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Why irony makes Tragedy better.

Bonus: Can you solve the famous riddle?

By Iona JacksonPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
2
Oedipus and the Sphinx

Why irony makes tragedy better, looking specifically at the Ancient Greek playwrite Sophocles and his version of the myth of Oedipus the King, and how his use of irony enhances the audiences enjoyment of this timeless play.

So in order to evaluate Sophocles’ use of irony in his production of Oedipus the King, it is crucial firstly, to look at relevant ironic examples from the text chronologically. Secondly, to see how effective Sophocles’ use of irony is, it is important to consider audiences from ancient and modern times. Thirdly, the play must be looked at in context to Sophocles’ contemporaries. ( It must also be noted that Sophocles was writing for an audience who would most likely have already known the story of the tragic King, through oral tellings through the generations, this must be taken into account when looking at the audiences reactions at the time of Sophocles’ writing.)

To begin with the story of Oedipus in which he kills his father and marries his mother is, in itself, ironic. This is because Oedipus does not know who he is. Sophocles uses irony to enforce this and the cruelty of Oedipus’ fate. “ I curse myself as well...if by any chance he proves to be an intimate of our house...” O.T 284-5 Oedipus. This is ironic because Oedipus is referring to himself without realising. This impresses upon the audience the realisation of just how far Oedipus is going to fall. This is painful to watch, yet irresistible due to the compelling nature of Sophocles’ writing which draws the audience in, conjuring up several different emotions and responses in quick succession. What intensifies these reactions is that Oedipus portrays all the character flaws of a tragic hero, and, the amount of delicious irony featured in the play.

The first ironic indication of just how bad things are going to get for Oedipus, comes from Creon. “Good news...if they should turn out well, all would be well.” O.T 100 Creon. The irony here is that nothing is going to turn out well for Oedipus. This is also the first time the audience feel a small amount of pity towards any character in the play. The Chorus add to this through their own ignorance “ If the man [murderer] has a trace of fear in him he won’t stay silent for long...” O.T 333-4 Leader of the Chorus. This is ironic as Oedipus is the murderer they all seek, he doesn’t know it, and so he will stay silent for the rest of the play. Here Sophocles gives the audience an increased sense of knowing over the Chorus, because the Chorus is being unwittingly ironic, and in doing so this heightens the audiences enjoyment of the play. This line from the Chorus leader also deepens the audiences sense of pity for Oedipus, as it reminds the audience of his hideous fate.

Sophocles cleverly uses irony to evoke pathos (pity) in his audience. By using irony to inspire pity, Sophocles creates more of a personnel and emotional response towards his play and characters. Through the whole play, a part of you does not want Oedipus to find out who he is “...is there a man more agonized?” O.T 1331 Chorus. We know that pity was a very important factor in tragedy. Aristotle in his Poetics says “...the poet should produce the pleasure which comes from pity and fear...” Poetics 14 53b Even though Aristotle was writing after Sophocles had died, Sophocles’ production of Oedipus the King must still have very much been in the public consciousness for it to have been relevant enough for Aristotle to talk about it. This is very important because Aristotle is highlighting how the audience best enjoys tragedy. Aristotle is a reliable source because his Poetics was a technical study into plays and stories. On the other hand there are moments during the play where the audience feel Oedipus should know the truth, purely out of vindictiveness, effectively splitting the audiences minds in two. The irony in this is most strongly felt when Oedipus consults the Prophet Tiresias.

The first thing Tiresias says about Oedipus is “How terrible to see the truth when the truth is only pain to him who sees!” O.T 359-360 Tiresias. Immediately we can see that there is much irony in this statement. Firstly, Tiresias is blind yet he can see the truth. Secondly, when Oedipus eventually does find out the truth, he will blind himself (and he will be in pain because he knows the truth). Following on from when Tiresias says this, the audience feel pity towards him: does he tell Oedipus the truth about his circumstances? Or does he stay silent prolonging the moment of Oedipus’ suffering? The irony is that both potentially result in Tiresias’ exile or death. Given Tiresias’ attitude, Oedipus’ response (“....and given eyes I’d say you did the killing single handed!” O.T 396-7 Oedipus) is equally ironic.

