Irony and Tragedy in Literary Works: A Human Element

Introduction

Irony is a very common term in most literature and writing. From the Oedipus Rex there very man instances of irony that vary from situational, dramatic irony, the cosmic irony. However, tragedy is an example of a human element that is based on experiences which in most author it forms some of the greatest work in most literature which are written in the western tradition. For some literature, they review tragedy embodies one of the highest forms of humanity. Through hard times and struggle human being are able to reveal themselves completely. On the other hand, tragedy can be considered as an element of molarity where the human can use it to learn well about people who tempt to be gods. According to Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher make an outline about the theory of strategy as archetypal drama all of his classical work, the poetics. In the play, the Oedipus, the king by Sophocles makes great use of cosmic irony. Sophocles liberally make use of irony through the Oedipus the king. From the start of the play, every audience is quite aware of the prophecy that is to be made by Oedipus. The reading of the play forms the oracle shows that the Oedipus was bound to kill his dad and get married to his mother. Despite the fact, Oedipus seems quite reluctant about his destiny very reader understands the sudden fate of the character. This essay will make a clear discussion on the use of cosmic strategy as used in the play.

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Cosmic irony is first utilized in antiquated Greek disaster and it's later seen practically in all the tragedies in the play. Irony includes the differentiation of two different parts of a similar circumstance or comment. First, the comment that is made by the character in a play can make the mean or quite significant to other character bringing up in the plot. On the other hand, the circumstance can have double hugeness, an example is that a calamity might be predicted by the groups on onlooker in the play while the characters of the play have little information of the prediction. The importance of irony is that it uplifts the disgraceful impact. Sophocles in the play utilizes tragic irony with a striking impact in all his plays (Sophocles, 2014).

The play scene between Teiresias and Oedipus is mainly loaded with cosmic irony throughout. Teiresias in the play is a prophet who has knowledge of everything while taking a look at Oedipus he has little knowledge of himself and his full capacity. Teiresias might have not wanted to unveil this mystery to Oedipus but rather Oedipus rapidly loses his temple which prompts the prophet to say what he needed to know. According to Teiresias, he considers himself to Oedipus as the blameworthy man who lives in a very corrupt union but ironically, he cherishes the union. The words have a complete effect to Oedipus (Lauriola, p.302). Teiresias charges irritate Oedipus and Oedipus affronts Teiresias as a blind drunkard demonstrating his Oedipus own inner visual impairment which quite ironic. The irony in this scene lies in the way the prophet, has the knowledge of the reality despite the fact that he is physically impaired while Oedipus having a typical good vision is completely oblivious about the truth that he is told Teiresias. There is another instance of cosmic irony in the differentiation between how Oedipus is supposed to be as compared to his current state. Teiresias refers to his past as triumph over the Sphinx. (Lauriola, p.156).

The awful forecast that is made by Teiresias in regard to Oedipus destiny which is in store for him like is a form of cosmic irony. This is because we are able to understand their lamentable import, according to the play Oedipus regards them as a raving of a lunatic. These forecasts turn out to be more terrible when we have an insight that they will obviously turn out to be legitimate and valid. Teiresias in the play makes a caution to Oedipus regarding the Laius enemy would eventually get Oedipus dazzled, homeless and an outcast to the father and the siblings he cherished. He would turn out to be a spouse to her mother and he would be the one to execute his father. Certainly, even the play chorus, unmindful of the realities decline to accept what prophet had said in regard to the destiny of Oedipus. It's ironic that both the chorus and Oedipus are quite unconscious about the truth but the onlookers and Teiresias are completely mindful of Oedipus truth (Steiner, 2014).

