Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Oedipus Rex: Discussion Question
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience has a greater understanding of a character's situation than the does character themself. Since the audience already knows the story of Oedipus Rex's destiny while Oedipus himself is in the process of uncovering it, dramatic irony is extremely prevalent in Sophocles's representation of this story. How and why does Sophocles use dramatic irony? What does it add to the meaning or effect of the myth?
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Dramatic Irony keeps the the reader on the edge of their seat, and if the audience already knows the story, then the true art of the story is the way it is constructed, or presented, to the audience. For example, the story starts out with Oedipus as king, Oedipus orders that "none entertain him, none accost him," (9) and that "all men from their houses must banish him"(9); all this at the beginning! This creates a curiosity in the audience: if he's setting himself up like this, then how will the story ensue? Thus, the use of dramatic irony is to draw in the audience. Additionally, it sends the reader the idea that Oedipus is profoundly blinded by his ignorance to his own status.
ReplyDelete-Jessica K.