Euripides' Use Of Dramatic Irony

3 Pages 690 Words

Describe how Euripides’ Use of Dramatic Irony
as ‘Electra’ is Part of his Craft as a Playwright.

A common trait used by playwrights dating from the 5th Century B.C. to the modern plays and films is the use of dramatic irony. There are several reasons for the usage of dramatic irony in plays. A primary reason is that it draws and sustains the attention of the audience. Dramatic Irony does by giving the audience more information than the characters in the play themselves. It is a clever tactic used by playwrights because the audience’s attention is held when dramatic irony is used.

There is a perfect example of dramatic irony in ‘Electra’ when the audience know that Orestes has returned to find Electra. The audience know that Electra is talking to her long lost brother, Orestes, but she does not.

‘Orestes: I bring news of your brother
Electra: Oh! You are a friend!
Is he alive-or dead?
Orestes: Alive. So much is good’

Another example of dramatic irony in ‘Electra’ is when Orestes goes to murder Aegisthus. The audience know what Orestes’ intentions are but Aegisthus does not. And the same happens when Clytemnestra goes to Electra’s house full of good intentions when her children have already decided that they will kill her.

As one might imagine, the knowledge that the audience has, but the characters are lacking is bound to make the audience feel somewhat superior. This will add to their enjoyment of the play. In the time when Euripides’ plays were performed, he would have aimed to please his audience because he was in a competition with two other playwrights. By making his audience feel clever and superior they will prefer his plays to others where they are not involved in the play at all. The most important figures in the audience’s lives at the time were the gods who were onlookers of the mortals’ lives. As the audience knew and could predict the outcome of situations the characters f...