Sophocles’ original intentions for his play Antigone has been open to interpretation for thousands of years through different languages, morals standards, wars, revolutions, cultural beliefs and human emotion, leading to varied and perhaps even misinterpretations on part of both audiences and translators, much like the bible. Throughout 4th century B.C.E and the 21st century, there has been vast changes in culture, thus leading to the audience reading the play and seeing it through a different mindset than 4th century audiences would. This is expressed through the many versions of the play performed in different languages and countries. Sophocles’ three Theban plays do however have a method of conveying the writer’s true meaning through the use of the chorus, making his original intentions clearer for the audience.
The chorus is vital to Sophocles’ play, Antigone, as they reveal Sophocles’ intentions and morals. The chorus, a group of old …show more content…
Sophocles’ really means to convey to the audience that eventually, bad things will catch up, overshadowing Creon’s ultimate fall. For the modern audience, they can interpret this as Creon’s karma. However, what the chorus really says is “to the man the gods will ruin”, displaying Creon’s helplessness in the entire situation. It is as if no matter what, Creon will suffer for his family’s crimes, for his sister’s marriage to his nephew, for his nephew’s heinous patricidial murder. Creon has been a character open to many variations of interpretations. Creon is simply a king looking to protect his city, however questionable his decisions are, the chorus recognises his role and importance. It was especially important for Sophocles’ not to ridicule the king too considerably, as respect for monarchs was very important in fourth century B.C.E.
“whoever places a
The chorus is vital to Sophocles’ play, Antigone, as they reveal Sophocles’ intentions and morals. The chorus, a group of old …show more content…
Sophocles’ really means to convey to the audience that eventually, bad things will catch up, overshadowing Creon’s ultimate fall. For the modern audience, they can interpret this as Creon’s karma. However, what the chorus really says is “to the man the gods will ruin”, displaying Creon’s helplessness in the entire situation. It is as if no matter what, Creon will suffer for his family’s crimes, for his sister’s marriage to his nephew, for his nephew’s heinous patricidial murder. Creon has been a character open to many variations of interpretations. Creon is simply a king looking to protect his city, however questionable his decisions are, the chorus recognises his role and importance. It was especially important for Sophocles’ not to ridicule the king too considerably, as respect for monarchs was very important in fourth century B.C.E.
“whoever places a