Antigone Background Reactions
My first reaction to the lecture was surprise at just how long ago the original Antigone play was written and performed compared to when Home Fire was written. The reason this is so interesting and surprising is because it means that Antigone, a play from across the world written over 2000 years ago is still relevant today. To expand upon this idea, that must mean that the play captured something that was universal to the human experience instead of being just a part of that time period or geography. To me, it adds a level of respect or maybe even reverence to the play that I didn’t have while going into it.
One of the other things that really caught my attention was the description of the actual performances. I’ve seen a couple of plays, and they’ve been fun, but it seems nothing like the plays from ancient Greece. I’ve always heard of plays being a large entertainment event in ancient times, but I never thought about them as such important political and social events. The idea of watching them in the day in order to see the faces of fellow Athenian citizens is a very interesting idea that makes these plays much more communal. I also think that this ties back to the role of the Chorus in Antigone. Their addition as leading the audience’s reactions to the play and guiding them through thoughts and emotions seems to reinforce the idea that this is meant as a social learning opportunity for the people of Athens.
Do you think there is a parallel in today's society to the ancient Greek opportunity to debate and discuss these performances at festivals?
ReplyDeleteHi Noah! I also thought that it was interesting to learn about the communal nature of these plays. It really adds to the feeling that the people in the audience are a vital part of the performance. The lessons they take from the play are what ultimately keep the work alive.
ReplyDeleteHey Griffin! I've seen plays before too, but they've usually only been for entertainment purposes. It seems kind of crazy that they were used for political movements and to make social change. It's also strange that people used them as communal events, when now I feel as if you only really talk to the people you go to the plays with.
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