The Chorus In Antigone

The two versions of Antigone by Sophocles and Anouilh vary greatly. The Greek Chorus in each play act differently depending on the writing style by the two poets. The chorus contains the performers in the plays that act out what is happening on stage. Sophocles’ version of Antigone has the chorus act more like a character in the play, offering advice, reacting to what is taking place, and seeming more as part of the play versus just a narrative. In Anouilh’s version, the chorus plays a more narrative role, describing what is taking place as if it were not part of the play. The chorus in this play offers a longer introduction that announces the characters and the events that will take place. Both of these plays offer different ways to portray …show more content…
The Greek Chorus is a collection of performers that act out as a voice in a play. The Greek Chorus was used to communicate to the audience what was taking place on stage. The old Greek theaters were so large that the movements the actors made had to be over the top and overly dramatic just to be seen. Any vocal communication made by the Chorus had to be loud and completely audible. The theaters were so large back during the Ancient Greek era that if the chorus members were not loud enough, the audience was not able to hear. The roles taken by choruses played as either the narrator or a collection of people in the play as a character group. This could mean the chorus acted as a group of citizens, an army of soldiers, or even a council. The storytelling device used by each of the authors varies. In Ancient Greek Theater, these groups often wore masks to hide their true identity, and to make it easier to recognize the chorus as a collective group. A group of citizens wearing the same bland masks were more easily recognized as a single character than if each character were individualized. Most of the time the members of the Chorus all looked completely …show more content…
The chorus leads the audience through the play detailing what happens. The chorus acts more like a narrator in this sense and describes what is happening on stage. Sophocles’ version of Antigone does have some narrative features in regards to the chorus. But this is more prevalent in Anouilh’s version. The chorus can be seen in this instance as introducing the characters. This persuades he audience into viewing the chorus as a guide, and less of a character. Just like Sophocle’s, this does not mean that there are no characterization features in the chorus. Each version has one of these two aspects more dominant than the other. In the Greek version you would see the chorus taking sides in conflict, often depending on the moral implications of whatever decision was being made. In the more modern version, the chorus acts a neutral body. The chorus in this version does little as opposed to Sophocles’ version. In the beginning of the play, you see the Chorus offering a long introductory speech that familiarizes the audience with each of the play’s characters. The chorus commentates on the nature of the tragedy taking place and even gives a prediction of what is to come. The events that are planned to happen in the play are described in this speech and the chorus rarely appears after. In fact, the chorus is not seen near as much later in the play compared to Sophocles’ version. In the last bit of