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"You have your eyes but see not where you are in sin, nor where you live, nor whom you live with." These are the words that Sophocles uses to introduce readers to the irony of the oracles told to Oedipus and Jocasta; an irony that ends in Oedipus blinding himself, as he cannot handle to see the truth. In Oedipus Rex, a tragic drama, the element of irony is introduced early on in the story; the blind can see the truth, but once the sighted sees the truth, they too shall become blind. This constant sense of suspicion and speculation keeps the reader engrossed in the complex plot. From the time both oracles are told, readers are able to sense the element of irony.
"...And it told him that it was fate that he should die a victim at the hands of his own son...," Jocasta begins telling Oedipus of the oracle that one of Phoebus' servants had told her regarding Laius. Jocasta continues telling the details of the oracle to Oedipus, but also states that
Laius, was in form not unlike Oedipus. This clues the reader into the fact that Oedipus could possibly be the son of Laius, which ...
(l.131)” In a desperate situation to save. his city, Oedipus focuses on Laios’ murder, consequently beginning the play with the mystery of, “Who killed King Laios?” To help him in his. quest, Oedipus calls for the blind prophet Teiresias to use his powers.
When Jocasta describes Laius' murder,it is easy to piece the story together and figure out that Oedipus was the murderer. The only reason that Oedipus does not realize the truth is because he does not want to, he is in denial and refuses to accept his identity. Likewise, when the messenger is speaking of the child brought to Polybus and Merope with bounded ankles, Oedipus should have realized that he was the child the messenger was speaking of, but he still refused to completely believe it until the herdsman was able to corroborate the messenger's
Throughout the play, Oedipus is faced with the truth and fails to acknowledge it. He is first told by the drunk at the party, but he dismisses it as just something said by an ignorant drunk. He then visits the oracle and is told his fate determined by the gods and believes he can escape it by fleeing to Thebes. On his way he carries out the first part of the fate by killing his father. He then makes it to Thebes and marries Jocasta, unknowingly fulfilling the fate. Teiresias finally tells Oedipus the horrible truth, but Oedipus calls him a liar and fails to recognize the truth again. When Oedipus finally figures that what the oracle, drunk, and Teiresias was all true, he cannot handle it and blinds himself while Jocasta kills herself.
In the play "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles, the author presents us with several instances of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. Dramatic irony plays an important part in "Oedipus the King", because it is used to describe Oedipus' character as arrogant and blind toward the truth. The audience is expected to understand Oedipus' history well before he does. In the first three episodes, Oedipus uses a lot of dramatic irony in his speeches.
In the beginning of the play, Oedipus has perfect physical vision. However, he is blind and ignorant to the truth about himself and his past. He desperately wants to know, to see, but he cannot. Oedipus' blindness which must be considered is that many times throughout the course of the action he is warned not to pursue the matter any further, for fear that the truth could be damaging to him as the prophesies would suggests. The events are made all the more tragic at the point where he thinks he can 'see' when he at last realizes that he is in fact the murderer of Laius, and yet he is still blind to the final horrible truth. To make the situation worst Jocasta his wife advises Oedipus not to pursue the matter further: "Stop-in the name of god, ….call off this search!" Jocasta has seen the truth but Oedipus is only worried in she finds out he was not of noble birth.
Jocasta’s blindness to the truth ruins her relationship with Oedipus unlike Gertrude’s blindness which merely taints her relationship with Hamlet. Primarily, as Oedipus comes closer to discovering the truth, Jocasta begs him to stop searching. She pleads with him yelling “No! In God’s name – if you want to live, this/ must not go on. Have I not suffered enough?/... I know I am right. I’m warning you for your own good.” (Sophocles 55). It is clear that Jocasta knows the truth and all along yet she refuses to tell Oedipus .She tries very hard to ignore the fact that Oedipus is her son because she knows once he discovers the truth, he will not even be able to look her in the eyes. It terrifies Jocasta to know that once Oedipus realizes that she is aware of the truth all along he will loathe her. Nothing hurts her more than knowing that the one she loves despises her. Jocasta can evade these unfortunate events if she did not ignore the obvious truth before her. Moreover, Jocasta desperately hopes that Oedipus dies before he u...
People can be “blinded” to the truth. The answer to their question or solution to their problem may have been obvious. Yet, they could not "see" the answer. They were blinded to the truth. Associations have been made between being blind and enlightened. A blind person is said to have powers to see invisible things. They "see" into the future. The blind may not have physical sight, but they have another kind of vision. In Sophocles' King Oedipus, Teiresias, the blind prophet, presents the truth to King Oedipus and Jocasta. Oedipus has been blinded to the truth his whole life. When he does find the truth, he loses his physical vision. Because of the truth, Oedipus blinds himself. Jocasta was blind to the true identity of Oedipus. Even when she found out the truth, she refused to accept it. In this case, those who are blind ultimately do have a higher vision - the truth.
