Oedipus the King Sophocles' Play Oedipus the Term Paper

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Oedipus the King

Sophocles' play Oedipus the King is filled with irony; in fact, irony makes the play's narrative so compelling. Oedipus vows to end the plague that besieged the people of Thebes but fails to realize that to end it, he must essentially oust himself from power. He vehemently curses the murderer in a passionate speech to the chorus at the beginning of the play without realizing that he delivers the curses upon himself. Oedipus unwittingly hunts for himself; unaware that he killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus claims to find and exile the murderer even if "If in my house, I knowing it, he dwells," (265). At times, Oedipus seems so close to uttering the truth or unknowingly does speak the truth that the audience is gripped by suspense and frustration. For example, when Oedipus is first confronted with the news that for the plague to stop Laius' murderer must be found, he immediately swells with pride and thus utters statements that are saturated with dramatic irony.

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For example, he states, "Not for the sake of friends, or near or far, / But for mine own, will I dispel this curse; / For he that slew him, whosoe'er he be, / Will wish, perchance, with such a blow to smite / Me also. Helping him, I help myself," (143-147). When Oedipus says "helping him, I help myself," he has no idea how close to the truth he is. Moreover, when he notes that whoever killed Laius might eventually come after him, he presages his own self-destruction at the end of the play.

Interestingly, Oedipus was crowned King precisely because he proved his mental prowess to the people of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. However, he can't fathom the simpler mystery of who killed Laius, even in spite of possessing overwhelming evidence that it was he. Creon utters an ironic message regarding the import of the Sphinx's riddle: "The Sphinx, with her dark riddle, bade us look / At nearer facts, and leave the.....

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