Oedipus. Sophocles constructs this play in a way that captivates the audiences attention, even if the audience already knows the final outcome. How does he achieve such dramatic suspense?

the play. In Oedipus the king, dramatic irony was used as a tool to develop the play. It develops the play through misery towards Oedipus, creating suspense. It’s used to create suspense because even though the readers know about the prophecies of Oedipus and what his fate has made him do, the readers don’t know how he will react when he finds out that the prophecies aren’t wrong. Well, according to him he thinks that he proved them wrong but the readers know that he hasn’t and that he is unaware of it. Some examples of dramatic irony used in this play are: when Oedipus tells Thebes “Well I know you are sick to death, all of you, but sick as you are, not one is sick as I your pain strikes each of you alone, each in the confines of himself, no other” this is a speech Oedipus gives to the people of Thebes because there is a plague that is causing death. There is dramatic irony involved in this because people of Thebes have come to Oedipus to ask him to free the city of the plague but he is the one who is actually causing it; when Oedipus tells Thebes “he will suffer no unbearable punishment, nothing worse than exile, totally unharmed” this is one of the dramatic ironies in the play as the readers know that he was the murderer of Lauis but he does not know that so he says that the killer will not suffer unbearable punishment if he speaks up now without knowing that he is the killer; when Oedipus tell Thebes “so I will fight for him as if he were my father” this is another dramatic irony included in this play as the readers know that Oedipus is actually lauis’s son but Oedipus does not know that so he says “as IF he were my father”; “Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is, a lone man unknown in his crime or one among many, let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step” this is dramatic irony because the readers know that he is the killer but he does not know that so he is cursing the murder but he is actually cursing his self but he is ignorant about that; when Oedipus tells Tiresias “Blind, lost in the night, endless night that nursed you! You can’t hurt me or anyone else who sees the light. You can never touch me.” this quote tells us that Oedipus is insulting Tiresias’s blindness and this is one of the dramatic irony involved in the play as its Oedipus who is blind about the truth she he will also soon be blind but he does not know that but the readers do.         Irony also plays a main role in Oedipus the king. It helps to build more suspense and it makes the play more interesting. An example of irony used to help build more suspense is: when Oedipus was not blind he couldn’t see the truth but now that he is actually blind he can see the truth.         Verbal irony is also used in Oedipus the king to help build up more suspense. Verbal irony is when there is an opposition between what the characters say and what they actually mean. An example of verbal irony used in this play is when Oedipus says “i will fight for him as if he were my father” this is verbal irony as Oedipus is actually fighting for his father but he is unaware of it.         Another way which Sophocles achieves such dramatic suspense is some certain parts in the play which makes the reader on the edge of his/her seat wanting to know what’s going to happen next. Those certain parts are: when Oedipus enters the palace and sees Jocasta dead. This causes suspense as the readers aren’t sure if Oedipus will also kill himself because even though the readers know the prophecies and what Oedipus’s fate is they can’t be so sure that the prophecies aren’t wrong and that Oedipus did not prove it wrong; when Oedipus talks about the murderer of Laius and how he will banish him, never shelter him, never speak a word to him, never make him partner to your prayers, your victims burned to the gods and never let holly water touch his hands. This creates suspense as the readers know that he is the real killer so this makes the reader wonder how Oedipus is going to react when he finds out that he is the one who killed Laius. Looking from the readers point of view they know how Oedipus’s character is and they know how angry Oedipus is with Laius’s killer so this helps to create more suspense and so when the reader thinks about how Oedipus is going to react when he finds out he is the killer it creates more suspense and makes the reader want to keep reading the play.         As conclusion, even if the readers already know the final outcome. Sophocles has used many techniques to achieve such dramatic suspense such as: dramatic irony; irony; verbal irony and he has just written the play in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading.