Exploring the Text

We explored two scenes:

Antigone and Ismene 

• When focusing on this scene, we focused on the relationship between the two sisters and also the contrast in their beliefs. From the text it was obvious that Ismene wanted to help her sister but found it too risky because of what she believed had the power of authority. I also got the impression that although Antigone is smart and courageous, she also seems to be blinded by what she believes,  and in the process she seems to make stupid decisions such as almost disowning her sister, just because her sister doesn't want her to fight a losing battle. This shows that Ismena simply wants the best for her sister however Antigone can sometimes be blinded by her passion to achieve her goals. 
• The text was pretty self explanatory and it wasn't too hard to explore the characters practically. However my partner and I still had a go at changing their personalities (Phoebe played Ismene and I played Antigone). First of all we just read the text through, then we explored a loving sister tone and physicality (such as incorporating a hug, friendly smiles and  the touch of a hand every once in a while etc. In the hopes of creating a bond on stage that resembled that of two loving sisters that were potentially saying their last goodbyes), we then tried making Antigone quite rude and explosive (This was done by giving Antigone a harsh, sharp tone and making her pace the stage a lot. I did this to show her impatience and the fact that she wasn't asking her sister to help her, but instead telling her to or to face being disowned by her own blood), and thirdly we tried a contrast of the two (This was done by Antigone being quite feisty and arguing without backing down however also included Ismene trying to be the loving sister she is without going against her own beliefs. In fact I don't even think Ismene sticks to her beliefs, I simply think that she is too scared to defy Creon, she doesn't want to lose any more of her family. At the end of our scene Ismene and Antigone hug, Ismene wishes Antigone luck but refuses to join her and Antigone walks off without looking back but accepts her sister's opinion and apology to join her on her quest).
• I discovered that the relationship between the two sisters was strong because they had clearly been through a lot with the loss of half of their family. It was also clear that they both shared strong disagreements even though they both potentially wanted the same outcome. 
• This information is also linked to what we had already learned, when we researched about historical context. This is because not only are there two opposing sides in the civil war which are obviously fighting because of an array of disagreements, there is also a clash of personality, agreements and beliefs when it comes to Antigone and Ismene. In fact it is as if both the sisters are are on opposite sides of a war however don't want to harm each other (and of course there is also Antigone's war against Creon).

Antigone and Creon

• We focused on exploring Creons idealist view point. He carries a strong and powerful presence however struggles to find a common ground with himself, after he is faced with the fact that Antigone has defied him and has ultimately created a death sentence for herself. He clearly doesn't want to execute his own niece who is also meant to marry his son, however he refuses to look weak or turn a blind eye at this point in the play. He is right in treating her as one of his citizens however if he changed his ways; ever so slightly, then he could have avoided this and a lot of what is to come in future of the play.
• Antigone still portrayed herself in a forceful manor, she  wasn't about to back down to Creon and willingly accepted death if it meant that she was standing up for what she believed in. Creon on the other hand was explored as emotionless. He was a hard character to master as he has to come across emotionless on the outside however you had to physically show his emotion on the inside (the easiest way to do this was for him to match Antigone's volume and strength when face to face with her, however to then turn away and show his painful expressions. After All, Creon is about to lose both a niece and a daughter in law). 
• Creon and Antigone don't really share a very good relationship in this play however I feel as if post Antigones parents and brothers dying, she and her uncle may have had a relationship. At this point in the play, Antigone clearly despises him and his rule, but Antigone has to like Creon as he is her uncle, father in law and her King.
• This all links back to the historical context post because it makes the audience realize just how important religion is to the Greeks and the lengths that they will go to correct mistakes made.

Greek Women in Theatre

Women weren't viewed as very much more than pests in society, they are merely 'there', with no real importance although were obviously needed to cook, clean, produce babies etc. However, I do find it fascinating how woman somehow always played a strong willed characters in plays, however the lessons that the plays taugh society and the messages that they portrayed were never usually picked up upon; in daily life. I also find it weird how there are both Goddesses and Gods but still women are thought of as less; even though they are given the same title. Women have always been brought up as delicate little flowers that should dress pretty, do their hair nicely, present themselves in a gentle and friendly, polite manner. Maybe what we should have been taught was to get our hands dirty and to go and work along side the males. This in itself has completely messed up society, we have repeated history thousands of times and so this shouldn't come as a shock to us anymore but for some reason it still does.  Only now have we started to grasp a sense of real equality in genders, however even now, in this time of acceptance, when religious matters play a part in the world and its gender equality issues. Women always seem to be in an underdog manor. Women have always carried a disadvantage in society and that was certainly the case in Ancient Greece. In fact, perhaps we could say that theatre was not the only thing that we continued to work on, we also carried this discrimination of equality for thousands of years later.

