English II: Tragedy in Our Midst Using the RAP Strategy to Take Notes over Nonfiction Strategies of reek

Tragedy: The !horus and the Structure of Antigone

by Nola Smith

http://www.nauvoo.byu.edu/TheArts/Theater/studypackets/Lesson11/Strategies.htm
1. Theatre classes often approach Greek theatre as if the art of that particular time was only a variation of modern practice. This attitude is understandable, given that many production elements common today, such as masks, costumes, music, and script, were used by the ancients, and a number of the texts are part of our cultural heritage. f we insist on seeing theatre history as an evolutionary progression, each period building on the last, gradually discarding outmoded methods and discovering the !new and improved,! then contemporary theatre must be the best. "odern theatre, with its profusion of technological applications, its costuming drawn in materials and concepts from around the world, with its constant novelty, must be the theatrical pinnacle. #ll else must be inferior. Such an approach is misleading, however, and downright arrogant. $urrent historians acknowledge that the Greeks used many elements of production and style first, and that today%s practices are the descendants of originals that were, in some ways, superior. &obert $ohen notes that '. (hen theatre historians speak of the !Greek Theatre,! they are speaking specifically of the theatre of one locale, #thens, and of )ust one century, the fifth century *$. +or that span of one hundred years, in a city,state of no more than 1-.,... persons, the #thenian population was treated to a theatrical life unparalleled in its social importance and aesthetic ma)esty /Theatre 012. 1. n a way, however, the biased claim for current theatre%s being the best there is makes a certain sense. Today%s theatre is the best for the people of today, as it expresses what present artists feel about our times. *ut the idea that our theatre is necessarily superior is ludicrous. The Greek theatre was what it needed to be for the Greeks. The art was formed by the times and the soul of the people. nstead of dismissing differences between past and current conventions as inferior, we may rather profitably examine such differences for what they teach us about the past, theatre and drama, and even our own times.

The Chorus
3. The chorus, according to &. (. *. *urton, is the !traditional element in Greek tragedy 4that5 strikes modern taste as its strangest and least intelligible feature! /12. The Greeks, however, may have found the chorus the most familiar element in the drama. The Greek theatre seems to have grown out of

religious ritual, and remained ever close to religious roots. f we are to believe #ristotle, the tragic theatre originated in 6ionysian celebrations. These fren7ied ceremonies and celebrations gradually evolved into dythrambic songs, which in turn ,, so the most popular theory of the origins of Greek tragedy goes ,, became regulari7ed, recorded, and competitive. The members of the ritual choruses, numbering about fifty, performed in #thens during the spring festivals of 6ionysus, and, combining religion with public entertainment, vied for pri7es. Greek audiences had experienced these choruses for many years before the invention of theatre began to change the emphasis from the choral group to the characters and their story. The people knew what to expect from choruses, both dythrambic and dramatic, because many of the city%s men had actually performed in such groups. *oth the rites and the drama depended on many volunteer participants, who rendered this service as a part of their civic duty /#rnott '12. #mateur did not mean neophyte, and regular public participation led to a high level of skill in the choruses ,, and it also made for an informed audience. -. The theatre of Sophocles% #thens was supported by the state as an integral religious community function, and was run systematically. The twelve to fifty members /evidence is contradictory2 of dramatic choruses were chosen and assigned to a playwright about eleven months before the next contest, and may have been trained and pampered for the better part of the year. The training was led by a choregos /chorus trainer2, a well,to,do citi7en, who was expected to secure rehearsal space and to oversee their rigorous exercise and special diet. There is evidence that he paid the musicians and actors, supplied stage properties, and underwrote other costs. #ll this occurred at his expense, and was considered a form of tax payment e8ual to, for instance, outfitting a battleship for the state. The )ob was not without its rewards9 should his productions win, the choregos shared with the playwright the prestige and pri7e money. 0. $horal performance also followed a pattern. The scripts and other evidence suggest that it was customary for the chorus to enter the stage either en masse in a stately march, or to gather in from several directions, singly or in small groups. They danced and sang in unison, but could divide into two groups that performed in turn /some extant plays even re8uire two full choruses2. #t times the chorus acted as a single entity, speaking lines in dialogue with an actor, but occasionally individual members of the chorus spoke a few lines alone /*rockett 1.2. The main choral passages were anything but static. The dancing and chanting or singing were accompanied by carefully prepared and pitched music. nstrumentation included that of the dythrambic choruses, such as the lyre, trumpet, and various percussion instruments such as cymbals and drums. :ther accompaniment was performed on the aulos, a reedy double flute resembling a modern oboe or clarinet in tone. The flute player might be asked to improvise certain portions of the music, and some evidence suggests he may have had a wooden shoe with which he could mark a beat /*rockett 11, *ieber ;2. <. The dances performed by the tragic chorus to this music ranged from stationary, with rhythmic symbolic gestures, to the frantically energetic. The

