By my
understanding, "drama" here refers to the action that propels the plot forward and
keeps the story moving in a logical and exciting sequence of events that ensures we stay on the
edge of our seats (think action movie: all drama, big event after big event). By
"narrative," I understand ""a character's narration of events that we don't
actually witness; the character just describes them to us (think monologues).
's is a story that strikes an unusual balance between drama and
narrative. The style in Sophocles's day was to keep the time covered by a play relatively
shortall the play's events should elapse in 24 hours or less, and take place in more or less the
same geographical space. 's tale traverses many years and several cities; but Sophocles, in true
Ancient-Greek fashion, shows us only a day of Oedipus's life. Through the narration of
differentwe must listen to the events of the past rather than witness them.
Examples of this occur when thetells Oedipus how he was given a child by a shepherd, and when
the shepherd arrives to recount how he saved the baby he was told to abandon.
Oedipus Rex is a play heavy in narration and exposition, but there
are scenes where the action (or drama) progresses before us on the stage, propelled by the
decisions characters make in the present. For example, at the play's conclusion, the blind
Oedipus addresses his citizens andleads him out of the city.
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