Oedipus Rex
...that one day he shall murder his father and marry his own mother. Oedipus did not know that he was the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta. As a baby, King Laius and Queen Jocasta commanded a shepherd to pin Little Oedipus' ankles and place him at the top of a mountain to die. The shepherd instead, gave Oedipus to the messenger of Corinth, and was then given to the king and queen of Corinth. When Oedipus grew older, he traveled to Thebes and met King Laius, still not knowing that was his real father, and killed him. This play is very dramatic and contains many examples of dramatic irony and symbolism and also tragic flaw/tragic hero.
Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that the character(s) don't. Throughout the play Oedipus Rex, there were many examples of dramatic irony. For example, Oedipus tell the people that he is as good as a mortal can get. The truth is that he is not a good person because he murdered King Laius, and he should be the person killed or punished. Another example is when Oedipus told Creon that he has heard about Laius, but he has never seen nor met him before. The audience knows that he has seen Laius before because he killed or murdered him. One last example is when Oedipus states in his speech that he is a "stranger to this tale, as I have been a stranger to this crime." He is saying that he knows nothing about Laius' death and doesn't have a clue or idea who the murder is. The audience knows that he is the murderer and that he has created a lie. Therefore, this shows the reader what kind of character or person Oedipus is, which is a selfish, rude, not truthful and unworthy.
Symbolism is when things are represented by symbols or by what a character says that has a symbolic meaning or significance to an object, event, or relationship. One example is when Teiresias blew off an Oedipus saying, "But I...
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