Oedipus the Ironic

The first time I read this story was my senior year of high school.  I had an English teacher who really didn’t care much about what was going on in the class and a roomful of students who couldn’t care less about classic literature.  Thus, my first exposition was not necessarily a positive one.  Something I did enjoy though, was watching the play on a DVD that my teacher brought in to show the class.  It was really old and badly acted, but it gave life to the story that monotone popcorn-reading just didn’t offer. 

Something that stood out to me the first time I read it and again as I analyzed the story for this class was the awesome dramatic irony that comes into play.  Like “Ozymandias,” this story is all about a downfall of one who was once great.  Even from the beginning, Oedipus is glorified for his wit and daring deeds, and it’s plain to see that he sees himself as unconquerable.  But then our buddy Teiresias informs him plainly of his warped identity and is an excellent example of dramatic contrast.  Once forced, Teiresias is blunt and to the point with Oedipus, telling him plainly the things that our poor ruler doesn’t want to hear.  Oedipus’s flat denial makes the truth all the more cutting.  

Starting out the story with an exposition of the truth leaves us as an audience squirming and antsy as we watch Oedipus discover it for himself until he cannot deny the murder and incest any longer.

This is a technique that keeps us riveted cathartically.  Most people, especially me, have denied something over and over, swearing up and down that it isn’t true, only to discover the veracity in a usually embarrassing manner.  The intense irony in this short play is something real to us, which makes us able to relate to Oedipus, though hopefully we cannot relate with the fact that he killed his dad and reproduced with his mom.

I think this story, while disturbing, is genius and thought-provoking.  It is painful to read, but leaves a lasting impression, possibly by the distorted nature of the plot, but also because of the skillful dramatic irony of which it is composed.  Even on a class of uninterested high school seniors.