Micro-lecture #2 Reactions

While watching the second micro lecture on Antigone I found it really interesting how much the countries and areas around Greece had so much influence on the play that we now have access to. Everything from finding scraps of the play in Egypt to the first time Antigone was printed in 1502 in Italy has helped make Antigone what it is today. I also found Michelle’s textual criticism to be very interesting. Because the play is so old and there are very few records of its original performances, there is a lot of room for discontinuity and debate about lines and interpretations. The idea that it is a challenge to even know which character is speaking any given line really speaks to the challenges surrounding making an accurate translation. Furthermore, as we discussed in class, the speaker of a single line changing can change the meaning of a whole scene and give a completely different impression of an interaction or character. On top of all of this, the play still needs to be translated from ancient Greek and each translator's own bias, writing styles, and interpretations all seep into their writing. After gaining this understanding of how complicated and artful the translation process is, I am better able to appreciate the numerous translations as they each offer their own unique takes on the classic play. I found the line 527 debate super interesting as well. The idea that gender roles is not only a topic within the play but the book’s own history is super interesting to me. I also now am able to get a better sense why Shamise portrayed Isma as being reserved and modest.