Oedipus
Connor Meeds
11/2/12
Oedipus Essay
In the play Oedipus, written by Sophocles, Laius the ruler of Thebes was terribly murdered. Suddenly, Oedipus decided to take throne and curse the killer of Laius without any consent and realization on who the killer was. Until he realized, that he is the one with the blood on his hands. The irony expressed in Oedipus involves a contradiction between appearance and reality. Sophocles does a great job by using dramatic and cosmic irony to communicate the message- “do not be overconfident and selfish.” One of the best dramatic irony represents Oedipus evaluating the consequences towards the killer’s murder. Another dramatic irony shows Oedipus calling curses down upon the murderer. One last irony is a cosmic irony. This irony shows the ending of Oedipus’s time by when he realizes that the killer is himself. Selfish Oedipus ironically states punishments towards himself, making a foolish example of his overconfidence. Oedipus recently found out about the death of Laius. As he talks for the audience, he tries developing possible solutions for the incident. This was an early stage of the story. “We must punish those who killed him” said Oedipus. This is an example of his foolishness because Oedipus hasn’t realized that the killer is himself, no other. The quote is a dramatic irony because the realization is the opposite of everyone’s expectations including Oedipus himself. This scene shows how Oedipus engaged the situation to quickly, and acted over confident and a somewhat selfish. He attempts to be a hero by taking action, but really failed himself. Oedipus made himself even more of a fool by going more in depth on the punishments on the murderer. He summoned curses onto the killer, still without any realization. “I call down a curse on him, whether that unknown figure be one man or one among many.” This is just another great example of his unintelligence. In this quote, Oedipus felt more powerful than he actually was. He
11/2/12
Oedipus Essay
In the play Oedipus, written by Sophocles, Laius the ruler of Thebes was terribly murdered. Suddenly, Oedipus decided to take throne and curse the killer of Laius without any consent and realization on who the killer was. Until he realized, that he is the one with the blood on his hands. The irony expressed in Oedipus involves a contradiction between appearance and reality. Sophocles does a great job by using dramatic and cosmic irony to communicate the message- “do not be overconfident and selfish.” One of the best dramatic irony represents Oedipus evaluating the consequences towards the killer’s murder. Another dramatic irony shows Oedipus calling curses down upon the murderer. One last irony is a cosmic irony. This irony shows the ending of Oedipus’s time by when he realizes that the killer is himself. Selfish Oedipus ironically states punishments towards himself, making a foolish example of his overconfidence. Oedipus recently found out about the death of Laius. As he talks for the audience, he tries developing possible solutions for the incident. This was an early stage of the story. “We must punish those who killed him” said Oedipus. This is an example of his foolishness because Oedipus hasn’t realized that the killer is himself, no other. The quote is a dramatic irony because the realization is the opposite of everyone’s expectations including Oedipus himself. This scene shows how Oedipus engaged the situation to quickly, and acted over confident and a somewhat selfish. He attempts to be a hero by taking action, but really failed himself. Oedipus made himself even more of a fool by going more in depth on the punishments on the murderer. He summoned curses onto the killer, still without any realization. “I call down a curse on him, whether that unknown figure be one man or one among many.” This is just another great example of his unintelligence. In this quote, Oedipus felt more powerful than he actually was. He