Scarborough 1
Paula Scarborough
Professor Cearley
Eh 102 Reading and Research
March 2, 2015
The original drama of Antigone was introduced by Sophocles during 441BC; centuries later the same drama was presented by French composer Jean Anouilh. What was the difference between the two plays? What was Anouilh’s purpose of reconstructing a classical Greek drama to a French modern drama? Although both dramas are similar, they are having different content in them. Anouilh will clear up some of the questions. Anouilh’s drama looks similar to Sophocles, with the exception of an added character. It is sunrise when the play begins and Antigone has to make a decision about the burial of her brother. In the first
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In Anouilh’s version, Antigone admits her actions. Anouilh’ version, after Antigone admits her wrong, Creon tells her he can get rid of the guards. He tells her she is to return home. Antigone, however is adamant about a proper burial she informs him saying “Uncle Creon, you are going to a lot of trouble for no good reason. You must know I will do it all over again tonight. I owe it to him (Anouilh).” Antigone speaks of her brother’s death as if he was out on a hunt and would return tired, hungry, and exhausted. She insists that her parents are eagerly waiting to welcome him to eternally rest. The respect she has for the dead is based on her spiritual beliefs. She believed that it was her duty as his sister, to give Polyneice a proper burial. However, Creon is willing to negotiate; however Antigone tells Creon “Stop feeling sorry for me. Do as I do. Do your job. But if you are a human being, do it quickly. That is all I ask of you. I’m not going to be able to hold out forever (Anouilh)”. Creon constantly tries to change the mind of Antigone yet to no avail and desire to be sentence before she recants. As Creon assumes that Antigone will give her life up for her brothers, Antigone decides to consent and go back to her room; she is also advised to find Haemon and marry quickly. Antigone realized that her concept of happiness and life is far from the view of her Creon her uncle …show more content…
In Anouilh’s version of the drama, Antigone not only questions Creon’s scope of happiness but she also tells him “ I spit on your happiness.” She is uncomfortable with him, it scares her and she wants to die, his attempt to console her makes the situation worse, because she is completely against his consolation. Anouilh’s play, Creon and his son Haemon encounter was brief, and Haemon not understanding why Antigone was being put to death by his father; Creon attempts to explain that he did all he could in order to save her life, this is what she wanted-death. Haemon asked that this not happen and Creon replies as the guards carries Antigone way “I can’t stop them. It’s too late. Antigone has spoken.” Haemon appeals to
Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles in about 441b.c. The play is a continuation of the curse put upon the household of Oedipus Rex. Sophocles actually wrote this play before he wrote Oedipus, but it follows Oedipus in chronological order. The story of Antigone begins after the departure of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, into self-exile. Oedipus’ two sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, were left to rule over Thebes. An argument over rights to power forces Polynices to leave Thebes. Some time passes and Polynices returns with the army from Argos and attempts to overthrow his brother. The two brothers fight and kill one another and the war ends. Creon, the uncle of the two
Full of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over.
Antigone is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. ONE OF THE three surviving tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Euripides, and one of the great dramatists of world literature, Sophocles spanned in his long life (497-406 B.C.) the cultural flowering of Athens in the fifth century(Segal 1). Antigone is named after the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes, a young woman who stood against the king’s decision and believed in the gods’ law. There are many arguments regarding who is the real protagonist and antagonist in this play. The protagonist is generally regarded as the good guy and antagonist is the bad guy. Antigone is a protagonist as she is the title character in the
Later in the play, Antigone was captured for being caught in the act of burying her brother and is now conversing with King Creon about her decision made to revolt. On page 783, Creon is surprised when he says, “…you dared defy the law,” to Antigone due to boasting her rebellious actions. In this demonstration, Antigone does not deny her guilt, but declares all of the information, provided by the guards, true. Antigone does not care for the consequences, which is death; she knew what she would create for herself when she chose to bury her brother. A second example of this is on page 784 when Antigone states, “There is no guilt in reverence for the dead.” By what Antigone said, she believes it should not be against the law to have reverence or lamentation towards the dead, especially if the deceased is part
Antigone is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. Tragedy is defined as an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress. The story begins with a death and ends with a death, and Sophocles does an excellent job employing many different types of ways to include fear and pity and this brings the tragedy alive. Especially with the fear of death when is abundantly rampant throughout the entire play. Although, written around 442 BC, it is just as well applied now as it was then.
The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state. In the play Creon has made it against the law to bury Antigone’s brother, something that goes against the laws of the gods, this is the cause of most conflict in the story. This struggle helps to develop the tragic form by giving the reader parts of the form through different characters.
