The Bacchae
Irony is the presentation of ideas in a way, opposite to the expectation of the audience. Literary motif on the other side is the use of repetitive narrative to reinforce the development of a particular theme. Irony and motif are used in The Bacchae to express the message of civilization and madness.
Irony as a literary device involves the presentation of an idea in a way that is radically different from what would be expected under normal circumstances. The irony could either be dramatic, situational or in the form of similes. The dramatic and situational irony has a primary purpose of emphasis of truth that would otherwise not be conceived. The type of irony that uses similes like sarcasm involve deliberate use of language to state the opposite of the truth, understates facts, or even denies the truth. In The Bacchae, irony has been widely used to pass important truth by Euripides.
A mother would always act to protect the kingdom of her son when a necessity arises. However, it is against the expectation of Pentheus, that Agave, the king’s mother would lead a slaughter mission. Pentheus is not aware that his mother, Agave is under the possession of evil gods and is in a revenge mission from the king’s cousin. Also, Pentheus did not expect to die by his mother’s hand, and that could be seen due to the fact the king did not offer resistance to Agave, a situation that led to the Kings death. Cadmus, the king’s father did not expect Agave to have murdered the king. Cadmus is met with a surprise when Agave praises the death of Pentheus. Agave seems to expect a lot of praise from Cadmus due to the victory of killing a mountain lion. To the opposite of Agave’s expectation, Cadmus seems terrified by the decision, and later Agave and her daughters are forced to an exile. Agave did not expect to have killed her son Pentheus since when Agave returns home, she calls her dead son to celebrate her victory together: Agave shouts,” From the mountains I’ve brought home this ivy tendril freshly cut…,”not knowing that she was carrying her son’s head. Besides, the reader expects the king to take more caution before facing the women who the messenger had explained to be dangerous. Also, it is not expected for a king to die at the hands of his mother. The ironical style of writing leads to the knowledge that gods have control over the activities of humankind.
A literary motif is the presentation of symbolic significance by use of a recurring narrative. In essence, motifs are not the themes of a story but are seen as the building pillars of a particular theme. Motifs will repeatedly appear throughout the story but have to have a significant role in the development of the main themes to differentiate the motifs from symbols and repetition. Motifs are apparent clues, deliberately left behind by the author. Motifs always contrast the themes in that; motifs reinforce the themes by using a pattern of a repetitive narrative. In Bacchae, the use of Dionysus is symbolic of madness that is related to the consumption of wine.
The coming of Dionysus to the city is accompanied by significant madness. First, the explanation that Dionysus gives about himself is contracting. Dionysus reveals the effects of making impaired judgments, a situation that can be associated with the consumption of wine. For example, Dionysus reveals how the king does not wisely choose the right way of dealing with the murderous women. Also, the king decides to sentence Dionysus to death by not believing that Dionysus was a god. The real madness happens when his mother kills the king under the madness possession by Dionysus. Dionysus is however present to lead the king into the trap of madness. The author uses Dionysus as a character frequently in events to reveal the consequences of madness and impaired judgments and the role of madness in achieving civilization.
Irony and motif are used in The Bacchae to express the message of civilization and the role of madness in a society that does not embrace civilization. The kingdom led by Pentheus is trying to forgo the traditions by ignoring the existence of gods, a trait that costs the kingdom a sitting king.