Wild Duck Journal 3

Readers are attracted to moments of intensity in a writer's work. By what means and with what effect have writers in your study offered heightened emotional moments designed to arrest the reader's attention?

Both Ibsen and Sophocles use dramatic irony and richly crafted plots to arrest the readers attention.In both plays, the audience has been able to figure out what is going on long before the characters know, or are willing to realize. In Oedipus, this is seen when Oedipus is searching for information about his family of origin. In Wild Duck, this is seen when Gregers is uncovering Werle's corruption. This creates much suspense and causes the reader to be in rapt attention due to the fact that the reader is waiting for the characters to discover what they already know. The ignorance about when the characters will realize what is going on and how they will react keeps the reader strongly invested in the novel and it's outcome.

The richly woven plots in both books are used to keep the reader both on its toes and also in awe. The situations depicted in Oedipus and the Wild Duck are ones that the average reader would be disgusted by. In Oedipus, the main character marries his wife and murders his father. Two very revolting things for the reader to read about. This is similar in Wild Duck. Werle's web of deception is spread so wide, the deeds he has done are so many, that the reader becomes entrenched in this. This invokes strong emotions regarding the characters, the story, and the reader's personal beliefs on the subjects that are being addressed in the particular work.

These writing styles are meant to keep the reader on its toes, wanting for more. This keeps the reader invested in the story. This is what the authors were going for.