Examples Of Dramatic Irony In Oedipus Rex

In the classic Greek play Oedipus, the King, written by Sophocles, he writes with dramatic irony to create suspense as you read along. By adding parts of the play that prove that the readers know more than the characters themselves do. For instance, when Oedipus gathered the townspeople of Thebes around and commanded them to give up the murder of Laius. Oedipus cursed the murderer (himself) saying “Upon the murderer i invoke this curse: may he live out his life in misery to miserable doom!” With Oedipus being the actual murderer, he, in turn, invoked a curse upon himself. The audience begins to wonder when Oedipus will realize that he, himself, is the murderer of the previous king, Laius and that he has cursed himself. Another example of suspense building up from dramatic irony in Oedipus, the King is the point of the play when Jocasta, the wife/mother of Oedipus
Receiving this news made Oedipus fear less of himself to know that he did not actually murder his “father”. As he began to tell Jocasta she was correct about prophecies not always being true, the Messenger delivers more news, but this time not good news. The messenger tells Oedipus that Polybus was not his biological father. Oedipus then receives the rest of the story as to where he came from. The suspense really begins to build when Jocasta, sitting in the background, hears of this story and it seems all too familiar to her. She realizes what the audience has known all along; Jocasta has married and had four children with her son. She begins backing out of the room, disgusted with herself. As Oedipus learns from the shepherd that he, himself, killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, Oedipus punishes himself but piercing his own eyes. The Greek play Oedipus, the King, Sophocles writes with many examples of dramatic irony. Throughout the play, the dramatic irony builds suspense for what comes next. The audience knows the ending…but how does it