Transcript Sophocles - Humble ISD

Sophocles’ antigone
Sophocles
• Sophocles: born in
Athens Greece in 497
BCE and was the bestknown of the ancient
playwrights.
• Plays focused on
humans under the
influence of the gods
• Stories taught moral
and social lessons
The Role of Government
• Athenian Government: “Exclusionary
democracy,” run by elected officials in the form
of an open assembly. Only about 10% of the
population was eligible to participate. Women,
slaves, and other “non-citizens” were excluded.
• Inspiration: Although he was a member of the
ruling class, Sophocles was aware of the social
inequalities in Athenian society. His plays
include repeated attempts to warn his fellow
Greeks of the divine retribution that would come
to them as a result of their prejudices and
injustice to the poor.
Role of Religion
• The gods, while immortal and powerful, were not allpowerful. They were themselves subject to fate and to
each other’s will. They were also subject to – and
bound to enforce – a body of laws.
• The entire conflict in Antigone stems from the
“unnatural” occurrence of two brothers waging war
against one another and killing one another. This
conflict is further compound by another blood
relation’s - their Uncle Creon’s – refusal to grant one
proper funeral rites. Antigone’s point against Creon is
that his prohibition of a funeral for Polynices is a
human law, and that she must obey the older, stronger
law, which is the law of the gods.
Tragedy
• A form of art based on
human suffering that
causes pity and fear
within the spectators.
This results in a
catharsis (emotional
cleansing) or healing
for the audience
through their
experience of these
emotions in response to
the suffering of the
characters in the drama
Elements of Tragedy
• Tragic Hero: the main
character in a tragedy. The
modern use of the term usually
involves the notion that such a
hero makes an error in his or
her actions that leads to his or
her downfall or flaw.
– The hero discovers that his
downfall is the inevitable result
of his own actions, not by
things happening to him
– A tragic hero is often of noble
birth, or rises to noble
standing
– The suffering of the hero is
meaningful, because although
it is a result of the hero's own
actions, it is not totally
deserved and may be cruelly
disproportionate.
Elements of Tragedy
•
Tragic Flaw:
– An imbedded flaw in the hero’s
character that leads to tragic
consequences
– Examples of tragic flaw:
• Hubris (excessive pride)
• Stubbornness
• Lack of knowledge
•
Hamartia:
– A tragic error committed by the
hero (often caused by their tragic
flaw) that leads to the hero’s
downfall
– It is the starting point of a causally
connected train of events ending
in disaster.
– Often, the hero believes he is
choosing to do good, but in doing
so, chooses something that will
lead to unhappiness
Ancient Greek Theatre
• Originated as part of
a festival to the god
Dionysus
• Evolved from single
performers reciting
poems into three
actors + a chorus
• Formed the basis for
modern drama
Ancient Greek Theatre
• Theatre sessions were a
competition where, at the end
of ten days, a winner would be
announced
• Known playwrights:
– Thespis: One character
stepped forward from the
chorus to narrate or tell the
story
– Aeschylus: Added a second
character and dialog
– Sophocles: Used three
characters and created
more realistic dramatic
scenes
– Euripides: Created
psychologically complex
characters
Ancient Greek Theatre
• Each play would be
performed by, at most,
three actors
• Actors wore masks to
identify them with the
personage they
portrayed; as well as to
help project their voices
• Actors were accompanied
by a chorus.
Elements of Greek
Theater
• Chorus: a group of 12 or 15 minor actors. Their
purpose is to:
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Set the tone
Give background information
Recall events of the past
Interpret and summarize events
Ask questions
Offer opinions
Give advice, if asked
Stay objective, in the sense that it did not disagree with the
leading character
– Act like a jury of elders or wise men who listened to the evidence
in the play and reached a moralistic conclusion at the end.
Elements of greek
tragedy: mask
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Persona
One of the iconic conventions of
classical Greek theatre
All twelve members of the
chorus wear the same mask
because they are considered to
be representing one character
Classical masks were able to
bring the characters' face closer
to the audience, especially since
they had intensely overexaggerated facial features and
expressions
Enabled an actor to appear and
reappear in several different
roles, thus preventing the
audience from identifying the
actor to one specific character
Characteristics of the Buildings
• Built on a large scale to
accommodate large
audiences (up to 14,000
people)
• Mathematics played a
large role in the
construction of these
theatres - acoustics had
to be such that actors'
voices could be heard
throughout the theatre,
including the very top row
of seats