movements would be correlated with text in timing and meaning. The dances could be ritualistic, representing a wide variety of religious functions, such as funeral processions, wedding dances, or ecstatic fren7ies, depending on the needs of the play and the character of the chorus. (hile the chorus of Antigone is composed of =lders of the city of Thebes, other plays employ discrete groups of !sailors, young girls, mature women, guardians of a sanctuary! /*urton 12, etc. ,, all played by men. ;. >nlike modern musical dance theatre, where the chorus functions largely as support for the main characters, the classical Greek chorus was as important as the actors, with the text precisely divided. The conventional structure of the tragic play, !as rigidly prescribed as the design of a 6oric temple! /?adas '2, was ordered into parts9 Prologos, Parodos, Epeisodia, Stasima (further subdivided into triads of strophe, antistrophe, and epode), and Exodos . The Prologue, which begins most plays, belonged to one or two actors, who informed the audience of the circumstances of the play. The chorus made its formal entrance into the orchestra in the Parodos /a choral ode2, and would, as a rule, not leave the stage again until the Exodos. The chorus observed and periodically interacted with the main actors during the three to six Episodes, but those acting the named characters would often leave the stage during the Stasima, or lyric choral odes, to change masks.

The Structure of Antigone

@. Prologos: #ntigone meets smene before the palace, where she informs her sister of $reon%s decree that the body of their brother Aolyneices must be left unburied. She is determined to bury the corpse, come what may, and asks for help. smene refuses and tries to dissuade her. 1.. Parados "first choral ode#: The Theban =lders describe the events of the war of the Seven and re)oice in the city%s divinely assisted survival. The sunny mood of this ode contrasts with the dark prologos, and 8uickly establishes irony. The audience knows that, even as the chorus anticipates ecstatic revelry and celebration for deliverance, the events have already been set in motion that will destroy their happiness. The contrast between the sorrow for the slain and the )oy of life, between fear and relief, memory and anticipation, all foreshadows the coming conflicts between family and state, earthly and heavenly law, )ustice, and mercy. 11. E$isode One: $reon informs the loyal =lders or Senators of his ascension to the throne, and of his determination that obedience to the state will override all other considerations. 6isloyalty will bring the death penalty. ?e makes his first decree9 the traitor Aolyneices is to be left unburied as a public example and warning. This decree is immediately challenged9 a frightened soldier informs him that someone has mysteriously performed a ritual burial. $reon threatens the guard with torture and death if the fellow does not discover the real culprit. 1'. Stasi%on One "second ode#: The chorus sings of the greatness of man /a bit ironically, considering $reon%s tantrum and the soldier%s foolishness2. The

chorus warns that a ruler must uphold the laws of both the gods and the state, or suffer a fall. This ode describes in rising complexity how man has subdued the earth, con8uered the seas, tamed the animals, and created cities and governments through the use of his body and mind. "ankind, as exemplified by $reon, is capable of imposing order. *ut, says the ode, man cannot control death ,, as $reon will discover as he tries to execute #ntigone and inadvertently causes the death of his son and wife. # further irony of this ode is that man has not subdued woman ,, it is a woman who defies $reon. :ne implication of the ode and the scenes that follow is that, )ust as the state fails when the laws of the state and the laws of the gods conflict, so life fails when men and women are at odds. 11. E$isode T&o: #ntigone is brought before $reon, where she defiantly declares her guilt, claiming that unwritten divine laws outweigh mere man, made laws. $reon argues that #ntigone, in her pride, is a threat to the state and deserves death, even though she is his niece and engaged to his son ?aemon. ?e believes smene is also guilty of treason. 13. Stasi%on T&o "third ode#: The $horus muses on the curse that has destroyed generations of the house of Babdacus, )ust as it is now destroying the last survivors, #ntigone and smene. Aride and blindness bring ruin. (hat Ceus decrees will come to pass. *lindness and the sins of the fathers cause destruction /foreshadowing the fatal schism of the next scene that dooms another family2. 1-. E$isode Three: $reon tells his son that #ntigone is a threat to authority and the city, and asks him to abandon her. ?aemon counters that the opinion on the street supports #ntigone, and it would be wise for $reon to bow to necessity. $reon takes umbrage, and the ensuing 8uarrel ends with $reon demanding #ntigone%s immediate execution and ?aemon rushing off threatening to die first. 10. Stasi%on Three "fourth ode#: The $horus and #ntigone engage in a formal dialogue. #ntigone mourns her own death and the curse on her family that has robbed her of the opportunity for marriage and childrenD near despair, she finds new strength to stand alone. The chorus, torn between loyalties, offers scant sympathy. :ne interesting aspect of this ode is that the chorus offers a face,saving excuse9 the trouble between father and son is caused by a god. Eust as $reon blames his son%s defection on ?aemon%s love for #ntigone, so the Greeks blamed much of the disorder in the universe on #phrodite%s meddling. +amily love ,, for brothers, fathers, offspring, and other close relatives ,, was regarded a !duty as well as a virtue! /Stanford 1;2. !Strong erotic passion,! on the other hand, !was regarded as a sickness of mind and body, as both characters and choruses attest in tragedy! /102. Sexuality was natural and normal, but an !=ros! that interfered with filial ties was a madness. 1<. E$isode 'our: $reon orders #ntigone%s death. #ntigone continues to )ustify her actions, and asks the gods to punish those who punish her.

