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1102 ENC A N TI G O N A CRITICAL ANALYSIS BY: HAITHAM MELLOULI PROF. NELSON 12/4/2007 OUTLINE I. Synopsis In this section I will discuss the background information of this play. II. Analysis Analyze through research of other critics. III. Personal opinion I will add in my personal opinion towards this play and how it relates to humans in general. ANTIGON SYNOPSIS Antigone, a play acclaimed and acknowledged as one of the greatest written, has survived almost 2000 years of critiques, productions, and translations. Yet the story of this play still continues to amaze critics and literary readers; productions still continue to bring a large number of people; and movies have been made about this play that are still being sold, despite that the movie was produced in the 1960s and is in black and white. The plot of this play is, in short, a complicated family feud that is fueled by political stubbornness and pride. Ruth Scodel, a critic of Sophocles work, does best when she introduces the characters and play in a paragraph as follows: Oedipus in ignorance married his mother, Jocasta, and the couple had four children: Antigone, Ismene, Eteocles, and Polynices. When Oedipus's parricide and incest were revealed, Jocasta hanged herself; there were varying stories about the fate of Oedipus, but in the version used in Antigone, he apparently died at Thebes, where the play is set. His two sons then quarreled over the kingship; Polynices, driven into exile, gathered an army in alliance with Argos and attacked his native city. The Argives were defeated, and the brothers killed each other. Creon, Jocasta's brother, became king. (Scodel 1) Some say this play is an extensions or sequel of Oedipus the King; however, Antigone was written 20 years before the author took on writing Oedipus the King (Kennedy 1323). Other major characters in this play were Eurydice, the wife of Creon, who kills herself in the end after hearing of the death of her son, Haimon, who killed himself when he tried killing his father for sending his future bride, Antigone to death. The apparent theme of this play is about complicated family ties. It discusses what happens when a member of the family disobeys a supposedly "wiser" family member, who also happens to be a head of the state. In the end, the stubbornness of Creon leads to the death of his dearest of family members. ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY In order to be able to understand the play well, one must understand the author and the times that he lived in. The play was written in Greek around 442 BC by Sophocles, who was a high ranked officer in the Athenian military at the time. For that time, authors were known to use ancient myths to discuss contemporary conflicts in their era. by "Removing the actions to the mythic past, and using heroic characters, a playwright was able to touch on profound and significant issues of his day from a safe distance" (Moss 2). If that was the case, who is Sophocles attempting to compare to Creon? Many acclaimed critics say that Sophocles modeled Creon to great Athenian general Pericles; a general who dominated the political scene of Athens at the time of Sophocles, who was a fellow military leader to Pericles. There is also the possibility that they are good friends. At the time of the play, Pericles career was at its peak. Critics claim that Sophocles used this play warn the people of Athens about the dangers of dictatorship through Creons abuse of power (Moss 5). This play was written and performed in Greek and translated in 100s of versions. At the time it was written and performed, Greeks were using the amphitheatres they were known for. A core component of the play was the chorus, who sang odes in between scenes. Odes are jfjfjf. odes These were a "transition" form one act into another. The leader of the chorus, who is also the advisor to King Creon, is easily described as the "wise kings Follower". He followed the kings orders while hinting at his opinion when it differed from the word of the king. Then and now, costumes remained the same. Although more authentic to its times then. Since most of the characters were from affluent families, it is expected that they would be wearing more expensive fabrics. It is ironic that this very fabric was the murder/suicide weapon used to kill at least two characters in this play. Tools of the time that were also props were swords, arrows, and masks. A quizzical prop would be the masks. As there was no urging need to wear one, i.e. it was not worn to protect the face in times of war, et cetera. According to the University of Oxford, however, these masks were used for many purposes not related to situation in the play. For example, since actors are able to be seen in detail in a setting of a large amphitheatre, one actor could represent more than one character in the same play. Thus reducing the costs incurred to financers of such play (Oxford). PERSONAL OPINION This play is very relevant to our times. Sophocles confronts several issues in this that still face us today, such as loyalty to the family and ones choice to follow written or unwritten rules of our modern society. Antigone, for example, is violating the written rules that her government King Creon has set. She chose to follow the unwritten rules that obligated her to give burial rites to her brother. She felt that gods will was to give Polyneices his burial rites as a human and therefore violated the rules of the state. Creon, felt angry at her violating the "written rules". Her religious beliefs were more superior to her than those of Creon, who was only human after all. She was right, in my opinion, to act as such. A situation that resembles the reverse of the above, yet just as poisonous from our politicians, is when these politicians are "bought" into the demands of one religous group. This group then dictates pathways that they must follow if they are elected. This is done in exchange for monetary and verbal support. One example of this is Dr. Pat Robertson, who endorsed Rudy Guiliani recently. This endorsemnnt is not a free lunch as guiliani will have to follow certain guidelines from the Pat Robertson, who ran for president in the 80s, and his circle. This endorsement also means a lump sum of vote will go to the candidate. But in accepting the endorsement, Giuliani will be forced to ignore demands of many Americans when it conflicts with the agenda of Dr. robertsons agenda. WORKS CITED Adams, George R. "Why the man dies in ,,To Build a Fire". Critical Response to Jack London (1995): 27-35. Gale Literature Resource Center. SCC Library, Sanford, FL. Nov 12 2007. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC.> London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Literature: an Introduction to Diction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.j. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 119-129. Hamilton, David M. "Jack London." (2001). MagillOnLiterature Plus. EBSCO. SCC Library, Sanford, FL. 29 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mjh&AN=0120000281 &site=ehost-live>. "Overview: ,,To Build a Fire, By Jack London". Short Stories for Students (1999). Gale Literature Resource Center. SCC Library, Sanford, FL. Nov 12 2007. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC.> Welsh, James M. "Jack London ,,To Build a Fire" (2004). MagillOnLiterature Plus. EBSCO. SCC Library, Sanford, FL. 29 November 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mjh&AN=9240001174 &site=ehost-live>.

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