The curse placed on Oedipus lingers and haunts a younger generation in this new and brilliant translation of Sophocles' classic drama. The daugh... read full description
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Mar 20, 2010
Choupette
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I was talking to one of the kids I'm tutoring about this play a couple of weeks ago, and I was shocked to hear that she had absolutely no understanding or compassion for Antigone at all. She then wrote an essay about how at the end of the play, the reader's sympathy was entirely with Creon.
Weird. Even though she's irritating, self-centred, immature and seems to display incestuous and necrophilic tendencies, my sympathies have been firmly with Antigone ever since the first time I read More...
Weird. Even though she's irritating, self-centred, immature and seems to display incestuous and necrophilic tendencies, my sympathies have been firmly with Antigone ever since the first time I read More...
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Oct 19, 2011
Elizabeth
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Whenever someone wants to make a point about men causing injustice while believing that they do it for the good of the state, that person always brings out Antigone. I've seen it several times, in one form or another, but this is the first modern Irish version I've read. It lends itself well to that context. Seamus Heaney wrote it for the anniversary of the Abbey Theatre, which was founded by W. B. Yeats to restore Irish theater after years of British rule. Heaney also took this on in 2003 when
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Sep 17, 2011
Christopher
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This is a superb translation and adaptation of Sophocles' great play, Antigone. Ms. Rayor has done a superb job of presenting the drama and pathos of the story in a structure that is lyrical, dynamic, yet remains powerfully emotional. Of the seven different translations and adaptations of Antigone that I have on my bookshelf, Ms. Rayor's adaptation rivals that of Seamus Heaney's, The Burial at Thebes, and they are now my two favorite renditions of Antigone. I highly recommend acquiring and re
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Oct 19, 2011
Rick
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Versions, as opposed to translations, are becoming quite common. They seem to have two virtues, allowing contemporary writers to attempt the classics without having to be fluent in the source language, and providing extra license to creatively explore the story. Heaney has now twice taken on Sophocles tragedies. Both have been excellent re-renderings, though I’d give The Cure at Troy the overall edge. The language in The Burial at Thebes reminds me of Heaney’s earliest poetry collections, Death
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Jan 30, 2009
M.C.
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Nov 04, 2011
Alex
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Seamus Heaney's Antigone is excellent. In part he means to draw a connection between Creon and GW Bush - bear with me - or don't - and while that's vaguely interesting, it also consigns it to be debated in terms of modern politics, which is a shitty little rabbit hole. Sophocles is better than GW Bush.
It's common to call pride Odysseus's tragic flaw, but that's never struck me as true; it's curiosity that does that motherfucker in. But pride is certainly Creon's flaw. He pays, as sur More...
It's common to call pride Odysseus's tragic flaw, but that's never struck me as true; it's curiosity that does that motherfucker in. But pride is certainly Creon's flaw. He pays, as sur More...
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Jan 24, 2011
Mohammed
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This is not the edition i read, i read in a very good, old swedish translation.
This play i think is his masterwork and stronger than Oidopus Rex play. Great story,strong poetry,more depth in comparison to that other famous play. I prefered Euripedes to him when i read them both first but after his strong female portrayal,timeless story,characters i have more respect for his writing. Like most Classic Ancient Greece drama its better in written form,its closer to poetry than modern pl
This play i think is his masterwork and stronger than Oidopus Rex play. Great story,strong poetry,more depth in comparison to that other famous play. I prefered Euripedes to him when i read them both first but after his strong female portrayal,timeless story,characters i have more respect for his writing. Like most Classic Ancient Greece drama its better in written form,its closer to poetry than modern pl
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Dec 16, 2009
Anna
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Antigone can be read many different ways of course. My favorite is her as rebelling against a patriarchal order which seeks to arbitrarily restrict her responsibility to her brother. Perhaps she is a proto-feminist. Butler remarks that Antigone's suicide fails to provide "heterosexual closure" for the play (i.e. marriage to Haemon and motherhood).
While I'm not sure whether following some weird religious higher rules is better than following plain old man-made laws, Antigone More...
While I'm not sure whether following some weird religious higher rules is better than following plain old man-made laws, Antigone More...
