Irony and Paradox

Iin the case of Oedipus, a sense of Irony befalls the entire tragedy. He, being the new ruler of the kingdom, declares he will find justice for whoever killed King Laius in order to save his people. However, we are taught that not only is this ironic, but it is a clear paradox. We learn of the prophecy of Oedipus and his wrong doings by ways of his wife Jocasta. She tells him that there was a prophecy stating her son would kill Laius and then sleep with his mother. Due to this prophecy, Jocasta and Laius had their son killed. However, Oedipus discovers more about himself, as he was an adopted baby. And just as Jocasta's son was prophecised, he was as well, being told that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Now you have to be pretty ignorant to not put two and two together. This entire circumstance is that of Irony, as a two people, once falling victim to a falsely ended prophecy, have now gotten together, only to then complete the prophecy. Both had hoped to take measures against this curse, and thus felt safe from it. But only when they felt the most secure did fate take it's course. Fate being another commonly used Greek play device, may play in the whole prophecy idea, but not as much as irony. Being the highlight of the plot, Oedipus' quest for revenge then is affected by this irony and thus finding revenge against himself thus creates the paradox.

Irony

Tiresias claim that Oedipus was the murderer of Laius sparked an angry dispute with Oedipus. Oedipus aggressively protests against Tiresias accusation and insults him by saying, “It does but not for you, old man. You’ve lost your power, stone-blind, stone deaf—senses, eyes blind as stone” (420-422). This shows the character development of Oedipus as he expresses his high temper and lack of maturity as a leader. After Tiresias says that he was trusted by Oedipus’s parents, Oedipus is intrigued and confused on what Tiresias was trying to say. “Parents—who? Wait… who is my father?” (498).

Dramatic irony is brought forth when Oedipus enters the palace and Tiresias states, “He sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father’s blood!” (522-523). The audience now knows that Oedipus’s real father was Laius and his mother is Jocasta, who is disturbingly also his wife. However Oedipus is still clueless on whom his parents really are. Sowing the same loins as his father means that they both slept with the same women.

Revealing this truth adds to the plot by giving it a twist and more fuel for a dramatic downfall of Oedipus. When the truth is finally revealed, the results will be worse than before. The characters that will be affected most upon discovery on this news will obviously be Oedipus and Jocasta. The realization from Oedipus that not only had he killed his biological father, but he has had sex and kids with his biological mother and that can psychologically impact Oedipus. Jocasta will mostly likely feel shame and disgusted.

Prophecy

Prophecy is of uttermost importance to the Greeks. Gods are very important to Greeks and since prophecies are like the words of their gods, the Greeks take prophecies to the next level of importance and go to extreme measures to prevent bad or unwanted prophecies from happening. In example, in Oedipus you don’t find out until later that Oedipus’ mother was trying to prevent him from killing his father by ordering him to be killed, but he was never killed. Oedipus was so bewildered when the Shepherd told him that, he asked how and the Shepherd replied, “she was afraid--frightening prophecies”(l. 1296).

This impacts both Oedipus and Jocasta. After discovering the prophecy was fulfilling, Oedipus ran to find Jocasta, “the woman hanging by the neck, cradled high in a woven noose spinning, swinging back and forth”(l. 1395-1397). Oedipus then took the gold pins from Jocasta’s robe and dug them into his eye sockets, crying, “You, you’ll see no more pain I suffered, all the pain I caused”(l. 1405-1406). This completely fulfils the prophet. He has already killed his father, made love to his mother, and he was now blind. Just as the prophet said, “...your father’s curse will whip you from this land one day, their footfall treading you down in terror, darkness shrouding your eyes that now can see the light”(l. 476-479).

The quote that relates best to this part of the story is this one, by Johnny Depp. In the quote, Johnny Depp says that “you can close yours eyes to the things you don’t want to see,” which relates to how Jocasta was closing her eyes in the face of the facts that showed Oedipus was the killer. And the second part of the quote, “...but you can’t close your heart to the things you don’t want to feel” relates to how Oedipus could not deny that he was the killer and he would be willing to admit to it once he found out it truly was he who was the killer.

Turning Point

Oedipus has thought himself nothing but a flawless, confident ruler throughout the opening of the play. He feels he can do no wrong, declares he will end the plague and find Laius' murderer, and goes as far as to deem himself  "Apollo's champion." (155).

However, Oedipus' entire demeanor changes when he realizes he might, in fact, be the killer. This reversal creates a major turning point in the play. "Oh no no," cries Oedipus when he first makes the connection. "I think I've just called down a dreadful curse / upon myself--I simply didn't know!" (819-821). (Here, he refers to the curse he declared earlier: "Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is...let that man drag on his life in agony...if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house...may the curse I just called down on him strike me!" (280-287).)

