Antigone Question Review & Correction

4. Off-stage action: ie. Haemons death, Eurydices death, Antigones death;

most of the action occurs off-stage the 3 key deaths occur off-stage it may
have something to do with the fact that they didnt really understand death and
therefore couldnt expect to portray it it perhaps also makes these deaths and
in turn the play, more dramatic allows the audience to use their imagination as
b/c they havent seen it, they have to sort of imagine what happened and
interpret it their own way in Greek plays, all the actors are wearing
masks, and the people valued debates the emphasis in society for
these ppl was speaking and listening [ie. Through debate] rather than
through acting the country valued speech and language above all else
LANGUAGE WAS AN IMP ASPECT OF SOC LOGOS: means word words
were what gave you sight in the world actions werent as imp as the words
and dramatic speech. it brings a sense of heightened drama and allows them to
explore their sense of imaginations
PHILOSOPHY: 2. What thematic ideas/probs do Antigones actions pose the diffs
b/w the state and the divine laws the personal outlook on life and the
obligations to the state not a win win sit like the US likes to say, b/c no matter
what we lose s.t we dont have an option as s.t needs to be done either way; a
law of some sort will come after you IN EITHER SENSE THERE IS GOING TO BE A
LOSS personal values come into conflict w/ soc or communal values an
obligations as citizens we have obligations as well as rights
-personal values: divine body of Antigone, inspired by the divine, which in one
sense preceed and predate those of the state appear to Antigone to be more
natural the state is a social construct
SOPHOCLES: WHETHER WILL OF GODS SERVES MAN FOR GOOD OR ILL?
- Both; sometimes they raise you up or other times the kick you down if gain
too much power, become like them , and causes an imbalance in the world
on the other hand, the gods are indifferent to the plight of the ppl the gods
are there to keep the balance of the world and the universe as a whole they
are good for the cosmos as a whole brings back to the point of the gods
supporting both and neither one of good or evil
- The Greek gods have to uphold the universal or cosmic laws religious bodies
such as Catholicism, Christianity, and Islam all place man as the centre of the
world, whilst the Greek gods place the cosmic laws at the centre of being.
PHILOSOPHICAL ROLE OF SUFFERING: Creon suffers, his wife does, his son does
in order to stay true to your beliefs, you need to suffer in order to show your
determination in that they are your beliefs THE BUDDHIST SAYS SUFFERING IS
THE CONDITION OF MAN the Greek says its tragic, our lives will eventually
end - we can imagine the infinite/ immortality, and yet we can never
attain it the question is, how do we deal with our suffering? we dont
like to dwell on the tragic, but the reality is we will all suffer at different points in
our life we dont like to think about these things, even though we know its
inevitable if we dont acknowledge our suffering, it has an even bigger impact/

it can destroy us this is a part of who we are, and what we must endure
WERE IN A POSITION TO FACE IT; should we acknowledge it? And if so, how do
we act on it?
-if you face them, they go away everything is in balance- you cant have life
w/o death
- there cannot be a world without death and suffering, as its no life at all may
as well be in Hades as it is there that there is no suffering
- Antigone tells us that one needs to face and acknowledge suffering the
further one tries to deny and avoid it, the greater the recoiled effect has on you

Socio-Historic Context c. 440BC

- This period known as the Golden Age, or the Periclean Age
- Athens was an empire at this time, but also held a constitution of direct
democracy
- THE PLAY WAS SET IN THEBES
- Satires were pretty much all set in Athens
- Athens: is never directly criticised through contemporary issues, as
they are usually set in other cities
- Gave the audience a kind of objectivity to analyse their home
- From the Golden Age, we can deduce that society was at its peak it was
flourishing [stability, e.t was going their way generally, prosperous and
wealthy, ppl are fed well, less sick, ppl had more leisure, advancement in the
arts (leisure)]; a time of vulnerability as ppl were vulnerable to the gods and
therefore the forces of nature, start relying more on their own initiative and
therefore begins to create a secular state this may be what Sophocles
is exploring, as in becoming more secular, the divine importance is
devalued and the gods lose precedence in the eyes of the ppl over
the state
- The moment the gods are pushed to the margins, they quash those who are
irreverent of them his is the warning of Sophocles soc is becoming more
secular as ppl become more irreverent of the divine (refer to page 128 of the
text)
- The intellectual currents/movements such as philosophy and science, begin to
place man at the centre of the universe man becomes the focus rather than
the divine/cosmic similar to the Enlightenment
- If theres turmoil w/i the state, theres more instability and therefore
unpredictability
- Direct democracy goes hand in hand with the developing secular state
- With secularisation comes less reverence for the gods/divine this ca lead to
hubristic characteristics/tendencies ie. The Syracusan Expedition with
Athens vs. Sparta
- Direct democracy, we can see that man is at the centre man-made
laws/state laws
- Empire hubristic tendencies, both the empire and the direct democracy rep
the secularisation of the state create an enviro for conflict b/w state values
and persona values and beliefs