Name: Antigone
Author: Sophocles
ISBN: 9780199728497

Antigone

Sophocles

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Author Description

Oedipus, The Former Ruler Of Thebes, Has Died. Now, When His Young Daughter Antigone Defies Her Uncle, Kreon, The New Ruler, Because He Has Prohibited The Burial Of Her Dead Brother, She And He Enact A Primal Conflict Between Young And Old, Woman And Man, Individual And Ruler, Family And State, Courageous And Self-sacrificing Reverence For The Gods Of The Earth And Perhaps Self-serving Allegiance To The Gods Of The Sky. Echoing Through Western Culture For More Than Two Millennia, Sophocles' Antigone Has Been A Touchstone Of Thinking About Human Conflict And Human Tragedy, The Role Of The Divine In Human Life, And The Degree To Which Men And Women Are The Creators Of Their Own Destiny. This Exciting Translation Of The Play Is Extremely Faithful To The Greek, Eminently Playable, And Poetically Powerful. For Readers, Actors, Students, Teachers, And Theatrical Directors, This Affordable Paperback Edition Of One Of The Greatest Plays In The History Of The Western World Provides The Best Combination Of Contemporary, Powerful Language, Along With Superb Background And Notes On Meaning, Interpretation, And Ancient Beliefs, Attitudes, And Contexts. Sophocles' Text Is Inexhaustibly Actual. It Is Also, At Many Points, Challenging And Remote From Us. The Gibbons-segal Translation, With Its Rich Annotations, Conveys Both The Difficulties And The Formidable Immediacy. The Choral Odes, So Vital To Sophocles' Purpose, Have Never Been Rendered With Finer Energy And Insight. Across More Than Two Thousand Years, A Great Dark Music Sounds For Us. --george Steiner, Churchill College, Cambridge Produces A Language That Is Easy To Read And Easy To Speak.... Enthusiastically Recommended.--library Journal [starred Review]

Menrva's Summary

THE PULSE

Antigone defies the royal decree of her uncle, King Kreon, by attempting to bury her brother, Polyneices, setting in motion a fatal collision between divine law and state authority. Antigone acts out of a sense of familial duty and religious obligation, directly challenging the edicts of the new ruler of Thebes. Kreon, driven by his commitment to civic order and political stability, views her defiance as a threat to his sovereignty. The narrative unfolds through a series of intense dialogues and choral odes, adhering to the classical structure of Greek tragedy where the protagonist's moral conviction leads inevitably to catastrophe.

INSIDE THE PAGES

Utilization of the traditional Greek chorus to provide commentary and thematic context.
Exploration of the tension between natural law and human-made legislation.
Examination of the role of hubris in the downfall of political leaders.
Use of stichomythia to heighten the dramatic conflict between characters.
Focus on the religious significance of burial rites in ancient society.
Characterization of Antigone as a figure of unwavering moral agency.
Structural reliance on the unities of time, place, and action.
Integration of philosophical inquiries regarding the nature of destiny and free will.

THE COLLECTIVE ECHO

Readers and scholars frequently analyze this work as a foundational text for understanding the conflict between individual conscience and state power. Discussion often centers on the moral ambiguity of both Antigone and Kreon, as each character operates from a rigid set of principles that precludes compromise. Critics highlight the effectiveness of the choral odes in grounding the play's high-stakes drama within a broader cosmological framework. The play remains a central subject of academic inquiry due to its enduring relevance in debates regarding civil disobedience and the limits of political authority.

Page Count:
208

Publication Date:
2003-01-01

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

ISBN-10:
0199728496

ISBN-13:
9780199728497

Fiction

Drama

Plays

Greek Mythology

classic

Tragedy