Oedipus the King - Tragic Justice of Fate

Oedipus the King - Tragic Justice of Fate Oedipus the King is one of the most famous and influential of Sophocles' plays. On the surface of this drama there is, without a doubt, a tone of disillusionment. Dramatic irony is a much-used literary device in this play and its unusual structure serves as an explanation for its enduring popularity. Oedipus is portrayed as a character of social conscience whose tragedy stresses the vulnerability of human …

…his total dramatic accomplishments. Structured within it, and suggested with exceptional dramatic diplomacy, are all the basic questions of tragedy, which are presented in such a way as almost to define the form itself. The unpredictability of fate and the way in which the individual character plays a part to that fate is what makes Oedipus the King one of the true reference points in drama and in all others aspects of literature. Word Count: 1434