Murray, Robert D. Jr. ?Sophocles? Moral Themes.? In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
As the play draws to a close, it is shown how Oedipus learns the true nature of things. Oedipus remains blind to the truth until he can deny it no longer. After hearing the testimony of the herdsman it is perfectly clear to Oedipus that he has fulfilled the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother, in turn bringing the great misfortune about the city of Thebes. Upon discovering the truth, along with discovering Jocasta’s dead body, Oedipus blinds himself with the pins on her dress and shouts that his eyes “would no longer see the evils he had suffered or had done, see in the dark those he should not have seen.” (1280-1282).
Dramatic irony in Oedipus the King is evident throughout, which is similar to the latter play, but in a different form. In here, the irony is evident. Oedipus the King revolves around characters' attempts to change their destiny (which fails) - Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus and Oedipus's flight from Corinth. Each time somebody tries to avert the future, the audience knows their attempt is futile, creating irony. When Jocasta and Oedipus mock the oracles, they continue to suspect that they were right. Oedipus discounts the oracles' power, but believes in his ability to uncover the truth, yet they lead to the same outcome. His intelligence is what makes him great, but it is also what causes the tragedy. When he ridded Thebes of the Sphinx, Oedipus is the city's saviour, but by killing Laius and marrying Jocasta, he is its affliction, causing the blight that strikes the city during the opening. Meanwhile, the characters, especially Teiresias, mention sight, light, darkness, &c as metaphors, while referring to `seeing the truth'. However, while Teiresias knows the truth and is blind, Oedipus can see all but the truth. When he discovers the truth, he becomes blind. Also, he does not just solve the Sphinx's riddle - he is its answer. His birth is mentioned throughout the play (crawling on `4 legs'), and he never relies on anybody but himself (`standing on his own `2 legs'),...
First off, Teiresias is hinting at the fact that Oedipus’ relationship with Jocasta is a “sinful union” (Sophocles 36). Oedipus is unable to make the connection between what Teiresias is saying and his own prophecy. Oedipus does not want to acknowledge the fact that he has committed a sin and he avoids learning the truth by remaining ignorant of his true parentage. On top of this, when Teiresias outright tells Oedipus that “the killer [he is] seeking is [himself]” (Sophocles 36). Oedipus refuses to believe this and instead accuses Teiresias of lying and plotting against him. Oedipus, as a known intelligent character, should have listened to Teiresias, who is known for being a wise man; instead, Oedipus puts the blame on Teiresias. Teiresias then goes on to foreshadow that the “taunts” (Sophocles 36) Oedipus is throwing at him will “someday [be] cast at [him]” (Sophocles 36). Oedipus does not take the warning of Teiresias seriously instead he continues to insult Teiresias. Oedipus’ inability to face the truth will result in him being banned and blinding himself for his ignorance. Similarly, Jocasta attempts to prevent Oedipus from gaining knowledge by explaining that “[i]t makes no difference now” (Sophocles 55) and to “[f]orget” (Sophocles 55) what has been told to him. Jocasta not only tries to stop Oedipus from learning the truth, she also tries to stop herself from verifying the truth, this later results in her unfortunate suicide. Also, Jocasta’s ignorance and inability to discover Oedipus’ true past causes her to commit incest, a major sin. Jocasta and Oedipus committing this sin then result in the God’s punishing Thebes. Showing that, ignorance leads to
In Oedipus the King, Sophocles suggests that the impact of seeing the truth is harmful rather than enlightening. Whenever Oedipus strives to discover more to strengthen Thebes’ perspective of him, it leads him closer to his fate as determined by prophesy. Tiresias stands as a model in the play for the individual who is able to see the meaning beyond plot of events although his is blind, and Oedipus represents the oblivious arrogant individual who is never content because they need to be the unsurpassed individual. In the play, Sophocles illustrates the downside of a personality like Oedipus who desires to see the truth by ending the play with the brutality of gouging out his own eyes. Ultimately, the play reinforces that seeing the truth is harmful and being content with what you have, without greedily striving for more, can help avoid fate and a related deposition.
When Oedipus inquires “who is this man whose fate the god pronounces?” (1740) after this inquiry almost every statement made by Oedipus becomes ironic because he is referring to himself though he is yet to find out. The audience is aware that the more he looks into the murder of the former king Laius the worse it is going to be for him. Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony keeps the audience one step ahead of the protagonist so they are able to see the errors made by Oedipus. Because the audience has had time to figure what the mistakes are, they are more emotionally invested in how Oedipus will react when he finally understands all the mistakes he has made through the play. As the play progresses the audiences attitude about Oedipus starts to slowly shift; the emotions start to become deeper and we start to see that though he is guilty of murder empathize with
Shortly thereafter Oedipus learns the truth. He gouges out his very own eyes when he sees that Jocasta killed herself. At this point his attitude towards Creon changes and he requests his presence. Creon automatically assumes the role as king. Oedipus tries to convince Creon to put him into exile, but Creon feels that he should check with the gods first.
This "enlightening" starts with the revelations of a blind prophet named Tiresias. Though sightless, Tiresias can "see" the truth. He argues with Oedipus "...you have your sight, and do not see... . Yea, you are ignorant... ."(Sophocles, 15). Understandably, Oedipus is enraged at the prophet's accusations and fatally insists on investigating the murder of King Laius.