1;. Stasi%on 'our "fifth ode#: The chorus recounts stories of other noble figures who have suffered cruel fortunes because someone tried to circumvent the will of the gods. !+ate%s inevitability, valid for the guilty and innocent alike, is the unifying theme of the whole! /*urton 1112. The chorus seems to take a step back here, to disassociate itself from )udgment, which belongs to rulers and the gods. 1@. E$isode 'ive: The blind soothsayer Teiresias warns $reon that he has angered the gods by not burying Aolyneices, and a dire fate awaits him and his city. $reon is forced to reverse his )udgments. '.. Stasi%on 'ive( the Paean "si)th ode#: The distressed chorus invokes 6ionysus, the half,mortal patron god of Thebes, to protect and heal the city. They are ready once more to participate in the wild rites of the cult ,, this time in desperate appeal to the gods rather than boasting in victory. />nfortunately, instead of the god, the messenger comes, bearing a tale of sorrow. The king bears the punishment for the State2. n a sense, Sophocles here reminds the audience that they too are at the mercy of the mistakes of their rulers and the whims of their gods. #ttendance at the tragedy itself was a 6ionysian ritual, participation in an activity that removed the mind from everyday reality into a sort of !madness,! or new way of seeing. '1. E$ilogos: # messenger relates bad news to the chorus and =urydice, $reon%s wife. $reon and his men buried Aolyneices, then, hurrying to release #ntigone, discovered her dead /hanged2 and ?aemon weeping over the body. *efore their eyes ?aemon followed his bride in suicide. =urydice leaves silently. $reon enters with the body of his son, and brokenly repents his pride and anger, accepting responsibility for the death. The messenger re,enters and informs $reon that his wife, grieving over the loss of her sons, has committed suicide. $reon, in misery and pain, accepts the blame, admits his nothingness before the gods, and prays for death. ''. E)odos "seventh and final ode#: The chorus delivers the moral, urging wisdom and proper awe before the gods, underlining the !enduring significance below the surface detail of action! /*urton 1102. '1.This brief recounting of the plot of Antigone shows that the chorus frames every ma)or scene. The chorus functioned technically in this and other tragedies to give information, to add color and life and sound, to set the mood and pace. "ore importantly, standing in the orchestra between the actors and the audience, sometimes part of and sometimes outside of the action, it functioned as a link between the world of the play and that of everyday people. t was sometimes the moral commentator that established the ethical and social framework for the action, the storyteller that could link the immediate action to the larger Greek mythos and connect it to the wider context. t could coach the audience, translating the intellectual and moral problems of the events, or act as the !ideal spectator,! responding to the events as the playwright felt the audience should. ts emotional responses moved the thoughts and feelings of the audience. Sophocles expanded one function of the chorus, as is readily apparent in Antigone: ! n Sophocles%

drama especially, the odes are a rich source of his famous dramatic irony, filled with images and references that signify far more to the audience than the characters on stage! /Gardiner 32. The actors performed the storyD but the chorus told the deeper story. !Sophocles% particular contribution to dramatic structure is the staging of conflict, in particular conflict between opposing forces rigid in attitude and uncompromising in action! /(alton 1.'2. ?is choruses functioned as the neutral ground where both sides of the conflict could be examined. Sophocles% chorus in Antigone consists of =lders or Senators, older men who have been loyal to the rulers of the city through several changes of leadership. They are old enough now to feel a bit detached from both the physical battle and the political fray9 as they tell $reon, !Founger men than us should implement your policies.! Thus, this chorus is the character who, unlike the rigid and strongly opinionated named characters, is free to weigh options and to change its mind. The chorus shifts its position throughout the play, and is swayed by each character%s best arguments. This fluctuation is useful, for it validates the opposing claims, leaving no definite right. =ven those chorus opinions that appear settled in Antigone are actually e8uivocal. The individual odes are ambiguous. (hat appears as a condemnation of #ntigone would serve e8ually well as a denunciation of $reon in a later stage of the play. =ach rebuke at $reon%s pride could )ust as well serve as a criticism of #ntigone%s self,righteous posturing as a martyr. The chorus demands that the audience constantly re, evaluate, and so helps the audience toward discernment, and even wisdom.

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