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Mar 08, 2009
Tayler
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Would you stay with a decision, even if you knew that decision was wrong, for the sake of your pride? That question is represented in Creon one of the main characters in Antigone. Antigone by Sophocles astounded me with its confusing themes and tangled dialogue. The play did have some redeeming qualities lying within the books characters.
The dialogue of Antigone was very complicated and confusing. I was never completely certain of the events that were unfolding. To make matters worse More...
The dialogue of Antigone was very complicated and confusing. I was never completely certain of the events that were unfolding. To make matters worse More...
Nov 20, 2008
Felix
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In the ancient city of Thebes lies a government controlled by a king. Creon is power hungry and wants people to listen to him. This type of government causes power to be misuse leading to devastation in peoples lives. In the play Antigone, the author shows how the misuse of power causes chaos. Creon misuses power in the way he treats Antigone, the way he makes a law that went against proper human burial rights and how he expects his son Haemon to follow his unjust laws even though the though
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Nov 15, 2011
Valerie
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Antigone by Sophocles is a book that takes place in the time of the Roman Empire. It takes place in Thebes which is like a now a day city. Antigone is a young girl who has two brothers that have just been killed. One of her brothers, Eteokles who has been killed is being buried in a tomb. While the other brother Polyneices' is being fed to the vultures and dogs. Antigone thinks this is not right so she tries to get her sister Ismene to come burry Polyneices' body properly, with her. Ism
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Oct 26, 2011
Mallory
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Antigone a Scphocles play, revised and translated by Paul Roche is a story about a young woman who is willing to sacrifice everything even her life to give her brother a proper barrel. Antigone’s story begins when her father/brother Oedipus kills himself when he discovers who he really is. Bringing shame upon the entire family. After his death Antigone’s two brothers Eteocles and Polynices start a fight over who would rule the kingdom. In the fight they ended up killing each other. Creon Antigo
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Oct 07, 2011
Jessica
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Something about this play just didn't communicate with me. Yes, it remarks upon the struggles between obedience and personal ethics, pride and judiciousness. Yes, it vividly portrays Greek culture in the interjections of the Chorus. Furthermore, it exposes human tendencies and flaws, as is observed of Sophocles' works, only...too far. My most serious qualms with this concerned characterization. It was disconnected and inconsistent; I tried too often to justify and understand the characters, and
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Sep 29, 2011
Daria
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Antigone is a classic tale of "when pride leads to ruin." Creon has just been given charge of Thebes, and his internal insecurity (he can't stand the thought of being proven wrong by a woman) means that he's the designated moronic antagonist for most of the play. Antigone messes with Creon by burying her brother (who Creon specifically orders not to be buried), Creon orders Antigone's execution, the Chorus chants homages to obscure Greek deities, and then the tragic part goes down as v
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Apr 29, 2011
Antigone Plot Analysis
Initial Situation
Antigone arrives in Thebes and finds that her brothers are dead, Polyneices’s dead body is unburried, and there is a royal edict against burying him.
This is what’s up at the beginning of the book. We even have a little bit of conflict right off the bat.
Conflict
Antigone wants to bury Polyneices even though it is against the law and asks Ismene for help. Ismene refuses.
Antigone discovers that if she’s going to burry her br More...
Initial Situation
Antigone arrives in Thebes and finds that her brothers are dead, Polyneices’s dead body is unburried, and there is a royal edict against burying him.
This is what’s up at the beginning of the book. We even have a little bit of conflict right off the bat.
Conflict
Antigone wants to bury Polyneices even though it is against the law and asks Ismene for help. Ismene refuses.
Antigone discovers that if she’s going to burry her br More...
Feb 22, 2011
Valerie
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In the dramatic play Antigone by Sophocles, the main character, Antigone, faces a major decision that could change her life. Antigone was written around 400 BC, but the drama is similar to what we see every day. There was arrogance, pride, and family fights, but on a much bigger scale.
Antigone took place in ancient Greece around 400 BC. The story began when Antigone found out that her corrupt uncle, Kreon, had made it illegal to bury her brother, Polyneikes. If someone was brave en More...