Antigone wants to be redeemed in the afterlife through her act of burying Polyneices. This is especially clear when she decides that she will bury him and die before she has even appealed to Creon. The only route she can see is one that results in her death. Not until she is directly confronted by her uncle does she attempt to dissuade him from dishonoring Polyneices. Even then, she seems to be simply defending her own actions rather than accusing him of being wrong, as she so adamantly has done with Ismene. He needs to implore her to “Speak!” (166, 442), and when she does, she is flippant and prideful. Antigone only engages in real dialogue with him when he forces her to. This could be interpreted as her simply understanding his position and accepting it, but I find that unlikely. She clearly fundamentally disagrees with him and his interpretation of the gods, but instead of trying to persuade him to recant his decree and bury her brother, she capitalizes on the position she’s in and thrusts herself into martyrdom. Even by the gods’ standards, this does not seem to be justice or “rightness”. Her surface level loyalty to her family may initially appeal, but I find it insincere and not right when I explore it more closely.
First, the major characters in both of the plays are suffering through great pain and end up with death. The drama Antigone which is written by Sophocles, tells the story of Antigone. Antigone is a tragic heroine who doesn’t have the power to challenge the authority of the king; she has to obey the rules. However, she shows her strong will and voices her opinions
In the play Creon rejects the burial of Polyneices but still seems to value family heavily. When Creon speaks with Haemon he expresses that he should listen to his father’s choice over anything else “Stand by your father’s ideas in all things.” (Page 37), showing that Creon values family honor. Sophocles shows moments of family love throughout the play, Creon knows letting Antigone go after burying her brother is the right thing to do so he makes the decision to let her go free for the action she performed “I myself, since my judgement has turned and seen better ways, I bound her up and I will go and release her.” (Page 54), this shows that Creon truly loves Antigone and chose family over authority by freeing her. As Haemon finds out Antigone has hanged herself, in
Antigone has a possible flaw in that she is too stubborn and persistent to obey Creon’s order; “I know my duty, where true duty lies” (Antigone, 128). Her punishment then encourages feelings of pity from the audience because her deed was honorable and respectful towards her brother Polynices. The chorus supports this view by bidding her a respectful farewell when she is taken away, “But glory and praise go with you lady” (Antigone, 148). Antigone is also very proud, and this may have contributed to her death. Even when she is caught she remains strong and defends herself by claiming that the chorus thinks that her act was honorable, “All these would say that what I did was honorable” (Antigone, 139). This causes Creon to remain angry with Antigone, “you are wrong, none of my subjects think as you do” (Antigone, 140). If she had been more patient and less defensive, Creon may not have been as harsh in the punishment he set for her.
Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the King's order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the King's orders.
When questioned about committing treason, Antigone’s lack of denial illustrates her rashness in decision-making, as she has nothing to gain from death. Instead of disclaiming the lowly guard’s words, she proudly states: “I say I did it and I don’t deny it” (Antigone 443). By admitting her role in the burial, Antigone seals her fate. Furthermore, the notion of her death does not faze her as she tells Creon: “I knew I must die - how could I not?” (460). Her acceptance of her death, while honorable, is unnecessary, because her objective of giving her fallen brother a respectful and honorable burial is already achieved. If she had not mentioned her role, there was a chance that she could have survived. In addition, Antigone does not even factor in the feelings of her sister Ismene and her fiancé Haemon, showing how inconsiderate she is of her impact on others. This irrational approach can only be described as foolishness; if she had been wiser, she would have buried her brother and survived to tell the tale. Her lack of judgement results in her downfall and the misery for those around her.
The play Antigone, written by Sophocles is the last book of his trilogy called The Oedipus Play of Sophocle. Antigone take places in the city of Thebes, the play open “some days later” there have been an edict by King Creon regarding the burials of Eteocles and Polyneices; Eteocles, will get a proper burial for defending the senate, Polyneices will not. The King Creon had declared Polyneice is a traitor and forbid anyone in the city to bury him. Here where we are being presented with the main characters of this story Antigone and Ismene; the two
During the interactive oral my group and I discussed our individual understanding of cultural contextual consideration of Antigone by Jean Anouilh at the start of the oral. We first considered how time and place matter in the play. We discussed the situation of France during the time that Antigone was written and its influence on Anouilh and therefore the text. For example, I brought up the point that the time and place of France is very significant in Antigone because Creon represents Vichy France and the French resistance is embodied in Antigone’s character. It furthered my understanding of the text when Caroline argued that the time and place was not important because the story of Antigone is so classic and can be related to different situations.
Some of the greatest tragic plays ever written was composed by the great Greek playwright, Sophocles. Today I will be focusing on one of his widely known plays, Antigone, translated by Robert Bagg found in The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume A. I will also be reviewing a journal article written by, Vincent J. Rosivach from the University of Illinois. After reading the journal article, you will find that Rosivach provides a vivid description of what Sophocles was trying to portray. This amplifies the readers understanding because Rosivach breaks down everything in a way that allows the reader to use their imagination much more in depth. Rosivach refers to the play instead of the text which we were assigned to read which paints a more vivid picture for the reader. He makes references to where things are place in the play. When describing the underworld Rosivach states, “In the theater this world of the dead lies offstage to the audience’s left…” (Rosivach, 18). This allows the readers to understand the set up of the play and to activates one’s imagination. Rosivach does a phenomenal job at arguing many different points across this play. As he critics Antigone, he is dissecting the play so that he can bring the reader’s awareness to the little things that could have easily been unnoticed through out the play.