Dramatic Irony in Oedipus
A.J. Skiba
Dr. Boler
English 1341 D
28 October 2011
The Blind Truth
Dramatic irony is strewn throughout Oedipus, stemming from Oedipus’ vehement quest to find out Lauis’s murderer, and his fate that is foreseen by the seer Tiresias. In addition, Oedipus’s constant search for the truth, and his unwavering to ability to not heed to the warnings constantly given to him by Tiresias and Creon. Oedipus’ supposed “sight” in the play and his coexisting “blindness” are both inherent to the development of Oedipus throughout the play. Sight and blindness are important themes in the play Oedipus the King, in the scene where Tiresias talks with Oedipus sight is meant to represent knowledge and blindness ignorance, but at the end of the play when Oedipus cuts out his eyes, Sophocles gives the two themes an inverse relationship and sight is meant to represent ignorance and blindness knowledge. Oedipus believes himself to be a self-proclaimed “god”, and the root of it comes from his arrogance and blind ambition to seek the truth. While Tiresias and Oedipus argue at the beginning of the play, Oedipus bases his argument of why Tiresias is wrong about the fate of Thebes and its king on the fact that Tiresias is blind. Sophocles is trying to tell the audience that Oedipus believes his “sight” makes him wiser than the blind prophet. Therefore, during this scene, Sophocles makes sight coincide with knowledge and blindness, ignorance. Oedipus suspects Tiresias to be involved with the one who killed Lauis after he refuses to tell him what he knows about the plague and what lies in his future, and he says that if Tiresias, “had eyes” (20) he would, “suspect him of the very murder” (20). He tries to belittle Tiresias, and with doing so, he makes the connection between his sight and the knowledge he possesses, and the supposed ignorance of the prophet Tiresias. After Tiresias tells Oedipus that murderer he wishes to pursue, is in fact himself, Oedipus threatens Tiresias by asking him
Dr. Boler
English 1341 D
28 October 2011
The Blind Truth
Dramatic irony is strewn throughout Oedipus, stemming from Oedipus’ vehement quest to find out Lauis’s murderer, and his fate that is foreseen by the seer Tiresias. In addition, Oedipus’s constant search for the truth, and his unwavering to ability to not heed to the warnings constantly given to him by Tiresias and Creon. Oedipus’ supposed “sight” in the play and his coexisting “blindness” are both inherent to the development of Oedipus throughout the play. Sight and blindness are important themes in the play Oedipus the King, in the scene where Tiresias talks with Oedipus sight is meant to represent knowledge and blindness ignorance, but at the end of the play when Oedipus cuts out his eyes, Sophocles gives the two themes an inverse relationship and sight is meant to represent ignorance and blindness knowledge. Oedipus believes himself to be a self-proclaimed “god”, and the root of it comes from his arrogance and blind ambition to seek the truth. While Tiresias and Oedipus argue at the beginning of the play, Oedipus bases his argument of why Tiresias is wrong about the fate of Thebes and its king on the fact that Tiresias is blind. Sophocles is trying to tell the audience that Oedipus believes his “sight” makes him wiser than the blind prophet. Therefore, during this scene, Sophocles makes sight coincide with knowledge and blindness, ignorance. Oedipus suspects Tiresias to be involved with the one who killed Lauis after he refuses to tell him what he knows about the plague and what lies in his future, and he says that if Tiresias, “had eyes” (20) he would, “suspect him of the very murder” (20). He tries to belittle Tiresias, and with doing so, he makes the connection between his sight and the knowledge he possesses, and the supposed ignorance of the prophet Tiresias. After Tiresias tells Oedipus that murderer he wishes to pursue, is in fact himself, Oedipus threatens Tiresias by asking him