Title: Antigone Background Notes
1Antigone Background Notes
2I. Origin of Tragedy
- A. Religious festivals in the spring to honor
Dionysus
Dionysus (Bacchus), god of wine and revelry
3- B. Thespis, Father of Drama (thespians)
- 1. introduced the first actor and dialogue
- C. Sophocles
- 1. added third actor
- 2. fixed number of the Chorus to 15
- 3. introduced painted scenery
- 4. made each play of a trilogy separate in
nature (each play could stand alone) - Oedipus Rex
- Oedipus on Colunus
- Antigone
4Sophocles
5II. Structure of Theatre
- A. theatron seeing place where the audience
sat - B. orchestra circular dancing place where
actors and Chorus performed - C. thymele altar to Dionysus in center of the
orchestra - D. skene building used as dressing room
- E. proskenion façade of skene building which
served as backdrop - F. parados entrance to the theatre used by
Chorus
6Greek Theatre
7III. Actors and Acting
- A. The playwright took the leading role
- B. All male performers (played female roles too)
- C. Never more than 3 actors (changed characters)
- 1. Costumes and Masks
- 1. long, flowing robes (colored symbolically)
- 2. high boots with raised soles
- 3. large masks made of wood, linen, cork
- a. identified age, gender, emotion
- b. exaggerated features (eyes, open mouth)
8The Chorus
- A. Music and Dance
- 1. music flute, lyre, drums
- 2. dance expressive rhythmic movements
- B. Function of the Chorus
- 1. sets overall mood and expresses theme
- 2. adds beauty through song and dance
- 3. gives background information
- 4. divides action and offers reflection on
events - 5. questions, advises, expresses opinion
(usually through Chorus leader) - 6. Meant to be a representation of society
9V. Conventions of Greek Theatre
- A. Aristotles Unities
- 1. action (simple plot)
- 2. time (single day)
- 3. place (one scene throughout)
- B. The Messenger (sentry)
- 1. tells news happening away from the scene
- 2. reports acts of violence not allowed to be
seen - C. Limitations of the Theatre
- 1. the Chorus is constantly on the stage
- 2. no intermission
- 3. no lighting, no curtains
10VI. Important Terms
- 1. tragedy an imitation of a serious action
which will arouse pity and fear in the viewer - 2. tragic hero a character, usually of noble
birth, neither totally good nor totally evil,
whose downfall is brought about by some weakness
and error in judgment (a tragic flaw)
11- 3. hamartia a tragic flaw, weakness of
character or error in judgment which causes the
downfall of the hero (tragic flaw) - hubris the tragic flaw of exaggerated
self-pride. Hubris was a crime in classical
Athens. - 5. catharsis the purging or release of
emotions the audience feels - 6. deus ex machina a person or god that
intervenes in the action
12- FATE the will or principle or determining cause
by which things in general are believed to come
to be as they are or events to happen as they do
destiny - The Greeks believed that everything happened for
a reason and that the path they led in life, was
prescribed for them by the Gods and that there
was no escaping their fate or destiny.
13- IRONY a pretense of ignorance and of willingness
to learn from another assumed in order to make
the other's false conceptions conspicuous by
adroit questioning - DRAMATIC IRONY incongruity between a situation
developed in a drama and the accompanying words
or actions that is understood by the audience but
not by the characters in the play called also
dramatic irony tragic irony
14Dramatist Born Wrote
Aeschylus 524 B.C. Seven Against Thebes
Sophocles 496 B.C. Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
Euripides 480 B.C. Medea
15- Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.)
- He wrote 123 or more plays during the course of
his life - For almost 50 years, he was the dominant
competitor in the dramatic competitions of
ancient Athens that took place during the
religious festivals of the Lenaea and the
Dionysia. - His first victory was in 468 BC, although
scholars are no longer certain that this was the
first time that he competed.
Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.)
16 Sophocles influenced the development of the
drama, most importantly by adding a third
character and thereby reducing the importance of
the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He
also developed his characters to a greater extent
than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus.
Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.)
17- Only seven of his tragedies have survived into
modern times with their text completely known. - The most famous of these are the three tragedies
concerning Oedipus and Antigone these are often
known as the Theban plays or The Oedipus Cycle,
(Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus,
Antigone) although they were not originally
written or performed as a single trilogy.
Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.E.)
18VII. The Original Dysfunctional Family
King Menoeceus
King Laius
Jocasta
Creon
Eurydice
King Oedipus
Jocasta
Megareus
Haemon
Eteocles
Polyneices
Ismene
Antigone
19- King Laius and Jocasta have a son, Oedipus. The
Oracle predicts Oedipus will grow up and kill his
father, so Laius drops Oedipus over a cliff into
the ocean.
20- Baby Oedipus is rescued by a shepherd. He grows
up and hits the road. Meets the Sphinx. Answers
the Sphinxs riddle. Sphinx kills herself. - Do you know the Sphinxs riddle?
21- Oedipus argues with and kills a man on the road
who, unbeknownst to Oedipus, is his father Laius.
Oedipus continues and when he reaches Thebes, he
is rewarded for killing the Sphinx that has been
plaguing their town (no one has been able to come
and go since the Sphinx has been guarding the
road). Oedipus is given the newly widowed queen
to marry. Look back at the family tree
22- Oedipus and his wife have four children.
Eventually, a new plague strikes Thebes and the
Oracle is consulted again. The soothsayer,
Teiresias, tells them that Thebes is suffering
because of Oedipus and Jocastas crime against
nature.
23- Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus takes her
brooch and blinds himself. He is exiled from
Thebes, and Antigone and Ismene, his daughters,
dutifully lead their father through the lands
during his exile.
24- A civil war breaks out about who will be the new
ruler of Thebes. Eteocles and Polyneices fight
to be heir to the throne. They kill each other
and their Uncle Creon steps up. He believes one
was the rightful heir (the oldest son) and other
was a traitor to the state for challenging him.
Creon refuses a proper burial for the traitor
and this makes Antigone angry she believes BOTH
her brothers deserve a proper burial.
25Remember your mythology?
- Why was a proper burial so important to the
Greeks?
26You need to get to Hades!
- Once a person has died, s/he must pay the
ferryman, Charon, to take him/her across the
River Styx to the Underworld. Otherwise, the
soul will not be able to rest.
Michelangelos Last Judgment