We are suspended between the two characters, listening to what each of them have to say to one another but due to the perspective we are unable to hear their inner minds ticking. We hear their responses to one another, but only at a vocal level which leaves out alot of potential information. We are expanded beyond the two consciousnesses of Oedipus and the Sphinx which forces us to observe from a more neutral, less-biased position, our judgment narrowed to the face value of what each of the characters say. .
One of the other more noticeable elements utilized in these poems that directs the flow of information is that of the narration style. Whitman makes use of the technique of narration. That is, he gives us the information directly to our ears and eyes, speaking as if he would to himself or to the spider. He shifts at the end of the poem from speaking to the spider to speaking to himself, "And you O my soul where you stand." He is now relating the spider to himself, as he speaks about his own soul and compares it to the spider. A story flows smoothly with this style. With the first person narration the story is unimpeded by other views or shifting viewpoints which enhances the consistency considerably. .
"Myth" is told in the form of a social discourse, a dialogue. The tradition of this form of communication has been passed down to us through history from the ancient Greeks. The dialogue, as opposed to standard narration, allows us the liberty of receiving the ideas and notions of the story not through the consciousness of any isolated individual, but from the contrast that emerges naturally between the discourse of two opposing individuals. We get to hear both sides of the story this way and base our decisions on how the characters respond to one another. We are not biased towards Oedipus, because we are not seeing through him, nor are we biased towards the Sphinx. You see the story is not being told through Oedipus, but between him and the Sphinx.
