In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus is looking for the king’s murderer. Ironically it turns out that Oedipus had unintentionally and unknowingly killed the king on his way to the kingdom some years beforehand. The most significant lines in the story come from Oedipus in his speech to the people of the city cursing the person or persons who killed the king and threatened those who knowingly hid him. “Now my curse on …showed first 75 words of 320 total…

…showed last 75 words of 320 total…king marrying his own mother. The curse he called down on himself came true as his mother/wife Jocasta kills herself in shame. He was banished from the kingdom for the good of the people. This is because he has brought a famine upon his people stemming from his murderous deeds. This play by Sophocles is one filled with irony. Perhaps the largest piece of irony is the curse that he called down upon himself.