Cultural Context

• Performance conventions in Sophocles time ranged from competitions to special occasions to festivals. Whenever the Greeks found a chance to put on a play, they would. The plays were seen as a religious even that thanked Dionysus, who is the God of Theatre.
• The plays created a trend of fashion. The costumes created were always padded as to make the actors appear bigger and shoes had big chunk heels to make the actor taller. Actors wore this clothing so that they sytuck out and were seen from any given place from the audience. Actores would also wear masks that held an exaggerated expression. The masks would protect the actors from the situation that their character was in and the brutality of the journey their character embarked on.

Social Context of Antigone

• Social context is an affect due to an individuals morals, dress code, way of thinking, behaviour, life etc. It is the influence that society has on an individual and it's affects. It can also be though of as supremacy (e.g how men had a higher status than women in Ancient Greece).
• When Antigone was created people lived in fear of Creons decisions as leader. They were fearful of him and the war that surrounded them. They had been forced into a civil war which created a clear separation in Thebes and also led to the arguments of who would be in charge of the government which had just been discovered by the democrats.
• I suppose the target audience for the piece was for men since women were regarded as inferior and were not allowed to watch or hear the plays.
• The beliefs of the target audience was that women were not worth much value and weren't particularly important. Luckily, I think Sophocles was a good and fair man, he saw the disadvantage that females had and wanted to show their importance. He delivered a story that told the audience that women were not burdens, but  instead fierce fiery independent woman. He was the first writer to have a female playing the main role of a character with such strong will. Sophocles wrote about equality and I think he really made his audience think and reevaluate their ways of thinking.
• This contributed to a huge influence on the themes and personality of Antigone. She made the audience realize that women were not silly flirts or animals that should be left in a cage all day, but instead people that just like themselves have complex mindsets of their own. Antigone showed her defiance against Creon and his idealistic creations. In fact I think Ancient Greece was lucky that it didn't allow women to watch the plays just incase they were to take up Antigones role and were inspired by her courageous defiance, leading to an uprise which could have essentially of changed the whole of history and it's roots to equality.
• I think Antigone was very much influenced by the Gods. Her morals were much more open minded and she was much more tied to her beliefs, whereas most of the other towns folk would be influenced by the King who had the upper hand on earth.  Sophocles wrote the play whilst he was amidst a war, he was influenced by his surrounding however chose to try and keep them out as much as possible. Perhaps he was influenced by a friend dying or badly injured (or something along those lines), you have to make a sacrifice and leave the body/leave the friend to die because otherwise you would be an unfair general. 
• Men were thought of as a superior gender and a example of their supremacy is the fact that they were allowed to go attend the Theatre whereas woman were hardly ever allowed.
• Antigone is a very political play. It uses political arguments to trigger off a war which then leads to beliefs which contributed to more disagreements. For example obviously burial is a very sentimental subject but is also closely related to religion and therefore, when the King orders for only one a certain person to be buried but not the other it leads to a bigger uprise which affects the King more than it does his people.

Current Events: Lesson 2

• What was happening when Antigone was created? 

Sophocles; also known as the writer of the play, was one of the great generals to lead a military expedition against Samos. This time period was known as the national fervor. It was a time of Political arguments, which Sophocles uses in the play, however he does not include other things such as propaganda but instead focuses his attention on the characters and their themes only. Sophocle chooses to expose Creon and his affect on his people that felt silenced and too afraid to tell him his wrongs. Creon was ,made a fool of in this play and it's a surprise Sophocles didn't spend more time talking about Thebes and its current events.

• Was its creation influenced by any specific historical events? 

It is thought that the conflict betwixt two cities in Athens could have misled his beliefs and influenced him to seize all senses of control that he could possess.