Use of Irony in "Oedipus Rex" Many sources tell us that Sophocles wrote more then one hundred plays, but only seven of them have survived the centuries in their entirety. Certainly the best known of his surviving plays is "Oedipus Rex." The plot of the play hinges on the element of irony. Irony can be defined as "a combination of circumstances or a result that is the opposite of what is or might be expected …showed first 75 words of 1491 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1491 total…lacking and where his priorities truly lay with his children, especially with his vulnerable daughters. The Irony seems to point him in this positive direction even though he suffered hardships getting to the enlightenment.  References . Bibliography Green, Janet M. (1993, Fall) Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex." http://www.schoolsite.edex.net.uk/223/acdepts/theastud/greek s/oedipus.htm Guralnik, David B., editor in chief (1968) Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language. New York: The World Publishing Co.