Sophocles’ original was set in the aftermath of war, and Bertolt Brecht adapted the play (from Friedrich Hölderlin’s translation) after the resolution of WW2, when the country was still feeling its effects. Brecht’s plays were notorious for conveying political messages, he was a follower of Marxism and placed great importance on his theatre not only displaying a consciousness of the world around us, but making changes within it. It was the first Greek tragedy he had adapted, and it was the theme of resistance to tyranny that had attracted him (Ewen, 1967, p. 427), as it resonated with his own political ideas. Brecht also believed that an audience should be made to think about what is being shown on the stage, rather than sympathise or empathise with the characters. Although Antigone is a victim of oppression and meets a tragic end, there is also a perspective of Creon’s impossible position. This gave Brecht the opportunity to make sure the audience did not sympathise with the heroine, but instead consider the situation both characters are in, an analogy for real life situations of tyranny and oppression. He also ‘used the choral form of Greek tragedy as a device for creating critical distance’ (Wiles, 2000) to further emphasise the audience’s external position.
Antigone as a play also presents two different representations of women, and the character contrasts between Antigone and her sister Ismene are evident. As described by Webster (1969, p. 88), the play is built on character contrasts, for example Antigone standing for idealism vs. Ismene’s realist attitude. In the opening scene, Ismene is shown to be against Antigone’s plan to bury Polyneices herself. She speaks of how, as women, they are not in a position to rebel against the state:
‘We must be sensible. Remember, we are women,
we’re not born to contend with men. Then too,
we’re underlings, ruled by much stronger hands
[...] I have no choice, I must obey’
(Sophocles, 1984, p. 62)
Throughout history, women have traditionally been generally in this position of not having power against their male superiors, however, in Antigone as with other characters in Greek drama, the protagonist is a woman unafraid to step out against the norms of society to fight for her beliefs. However, where Ismene considers being female a weakness that would hold them back, Antigone sees it as her strength. She sees her womanhood as meaning duty to her family is above her duty to the state. This idea of gaining strength in femininity falls in line with the twentieth century’s changing attitudes to women, with strong female figures breaking through for equality in a male-dominated society. Overall, Antigone as a character gives a message that ‘in certain heroic natures unmerited suffering and death can be met with a greatness of soul which, because it is purely human, brings honor to us all’ (Knox, in Sophocles, 1984, p.53).
However, despite her being shown as heroic in nature, in the play characters are more complex than simply protagonist and antagonist. This multi-dimensional view of them makes them in a way more human than simple good and evil. As Webster states, the character ‘must have as complete a character as possible; the audience must see or hear him in the greatest possible number of different circumstances’ (Webster, 1969, p. 83). This depth of character means that it is easy for a practitioner or writer interpreting the play to put the audience in a position of seeing different aspects of the character, and see their humanity and identify with aspects of the character (as mentioned with Brecht above).
The simple way in which the plays are presented also contributes to their success in translation, adaptation, and performance. In translations such as Fagles’, there are no stage directions, as if Sophocles’ intended for the plays to be read and studied rather than performed. In Greek theatre overall, plays are written in this format, and action and gruesome death is described in messenger speech instead of being shown on stage. This ‘bare-bones’ style of presentation means the plays give much directorial freedom, with the director able to interpret the play in a multitude of interesting and innovative ways if they so desire. Also, the Greek language of the original work means that when it comes to translation, the exact wording of the manuscript may differ, offering opportunity for many different versions of the same text.
The popularity of Antigone, alongside other Greek tragedies, can be examined and explained from a Freudian perspective, that ‘tragedy pleases because of the formal control it provides’ (Holland, in Nuttall, 1996, p.54). When watching a tragedy, the audience will feel empathy with characters, but after the performance will return to their life. Similar, for example, to the adrenaline rush but without risk gained when watching a horror film, it is a case of being moved emotionally without having to deal with the permanent resonance of loss, grief and tragedy in a person’s own life. As Huxley describles, tragedy is ‘something that is separated from the whole truth ... [tragedy] is chemically pure’ (Huxley, 1931). He continues to explain that this chemical purity means tragedy has an immediate and powerful effect, and gives audiences a sense of catharsis. In its simplest essence, theatre is a form of entertainment and escapism, and tragedies offer exactly this. Antigone’s complexity of characters and political resonance, and the ability to adapt it to create different messages and represent different ideals makes it easy to see why it is considered one of the greatest classic tragedy plays of not just the Ancient Greek era, but all time.
Bibliography
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Burgess, J. (2005). The Faber Pocket Guide to Greek and Roman Drama. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Ewen, F. (1967). Bertolt Brecht, His Life, His Art and His Times. London: Calder and Boyars.
Huxley, A. (1931). Tragedy and the Whole Truth. In Music at Night. unknown.
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Webster, T. (1969). An Introduction to Sophocles (2nd Edition ed.). London: Methuen & Co.
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