Lecture Antigone Take notes as you would in any college level class… quickly

Social and Political—Athens 5 th Century BCE Sophocles—born Athens 497 BCE Best known of the ancient Greek playwrights Exclusionary democracy—ten percent of population eligible to participate. Women, slaves, and other “non-citizens” excluded. Sophocles included attempts in his plays to warn of the divine retribution that would come as a result of prejudices and injustice to the poor.

Religious Ideas Greek pantheon= hundreds of deities in a complex hierarchy Familiar Olympian gods a small part of the overall scheme Gods were not all powerful in the sense of our modern concept of God. They had laws and traditions also. Among these were Laws governing the treatment of blood relations

Religious ideas continued Conflict in Antigone stems from “unnatural” occurrence of two brothers waging war against one another and killing one another Further compounded by blood relation refusing to grant proper burial rites Must obey the older, stronger divine law instead of human law

Religious ideas continued Believed in free will—would have to face consequences of actions and decisions Free will not more powerful than destiny Antigone’s life and death clearly shaped by the curses visited upon her father and grandfather, destiny cannot be completely dismissed either.

Origins of Greek Drama Sixth Century BCE—Thespis The word thespian means actor Fifth Century BCE—Tragedies performed in annual competition as a part of the Great Dionysia—Athens’ chief religious festival that honors Dionysus. Sophocles’ Theban plays, Oedipus Rex,Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone are not episodes in a serial.

Origins continued Aeschylus ( BCE) introduced concept of second actor on stage, interacting with the first. Worked on more complicated plots Sophocles ( BCE) brought a third actor on stage.

Conventions of the Greek Theater Use of dramatic irony Audience familiar with stories taken from well known myths, they always had more information than the characters on stage Daytime with minimal sets Actors all male Plays observed three unities described by Aristotle

Conventions continued Unity of time – all action of the play took place within 24 hour, in continuous time; dialogue and the Chorus provided background information Unity of place—all of the action limited to a single setting Unity of subject—one single main plot focused on the main character. No sub plots

Conventions continued No violence shown on stage A Chorus used to present exposition and provide commentary men represented the citizens Always on stage—frequently sang and danced Always had a leader (choragus) Carried on dialogue with main characters Carried on dialogue with rest of chorus

Conventions continued Functions of the chorus Set the tone Give background information Recall past events Interpret and summarize events Ask questions Give advice, if asked Stay objective Act like a jury of elders

Conventions continued Chorus performed stylized back and forth movement Strophe– first part, moves left to right, or east to west across the stage Antistrophe– follows strophe, moves right to left or west to east across the stage Epode—third part..completes the movement Kommos—character on stage engages in dialogue with the chorus—also in a song called a kommos

Conventions continued Tragedy—focuses on peripetia (reversal of fortune) and downfall of the tragic hero and the events leading to that downfall. Antigone—title character has no peripetia, but is weighed down with family curse, deaths of brothers, and out of favor with King Creon. Cartharsis—audience feels purged and drained of emotions—better able to understand life

Conventions continued Tragic condition result of tragic hero’s hamartia (error in judgment or perception, hero’s inability to see his flaw and consequences of actions). Hubris—associated with hamartia, exaggerated self pride or self confidence which results in fatal retribution Ex. King Creon (trust me on this…you will read all about it)

Aristotelian Tragic Hero Forms the basis of literary thought and criticism for thousands of years—affecting even how Shakespeare and Arthur Miller would be read. Summary follows of Basic Ideas of the Tragic Hero Character of noble status, greatness of character, usually a man, has wealth, status and power Not perfect but occupies an elevated status in society

Aristotelian Tragic Hero Downfall partially own fault—result of free will. Downfall triggered by hamartia and often involves hubris. Misfortune not wholly deserved. Punishment exceeds the crime. Hero’s fall not a complete loss—increase in awareness, gain in self-knowledge Remember Greek tragedy was part of community celebration and religious ritual.