The Signifigance Of Irony, Metaphor, And Reverasal Of Situation In Oed

The Signifigance of Irony, Metaphor, and Reverasal of Situation in Oedipus Rex Oedipus Rex is a tragedy of a man who attempts to flee a prophecy out of fear of what the future may hold for him, and in doing so blindly falls straight into his tragic fate. The use of literary devices in this play such as irony, metaphor, and reversal of situation in this play help to weave Sophocles' masterpiece tragedy in to a work of art to be appreciated for centuries to come. The literary artwork of Oedipus Rex makes it a tragedy honorable of the title "perfection". As these threads of literary devices join together throughout the play, they weave the magnificent tapestry of Oedipus Rex. In the play Oedipus Rex, there are many hints of irony laced throughout this tragic play. The plot of the play in itself is ironic: Oedipus' goal in the play is to find the source of the plagues haunting Thebes, a search which ironically leads to the main hunter, himself. Many of these threads of irony are found in the third scene of the play. For example, in the beginning of scene three, Iokaste begins the scene by presenting a prayer to the Gods to help her land in this time of turmoil. In these opening lines, Iokaste observes that the "king is not himself" (scene 3, line 4). In this part of the play, Iokaste is only referring to Oedipus' mood. Iokaste will later in the play discover that Oedipus is indeed not the same person that she believes him to be. Iokaste had given birth to a child that she was prophesied to marry years later, and so not to shame herself with this event in the future; she bound the baby and left it in the forest to die. What she does not know is that another family found him, and raised him, and he is now the man that she has married in Laius' absence. Another spot of irony in scene three of the play: In line 182, Oedipus blindly boasts when speaking on why he insists that he pursue the truth "I am a child of luck, I cannot be dishonored". Ironically, Oedipus is actually extremely unlucky as he blindly follows a path that he thinks will lead him away from his predestined fate. In reality, this path only leads him directly to it. Another thread of irony To add color to the Oedipus Rex tapestry, Sophocles adds to his play the threads of metaphor. The riddle of the Sphinx becomes a metaphor for Oedipus himself. Oedipus is the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits, which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus' life and to further characterized him as a tragic man. The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of Thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?" Oedipus correctly answered "Man" and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well-being. Oedipus was the child of Iokaste and King Laius who was taken to the mountain by a Shepard to be killed so the omen of the god Apollo that Laius' son would kill him and lay with Iokaste would not come true. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. If it has not been for the Shepard sparing his life and giving him to Polybus to raise as his own Oedipus would have died. Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. This is a metaphor for Oedipus when he reaches adulthood and leaves Corinth to escape the oracle. Oedipus meets up