. The audience knows this is not actually good news, at least not to Oedipus, since he is the killer. However, the first true example of dramatic irony was when Oedipus pronounces the punishment for whomever the killer of Laius was. Since no one had come forward as the killer, Oedipus assures his people he will pursue the investigation of Laius’ death “as I would fight / For my own father,” but the audience knows Laius really was his father.Later, after Jocasta stops Creon and Oedipus’ bickering, she asks the chorus what happened. They reply, “Ask not / Again; enough our stricken country’s shame. / To let this other rest / Where it remains, were best,” in other words, “Don’t ask any more. There might be some problems later.” Yet Jocasta followed her husband’s wishes to see the shepherd, only to find out he was the one whom her son was given to.In an attempt to help Oedipus in his quest for truth, Jocasta goes to the holy temples of the gods. She asks Apollo to save them from the curse. Apollo, though, was the one who prophesized Oedipus’ fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. Apollo certainly was not going improve matters for Jocasta or Oedipus.The Grecian plays of Sophocles’ time observed three basic unties, in order to enhance the use of irony: the unity of time, the unity of setting, and the unity of character. Oedipus Rex was no exception.Oedipus Rex observed the Unity of Time by only portraying the play’s events within a day. The history behind Oedipus’ birth is not in the play itself since it is assumed the audience already knows it. The play continues uninterrupted throughout. Toward the end of the play Creon mentions “the sun above us,” perhaps still indicating there is still light outside.The Unity of Setting is clearly shown. All scenes occur in front of the King’s Palace. The people of Thebes gather there a...
