This section is an example of how Sophocles prolongs suspense.

It is not easy to tell an engaging story where your audience already knows the twist ending. Here, midway through the play, Oedipus appears to have already figured out what happened, before later dismissing it. This subverts the audience’s expectations. If Oedipus were to simply solve the mystery stepwise, without going back and forth, the pace of the play would be far more monotonous and unengaging.

However, to do this well, the writer must provide convincing reasons for the character to dismiss their conclusion the first time. If the reasons provided are lame, the audience will not buy it.

Alfred Hitchcock employs a similar technique in some of his films, notably Rear Window.