In the play, there is another instance of the scene with Jocasta. Jocasta and Oedipus are quite mindful of the genuine certainties. When you look at the group of the onlookers, who are quite mindful of the truth, have an encounter with quite profound distress at the two characters destiny would be overwhelming (Zepf, p.645). According to the play, Jocasta is very distrustful of the prophets. According to Jocasta, she supposes that their no man who has the mystery of divination and through proof of the ignorance other people did to the tyke who as he was indicated by a prophet that he was to murder his father. There is a discernable cosmic irony in how Jocasta unbelief the prophet and her referring to the evidence to the Oedipus case which is used to demonstrate the reality the prophet gotten by Jocasta and also the late Laius. This irony is extended to Jocasta's catastrophe (Sophocles p.34).

There is cosmic irony in the record of Oedipus life which he provides to Jocasta. Oedipus thinks that he is the child of Merope and Polybus. Oedipus fled from Corinth after the prophet had let him know about the violation the prophet had prophesied about him. Oedipus from the start he felt that he had abstained from perpetrating the wrongdoings characters by the prophet. Form the play we view Oedipus unconsciously playing some activities which highly promote the justification of the expected prediction which Oedipus endeavored to provide him with a false representation of himself which is similar to the king Laius he was taken edgy. At the point when the Corinthians brings the news that Polybus was dead. It's ironic that Jocasta gets his opportunity to taunt the prophecy made by the prophets without having an understanding that her hoke would later betray her.

Jocasta in the play reveals to Oedipus that there is a void of the prophets basing her argument of the grounds that Polybus who he accepted as his father had a dead controller to the prophet's prediction. There is also in the straightforward answer that is said the ambassador about Jocasta was a "genuine associate" of a person like Oedipus. This is ironic in the aspect that neither Jocasta or the envoy who awful these words were but they had great significance in cosmic irony development. It's ironic that Jocasta makes a very ecstatic discourse on herself as a person with attractive qualities of living as the only invention of her creative skill. Soo is ironic that she makes this particular discloser just a couple minute before the realism struck on her (Steiner, p.435).

The chorus's melody, after Jocasta left in her spam of agony and anguish, is in a brimming cosmic irony. According to the play the chorus pays tribute to what was actually supposed to be the Oedipus awesome parentage hence there is a major differentiation that is there between the supposition of the genuine reality and the chorus. It's ironic that after the landing of Theban shepherd it's the actual time the catastrophe is anticipated to come (Sophocles, 2014).

According to Steiner in (2016), he argues that the book is swarming with cosmic irony. This contradicts a character like Oedipus who clearly understand people like Teiresias. He explains that where a character finds themselves not omniscient, people gathering is aware of it. In the play, the onlookers perfectly understand and know the story and what shocks the onlooker is in the way the closures are accomplished. In the play, the onlookers realize that the character Oedipus is very genuine with a deception where Oedipus claims that 'he should talk like an outsider to all the question and an outsider to the activity. This lie is quantified with the abnormality in the life of Oedipus form killing king Laius and hence wedded queen Jocasta his mother and even more abnormal in the of not being a genuine outsider.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cosmic irony has been expressed in details in the play. The cosmic irony is bigger in the play because of the reversal of the entire activities of the play. This form Oedipus ironically not using is virtual ability to see the importance of the message of the prophets which ironically turn out be real. The cosmic irony has also been highlighted about Jocasta and Oedipus. This hence clearly concludes that Sophocles liberally make use of irony through the Oedipus the king. From the start of the play, every audience is quite aware of the prophecy that is to be made by Oedipus. The reading of the play forms the oracle shows that the Oedipus was bound to kill his dad and get married to his mother. Despite the fact, Oedipus seems quite reluctant about his destiny very reader understands the sudden fate of the character.

Work Cited

Lauriola, R. (2017). Oedipus the King. In Brill's Companion to the Reception of Sophocles (pp. 147-325). BRILL.

Sophocles Plays: 1: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.Steiner, J. (2016). Illusion, disillusion, and irony in psychoanalysis. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 85(2), 427-447.

Zepf, Siegfried, Burkhard Ullrich, and Dietmar Seel. "Oedipus and the Oedipus complex: a revision." The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 97.3 (2016): 685-707.