Antigone
An introduction to Greek tragedy:
Sophocles, the structure of the play and
stage, and major themes
Introduction to Tragedy
 When
you hear the word
“tragedy”, what comes to mind?
 How is the word “tragedy” used
in our society?
 Make a list in your notebooks
Tragedy
 Tragedy
in drama is a form of art
based on human suffering
 The Fab Four of Tragedy:
Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides,
Shakespeare
What Makes Tragedy a Tragedy?
“Death is not tragic in itself, not the
death of the beautiful and the young,
the lovely, and beloved. Death felt and
suffered as Macbeth feels and suffers
is tragic…The conflicting claims of
law of God and the law of man are
not what make the tragedy of the
Antigone. It is Antigone herself, so
great, so tortured.”
--Edith Hamilton
The Cycle of Tragedy
 Pity: “Innocent” characters punished
 Awe: Shock
at the descent
 Reconciliation: Acceptance of fate
 Exaltation: A high ending (the
light at the end of the tunnel) or
moral of the story
History of Greek Drama
 Greek
plays were originally in
homage to Dionysus, god of
spring and vintage (wine)
 Originally, group recitations
 Groups of 50 would sing, a leader
would recite
 Focus on reciting more than
singing
History of Greek Drama
 Eventually, 2-3
reciting, chorus
shrinks to 12-15 men
 Only 3 characters at a time
allowed on stage
 In the orchestra, the chorus
stood
 The chorus set the atmosphere,
responded to scenes, etc.
The Chorus
 Links
the actors, action and
audience
 Explains events
 Models reactions
Performing Greek Drama
 Greeks
gathered for dawn to dusk
festivals
 Several plays were presented in a
competition
 Actors wore elaborate costumes
and masks with wide mouths
 Masks made from wood, leather,
cloth and flour paste
Performing Greek Drama
 Semi-circle
theatres, 18K seats
 Good acoustics
 Gestures had to be wide and
broad to be seen
 Violence occurs off-stage
Ruins of a Greek theatre
Masks for Greek drama
Sophocles
 496-406
BC(E)
 Born in Athens, Golden Age
 Grew up during Persian Wars
 Popular politically, loyal to Athens
 Had two sons, 1 became a
playwright
Sophocles
 Wrote
123 plays
 Won 24 festivals, placed 2nd in all
others
 We only have 7 of his plays today:
Ajax, Antigone, The Women of
Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra,
Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus
Tragedy Vocabulary
 Prologue: a
song sung by a Greek
chorus as they enter
 Ode: elaborate lyrical poetry
made up of a strophe,
antistrophe, and epode
 Strophe: (lit. “a turning”)
 Antistrophe: answers the strophe
Tragedy Vocabulary
 Epode: concludes
the ode
 Paean: a song of praise
 Exodos: the exit scene of a
Greek drama
 Anagnorisis: a moment when a
character makes a recognition or
discovery of truth
Tragedy Vocabulary
 Catharsis: a
release of emotional
tension
 Deus ex machina: (lit. a god from
a machine) a sudden solution to
an impossible situation
 Peripeteia: a sudden change in
fortune or circumstances
Tragedy Vocabulary
 Hamartia: a
tragic flaw leading to
a downfall
 Hubris: excessive pride leading to
a downfall
Themes in Antigone
 Natural
Law v. Man-made law
◦ Laws created by humans are pitted
against laws that depend on family
and the gods
 Civil
Disobedience
◦ Breaking the law for a principle, usu.
in a non-violent way
Themes in Antigone
 Family
Loyalty
◦ Obligations to dead family
members
◦ Obligations to living family
 Fate
v. Free Will
◦ Do we decide our future or is it
decided for us?
Where Antigone Begins
 Antigone
is the daughter of
Oedipus, former king of Thebes
 Oedipus lived a cursed life, having
killed his father and marrying his
mother (Iocaste) unknowingly
Where Antigone Begins
 Oedipus
and Iocaste’s children:
◦ Antigone & Ismene, sisters
◦ Eteocles & Polyneices, brothers
 Eteocles
& Polyneices are
prophesied to kill each other in a
battle for the throne of Thebes
Where Antigone Begins
 Antigone
arrives in Thebes
 The brothers are dead
 Eteocles is given a proper, military
funeral
 Creon, King of Thebes &
Antigone’s uncle, declares
Polyneices a traitor
 No funeral can be held for him
Works Cited
Denault, Leigh T. “Drama: The Greek Theatre and
Three Athenian Tragedians: Aeschylus, Sophocles,
and Euripides.” The Glory That Was Greece: History
and Culture in Ancient Athens. 2003. 2 May. 2009.
<http://www.watson.org/~leigh/
drama.html>
Didaskalia. “Introduction to Greek Stagecraft.”
Didaskalia. 2002. 2 May 2009.
<www.didaskalia.net/studyarea/
greekstagecraft.html>
Hamilton, Edith. The Greek Way. New York: Time
Incorporated, 1963.