What is dramatic irony? What is its importance/role in this play? Why is there so much dramatic irony throughout the play?

Dramatic irony is essentially when the reader or audience knows something that the characters do not. Tragic irony is an essential part of this play. The audience knows pertinent information (killing his father/ marrying his mother) as Oedipus makes his foolish decisions. I think the whole dichotomy of fate and free will ties in perfectly with the dramatic or tragic irony.