Unrealism In Medea And Odyssey

Unrealism is something unusual, which is usually illustrated as an exaggeration of a realistic phenomenon that leaps the boundaries of reality to present an improbable yet possible picture of life. It is a technique authors deploy in intensifying a particular situation through inherent exaggerations helping them to create the desired dramatic effect which tends to have a profound and enduring impact on the audiences. In the books, Medea by Euripides (431 B.C.) and The Odyssey by Homer (800 B.C.), the use of unrealism presents to the audiences an exaggerated manifestation of the situation, which tends to generate tension among the audiences and consequently intensifying the otherwise 'realistic' plot. In trying to achieve the aforementioned purpose, the element of unrealism reveals the characters, through their actions in those intensified situations which help the audience to comprehend their heroism or otherwise. Consequently this helps to shed light upon certain universal truths and inject a didactic element into the plot. Thus unrealism successfully binds the situations and characters in a manner that allows the audiences to elicit the underlying universal messages that the author wishes to share with his audience.

For instance, during certain situations, the element of unrealism presents to the audiences an exaggerated picture of it, creating tension and/or excitement among the audiences and subsequently intensifying the plot. In Medea, for instance, the pathetic condition of Medea has been dramatized to reflect the intensity of her unhappiness and misery from the start itself. The very first dialogue spoken by Medea "Oh, oh! What misery, what wretchedness! What shall I do? If only I were dead!" helps the audiences somewhat realize her feelings upon being betrayed by Jason. While the chorus's description of her to be "sobbing and wailing" and "shouting shrill accusations" further dramatizes the condition of Medea as a result of which the plot is intensified and indulges the audience in sympathizing with her it also helps to highlight the profundity of the love Medea had for Jason. In the light of this, when Jason is later introduced into the plot, perhaps like Medea, the audiences too expect him to offer a substantial reason for betraying her. However, Jason's self-contradictory explanation in the words "I long neither for hoards of Gold nor for a voice sweeter than Orpheus" and his declaration that he married the princess only to "not be poor" seems unreasonable and unrealistic. This intensifies the plot even more as something contrary happens to what the audience expect and probably they are left in a dilemma of a hope for a better explanation and apprehension of the possible doom. It also highlights Medea's helplessness in the light of which the manner in which Medea was later utterly overtaken by rage and was able to "endure guilt, however horrible" but "not the laugh of her enemies" is perhaps comprehensible because her notion of revenge to the audience, seems as a sign of her revival from her helpless state. Although Medea's decision to kill her children is repulsive, perhaps it is only an exaggerated act of revenge that serves both to highlight the enormous distress she suffered due to Jason's betrayal to avenge in this manner and elicit her strength of character in her ability to bear it finally. Perhaps there is no doubt in the audience's mind when Medea declares "I am of a different kind: dangerous to my enemies and loyal to my friends."

In The Odyssey however the elevated character of Odysseus himself helps to elicit certain exaggerations and unrealistic elements. Odysseus in introduced as a man of strong and prudent character at start who "suffered many pains, heartsick on the open sea" and who has visited "many cities of men and learned their minds" which is in stark contrast to Medea who was introduced as a weak and inundated character. This immediately presents a highly exaggerated character of Odysseus to the audience, as it seems fantastical. The fact that Odysseus appears only to be a man of "sufferings" and "learnings" establishes the note of elevation in the plot to befit Odysseus elevated character and the title "The Odyssey" immediately adds intensity to it reflects in lieu with the audience's expectations over further "sufferings" and "learnings" that await Odysseus in his odyssey. The audiences sometimes find Odysseus character even improbable, as in Calypso's words he is "never at a loss", and while they perhaps find it quite unrealistic that even at the time of being stranded helplessly on the shore of a river he "stalked out as a mountain lion exultant in his power strides through wind and rain and his eyes blaze" it is however, this extreme portrayal itself that lends him the quintessence of an epic hero. However, Odysseus encounter with Circe and her "fleecy cloaks and shirts" and "feasting halls" reveal the human underneath the cloak of an epic hero, as the "man of twists and turns" is suddenly lured by the brighter and easier side of his struggle. This renders a note of realism which de-elevates him as an epic-hero to just a man. The fact that it was only his comrades "urging" that brought his "stubborn spirit around" not only distorts his ideal image but also makes it more real and humanlike. This eventually creates intensity in the plot as this uncertainty in Odysseus character unlike an epic hero makes the audiences irresolute of what to expect from him and leaves them in anticipation.

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