Dramatic Irony in Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Dramatic Irony in Oedipus In the play written by Sophocles, Oedipus the King, there are several instances of irony. Dramatic irony, or tragic irony as some critics would prefer to call it, usually means a situation in which the character of the play has limited knowledge and says or does something in which they have no idea of the significance. The audience, however, already has the knowledge of what is going to occur or what …

…result of the use of dramatic irony. The use of irony in a play allows the writer to make their audience want to see how the events which are occurring, mentally affect the main character, even if they already know how the story will end, as in Oedipus the King. Kennedy, X.J., and Gioia Dana. "Oedipus the King" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd edition. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. 960-1005.