The Use of Dramatic Irony in Sophocles Oedipus the King Essay

The Use of Dramatic Irony in Sophocles Oedipus the King catastrophe as an element of the human experience has been the subject of many of the big(p) works of literature written in the Western tradition. For some, cataclysm embodies the highest course of humanity. It is through suffering that we are able to reveal ourselves most completely. Others read tragedy as an element of morality where we are to learn well the lessons of those who tempt the gods. The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, outlined a theory of tragedy as archetypal drama in his classic work, the Poetics. He uses the work out by Sophocles, Oedipus the King (hereafter Oedipus), as the standard model by which alone other tragedies are measured. In Aristotles view, a perfect tragedy should non be simple, but rather complex in its action. It is the degree of complexity of the tragedy, the true up increase in the amount of suffering that the heroic caliber has to go through, that intensifies the use of this device. The truly tragic figure will go through the play experiencing gradually increasing amounts of knowledge which reveal more than horrible details. At each revelation, the audience has already been made witting of the tragic event so it is prepared and waiting for the heros downfall. To achieve true tragic circumstances, a clear reversal of fortune is required to exit to the main character. This reversal of fortune, above and beyond negative events, will thusly garner feelings of pity and fear in the hearts of the audience. As Aristotle states The compound of fortunes should be not from bad to good, but, reversely, from good to bad. It should come as a result not of vice, but of some great error or frailty, in a character either such as we expect describe... ...is destined to marry his mother after defeating the Sphinx. The audience, however, long familiar with the quaint myth, is mindful that in solving the riddle Oedipus further condemns himself. These c hoices lead to the last climax where Oedipus blinds himself and wanders the earth as punishment for his actions. The lack of knowledge of his sine qua non combined with the audiences total familiarity with the myth provides for the greatest differential between penetrative and not knowing. Dramatic irony, used throughout the play to emphasize the top executive of fate, is ultimately used as the closing statement of mans frailty in the face of infinite justice. Works CitedAristotle. Poetics. 12 July 2005. httpclassics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.mb.txt Gwynn, R. S. Drama A sac Anthology, Second Edition. New York Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2002.