually consists of peripeteia and anagnorisis (see Aristotle handout). It can often involve a sort of conspiracy between the playwright and the audience. We take pleasure in a double meaning, its cleverness and sub tlety. In King Oedipus we see two realities, one as he sees it and the other, hidden one. We get a certain thrill from knowing something that others do not know, a kind of blind mans buff. This does not mean that it cannot be very serious. A good example of irony is Swifts A Modest Proposal. A key element is the degree of contrast between the two realities presented, between what is expected and what happens. Some good examples of irony in King Oedipus are:

(1)Oedipus announces himself as the one who will fix the problem, when he is the problem. (2) He curses himself when he curses the murderer. (3)He can answer the Sphinxs riddle but does not know who he is himself. (3) (4) (5) He is at his blindest when he accuses Tiresias of blindness. It is his persistent search for the truth that brings about his own downfall. Jocastas attem;pt to reassure him that oracles are meaningless brings out the story of Laiuss murder where three roads meet. It is in running away from the Oracle at Delphi that he runs to Thebes where he fulfils the oracle.

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What of Dramatic Irony? This concerns events, rather than what people say (verbal irony). The use of dramatic irony In King Oedipus is one of the plays outstanding features. The central dramatic irony of the play is the crushing fall of the great man who is so built up at the start of the play. Oedipuss fall would not be so affecting if he were just ordinary or if he were a bad person. It is his very greatness and his expectation that he will solve everything that makes his fall so shocking. The other factor in the effectiveness of the dramatic irony in the play is the way in which the truth is revealed by the playwright. It is drip-fed to the characters (and to the audience) with false, misleading trails and often, seemingly by chance, until Oedipus finally sees the whole truth. It is as Jocasta reassures him about the uselessness of oracles that she mentions the three roads which triggers Oedipuss

memory. It is as the messenger from Corinth overhears Oedipuss worries about his mother that he reassures him that Polybus and Merope were not his real parents. It is as the chorus sings a joyful ode about Oedipus possibly being the son of a god or of nymphs that the old shepherd arrives with the last pieces of the shocking truth. So the combination of the reversal of what is expected and its terrible consequences make this play probably the most famous example of the use of dramatic irony in all of literature. The Greek word peripeteia sums this up. It means an abrupt reversal in events. It usually results from a piece of news which has profound effects on everyone in the drama. There are no muted half-tonesit is heavy cannonevery courtroom drama would sink to its knees without it. Even at its hammiest, peripeteia says something true about life that nothing is safe or certain, that it is precisely when you think youve got everything sewn up that love strikes out of the blue or the doctor looks grave at that lump on your leg. I suspect that what it is really about is death. (Nicholas Wright) FATE The main cause of Oedipuss downfall in the play is, of course, fate. Although Oedipus has qualities that contribute to his downfall, it is a malignant fate which traps him in an inescapable doom. One of the things that makes this play so powerful is the fact that Oedipuss awful fall is not accidental at all. It has been foretold from the time of his birth and relentlessly winds its web around him, not only despite his outstanding qualities, but in fact, because of them. If it were not for his brilliance as a ruler, his problem solving skills and his care for his people, the truth would never have been revealed. It is those very qualities which lead to the fall. Of course, crucially he has other, more negative qualities which contribute to his fate too: his temper; his tendency to violence; his rashness; but above all his hubris. He believes that he can outrun fate and outwit the oracles prophecies so the gods show how he can be crushed.