Use of Irony in "Oedipus Rex"
             Many sources tell us that Sophocles wrote more then one
             hundred plays, but only seven of them have survived the
             centuries in their entirety. Certainly the best known of his
             surviving plays is "Oedipus Rex." The plot of the play
             hinges on the element of irony. Irony can be defined as "a
             combination of circumstances or a result that is the
             opposite of what is or might be expected or considered
             appropriate," (Guralnik, Webster's, 1968, p. 745). Irony is
             one of the prevailing and defining characteristics of the
             play.
             The first event that sets the whole tragic tale in
             motion is when Laius, King of Thebes, is told by a prophet
             that any child that is born to him and his queen, Jocasta,
             will murder him. Therefore, when a child is born to him, he
             pierces the baby's ankles with a spike, ties them together,
             and has a servant leave the child on Mount Cithaeron to die
             from exposure. This is ironic because if Laius had not
             attempted to murder his own child, Oedipus would not have
             been found and raised by strangers. He would have known
             Jocasta was his mother. Ironically(and disgustingly, Oedipus
             marries her and produces several children). Also, without
             his violent temper, he would not have killed his father on
             the road to the Oracle if had had been aware of his
             identity.
             As a baby, Oedipus is found by a shepherd, and taken
             back to Corinth where he is raised as the son of King
             Polybus, and his queen, Merope. After he is grown, Oedipus
             is told by a drunken man at a banquet that he really isn't
             the son of Polybus. Confused, Oedipus is determined to learn
             the truth. H visionary oracle. The horrified woman sends
             him away saying that he will murder his father and marry his
             mother. The prophecy disturbs Oedipus so much that he
             doesn't return in the hopes of preventing the prophecy from
             coming true. But, in so doing, he defied the will of the
             gods, and sealed his fate.
             This is, of...