Jocasta is the last main ironical character to appear,“ Listen to me and learn some peace of mind..” O.T 780 Jocasta. This is ironic because it makes Oedipus’ situation worse, but also gives Oedipus help to solve the mystery of Laius’ murder, and the mystery of his own identity. Also it shows Jocasta’s arrogance and folly, thinking that she and Laius managed to outsmart the gods (O.T 781-2 Jocasta). The irony is that Jocasta dismisses Oedipus’ worry about any prophecies, claiming them to be irrelevant, when unbeknownst to her the prophecy told to her and Laius came true. It also ironic that the audience feels a slight pleasure in her folly as a reaction to her unjust arrogance. All this shows the power of one simple ironic sentence. Later on Jocasta then contradicts herself: first she disregards the prophecies of the gods, then she goes to the gods for help: (O.T 998-9 Jocasta.), and ironically she prays to Apollo, (“so I turn to you, Apollo..” O.T 1007 Jocasta.) who created all the events leading up to and featuring in the play. In the final act of the play there are only two non ironic characters to arrive, both of whom bring the truth, about Laius’ murder and Oedipus’ parentage. After they appear, the irony in the play stops, and for the rest of the play the audience are left with just the tragedy.

Today, if Sophocles’ Oedipus the King was stage produced exactly how he wrote it, and was performed in front of an audience who did not know the story then their reaction would be different to that of Sophocles’ knowledgable audience. An ignorant audience today would not be able to see all the irony that Sophocles used. Instead of the audience torn between wanting Oedipus to know the truth, and for him to never find out, an audience who don’t know his fate are wholly sided with him. They want to know who the killer of Laius is, and would instead agree with Oedipus’ anger at Tiresias. This therefore does not allow the ignorant audience to feel the range of emotions Sophocles intended with his use of irony. The irony here also gives the audience a sense of power over Oedipus, who is the most powerful person in the play. Due to this it can be conceived that Sophocles’ use of irony in the play makes it a more thrilling and exciting production.

We must also consider Sophocles contemporaries (Aeschylus and Euripides), and what made Sophocles’ version of the story different. Our first knowledge of the story of Oedipus the King is from Homer. Originally it would have been told from generation to generation through oral tradition. It has since been interpreted in the form of plays, by Sophocles and his contemporaries. Not many of Sophocles’ contemporaries used a large amount of irony in their plays. This therefore gives an edge to his Oedipus the King. It seems that both Aeschylus and Euripides focus more on the stories they are telling and how each of their characters fit into those stories. In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon he has used the irony of Cassandra’s (the prophetess) tale and interwoven it into the death of Agamemnon. He has not placed any intentional irony of his own in the play. This is perhaps because Aeschylus is seen as a very traditional play-write. It is known that Aeschylus wrote a version of the Oedipus story, unfortunately not much is known about this production as it has not survived today. Euripides does use some irony in his Bacchae, (i.e. when Pentheus becomes deranged from Dionysus‘ influence). Despite this Euripides only uses a small amount of irony to enhance the madness of Pentheus. Whereas in Oedipus the King Sophocles uses irony, through all his characters, to heighten the enjoyment of the whole tragedy. Euripides also wrote a version of Oedipus the King, from which only fragments of it remain. Sophocles use of irony makes sure his version of Oedipus the King is very different from other productions.

In conclusion, the irony helps Sophocles’ version to stand out amongst his fellow play-writes productions, and in the minds of audiences’ and scholars alike from the ancients through to today. It is a general consensus that this version of the play, is widely viewed as the definitive version of this myth.

Bonus: Can you solve it?

"What walks on four legs in the Morning, two legs in the Afternoon and three legs in the Evening?"

This is the famous riddle asked of Oedipus by the Sphinx outside the gates of Thebes. It is Oedipus' intelligence which solves the riddle and casts the Sphinx to her death in dispear of been given the right awnser. It is this event that makes Oedipus, the King of Thebes and husband to his own mother (unbeknownst by all) and so starts the beginning of the play.

Bibliography.

Aristotle. Poetics translated with an introduction and notes by Malcolm Heath. Penguin 1996

Sophocles. Oedipus the King Translated by Robert Fagles with an introduction and notes by Bernard Knox. Penguin 1984

Image: Oedipus and the Sphinx Red Kylix 420BC

Answer to the riddle: Man (as in Mankind,) starting off as a baby crawling on all fours, standing on two legs as an adult, and using a walking stick (third leg) in old age.

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