Examples Of Dramatic Irony In Ancient Greek Tragedy
Dramatic Irony – Dramatic irony is one the most crucial elements in an ancient Greek tragedy. It is a format used in many of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles plays. Usually the tragedy will begin with a monologue from a character or the chorus telling the audience what will happen. When the events unfold to be true a sense of irony unveils. An awesome example of irony is in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. Cassandra has prophetic powers; however, the Chorus does not listen to and understand anything she is saying because of her curse. Cassandra sings, “Oh the pain! The agony of my fate. It is my pain that floods out now” (pg. 44, lines 1136-1137). She state to the audience that she will die in the house of Agamemnon.
Iphigenia – Iphigenia sadly, …show more content…
She is the daughter of Inachus. She is a character that is used to make Zeus look like a greedy tyrant of a god and Prometheus look like a philanthropist. Zeus lays his eyes on her and immediately wants to sleep with her. Of course as it always goes, any woman that sleeps with Zeus, does not have good fortune afterwards and dies. She seeks help from Prometheus so that she can escape from Zeus. She has horns like an ox on her head.
Agave – Agave, the mother of Pentheus, is a woman of Thebes who becomes possessed by the god Dionysus. She, like many of the Theban women, join the Bacchus under Dionysus’ influence. When Dionysus convincingly tricks Pentheus to dress like a woman and go to see the Bacchae, Agave attacks him. Without knowing it is Pentheus she kills him by ripping off his head. She brings the head back to Thebes to show what she has done. Cadmus, her father asks her, “whose head do you hold in your hands?” she begins to realize what she has done (pg. 75, line …show more content…
He is famous for his death. He was hunting in the woods with his hounds when he saw Artemis bathing. This offended her. She became angry with him and turned him into a deer and his dogs attacked him. Cadmus says in Prometheus Bound to Pentheus, “You see that dreadful death your cousin Actaeon died when those man-eating he had raised himself savaged him and tore his body limb to limb because he boasted that his prowess in the hunt surpassed the skill of Artemis” (pg. 32, lines
Iphigenia – Iphigenia sadly, …show more content…
She is the daughter of Inachus. She is a character that is used to make Zeus look like a greedy tyrant of a god and Prometheus look like a philanthropist. Zeus lays his eyes on her and immediately wants to sleep with her. Of course as it always goes, any woman that sleeps with Zeus, does not have good fortune afterwards and dies. She seeks help from Prometheus so that she can escape from Zeus. She has horns like an ox on her head.
Agave – Agave, the mother of Pentheus, is a woman of Thebes who becomes possessed by the god Dionysus. She, like many of the Theban women, join the Bacchus under Dionysus’ influence. When Dionysus convincingly tricks Pentheus to dress like a woman and go to see the Bacchae, Agave attacks him. Without knowing it is Pentheus she kills him by ripping off his head. She brings the head back to Thebes to show what she has done. Cadmus, her father asks her, “whose head do you hold in your hands?” she begins to realize what she has done (pg. 75, line …show more content…
He is famous for his death. He was hunting in the woods with his hounds when he saw Artemis bathing. This offended her. She became angry with him and turned him into a deer and his dogs attacked him. Cadmus says in Prometheus Bound to Pentheus, “You see that dreadful death your cousin Actaeon died when those man-eating he had raised himself savaged him and tore his body limb to limb because he boasted that his prowess in the hunt surpassed the skill of Artemis” (pg. 32, lines