It's Jocasta's recall of Laius' death which leads Oedipus to suspect his own involvement. She tells her side of the story and Oedipus shares his, insisting he "killed them all"(898) but did not know "they" were Laius' entourage. "If there is any blood tie between Laius and this stranger..." worries Oedipus (899-900), but we as the reader can infer: the stranger was absolutely Laius--and Oedipus has married his mother.

Oedipus' realization changes the entire track of the story line. Before, Oedipus was well on his way to seek out the killer and end the plague. However, the minute he begins to suspect himself, everything changes. This pivotal moment serves as a turning point in the play and leaves the reader to ponder what may happen next.

Denial

Oedipus agrees to see the blind prophet, Tiresias, to ask him about the identity of King Laius’ murderer. While speaking with the prophet, Oedipus denies his identity as the murderer, calling Tiresias “blind in his craft” (442). The chorus chimes in shortly after with a promise from the people of Thebes that they would never convict Oedipus of murder.

            A similar and connected instance of denial can be seen later in the play when Jocasta reveals an encounter her late husband, King Laius, had with an oracle. When the oracle said that Laius would perish at the hands of his son, he abandoned him. Laius and Jocasta threw away their son in order to escape the fate that became a reality in the end. Jocasta denies that Oedipus could be her abandoned son or her husband’s murderer and questions the ability of the oracle to foresee the future, saying “nothing human can penetrate the future” (782).

            Oedipus questions Jocasta for detail about the murder of Laius and there is a turning point in his mind when he realizes there is a possibility he was the one who killed Laius where Oedipus says, “I have a terrible fear  the blind seer can see” (823). After, Oedipus recounts an instance where he encountered a warning from Apollo that he would kill his father and marry his mother, and he ran away from it.

Denial and efforts from neither Oedipus nor Jocasta can fully ignore or defy fate’s influence. Each time a person attempts to outrun and deny fate’s influence, the very act of running is what brings him to fulfill it. The efforts of Laius and Jocasta to elude fate come full circle with Oedipus’ denial of the validity of his own fate and the unknowing fulfillment of it.

Just as the characters in Oedipus attempt to deny the truth about the future, the man in the cartoon is blinded  by his own denial of a current issue--climate change. 

Revenge in Oedipus

     The gods take revenge on the murderer of King Laius by sending plague and famine to the streets of Thebes. The entire city is being punished for the actions of the murderer. "Thebes is dying, look, her children, stripped of pity... Generations strewn on the ground" (205-207). The only way to end the famine? Murder the murderer, a form of justice deemed righteous by the gods. This is seen as revenge in a more non-traditional sense, from an other-worldly power taking its toll on mortals in Thebes.
     The gods are able to exact revenge because, even though they are divine beings, their actions are not perfect, making revenge seem human-like. This form of justice is taken due to the fact that there would be a lack of people wanting to find the murderer if a plague was not cast on Thebes. Oedipus, the merciful King, does not truly want to "find" the murderer of the former king, he only seeks to end the plague that has been exacted on Thebes as a form of revenge by the gods.

Imagery in Oedipus

Sophocles effectively incorporates imagery into Oedipus, providing the story with descriptive text and sensory details that makes the plot rather enticing and intriguing.  Instead of simply stating situations as they happen, he adds spice to the format of his writing with the use of appropriate sensory details. To enlighten the scene where Oedipus hears through the prophecy that he is the killer of his father, Sophocles implements vivid writing. Oedipus says to Teiresias “you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes” (429-30). He then goes to say “Great store of jealousy fill your treasury chests”, making reference to his belief that Creon and Teiresias are attempting to dethrone him (445). This serves as a prime example of where Sophocles includes sight imagery in Oedipus.

Not only is the sense of sight a vital piece to the story’s puzzle, but the senses of touch and sound also play significant roles. Using a blend of the senses of sight, sound, and touch, Sophocles creates a surreal feeling to make the situations much more interesting.  From the beginning of the story, it is apparent the text encompasses scenic wording.  In the beginning, Oedipus states “the town is heavy with a mingled burden of sounds and smells, of groans and hymns and incense…”, painting a picture that makes readers want to continue reading (2-4). The way Sophocles depicts the town places the audience in a precise figment of Thebes, forging a subliminal relationship between themselves and the setting of the story.

In the political cartoon below, President Obama receives a prophecy for his future and discovers his future is not bright. Thus, he portrays a long, disgusted facial appearance. Much like this cartoon, the news Oedipus hears from Teiresias does not please him, and he gets angry.