Antigone took place in ancient Greece around 400 BC. The story began when Antigone found out that her corrupt uncle, Kreon, had made it illegal to bury her brother, Polyneikes. If someone was brave en More...
Feb 01, 2011
Randilyn
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Jun 25, 2010
Rina
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I really enjoy the complexity of Sophocles' Antigone. It leaves you thinking in many directions long after you have finished reading it. Is Antigone convicted unjustly for breaking a human law because she wants to honour her deceased brother and the Gods alike? Or are Creon's intentions misinterpreted as tyranny when he only wants to act against greed and superstition and establish man-made laws instead of quackery? How far should you go in obeying the (head of) state? What is up to your own mor
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Feb 28, 2010
Russ
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Sometime in the distant past, two brothers face each other in battle for the kingship of the great city of Thebes. Fighting throughout the day, both finally accomplish their goal in an unexpected twist of fate; they slay each other at the same exact time. At the other gates of Thebes the army that the attacking brother brought has been routed and peace has returned to the city, for the most part anyway. The brothers’ uncle Creon is made king. The brother that defended the city has a proper buria
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Jan 12, 2010
Laura
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Antigone is a strong contender in the Plays That Keep You Awake at Night competition. The background of the story reads, no surprise, like a Greek tragedy: Antigone is the orphaned daughter of Jocasta and Oedipus (the mother and father/brother team from Oedipus Rex) who has now lost both her brothers as well — they killed each other fighting over who got to rule Thebes. Uncle Creon, the new king, decreed that the “traitor” brother is to go unburied. The conflict is that Antigone plans to ignore
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Dec 21, 2009
Isa
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Dec 12, 2009
Rosa
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It`s unbelievable how Sophocles knew the basic principles about ruling a nation in 400 B.C and some governors still don`t understand them in 21st century!!!
Anyway...these are some of my favourite quotes from the play:
"There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money."
"I am aware, of course, that no Ruler can expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office
as for the man who sets private friendship above the publi More...
Anyway...these are some of my favourite quotes from the play:
"There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money."
"I am aware, of course, that no Ruler can expect complete loyalty from his subjects until he has been tested in office
as for the man who sets private friendship above the publi More...
Oct 24, 2009
erinbobarin94
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Jul 11, 2009
Katie
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Holy shit, talk about re-assessing what you value! Choosing between the rules of society vs. the rules of family? Damn.
Interestingly, the very issues this book addresses were put to the test while I was living abroad. IN CAMBODIA (forgive the "In Cambodia" story ... ), someone I counted as a friend challenged my sister's honesty as a businessperson. He insinuated she was taking money from a non-profit she ran to fund a lifestyle he deemed excessive. Turns out she funded tha More...
Interestingly, the very issues this book addresses were put to the test while I was living abroad. IN CAMBODIA (forgive the "In Cambodia" story ... ), someone I counted as a friend challenged my sister's honesty as a businessperson. He insinuated she was taking money from a non-profit she ran to fund a lifestyle he deemed excessive. Turns out she funded tha More...
Apr 20, 2009
Tammy
rated it:
A drama that I have taught for numerous years but one that I read again for the first time in several years, this play by Sophocles speaks again to me about commitment and brain development. Yes, I know... what a combo!
One just cannot help but be appreciative of Antigone's loyalty to her family, especially her brother. Who among you would lay down his life for his/her brother?
On a different note, though, I have to question Antigone's level of brain development, for I look More...
One just cannot help but be appreciative of Antigone's loyalty to her family, especially her brother. Who among you would lay down his life for his/her brother?
On a different note, though, I have to question Antigone's level of brain development, for I look More...
Jan 03, 2011
Kierra
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The book i read is Antigone by Sophocles. The main characters in this book are Antigone, Creon, Ismene,and Hameon. The other characters are Teiresias (the blind seeker) Eurydice (Creons wife) and the messengers. This book takes place in ancient Thebes, Greece between 400 and 500 B.C. It is important to know the setting because there is a king and and things happen that don't happen now. This book is about this young girl named Antigone trying to get a proper burial for both of her brohters i
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May 16, 2011
Elizabeth
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After King Oedipus was exiled from the city of Thebes when he learned that he had committed incest and patricide, his younger son Eteocles claimed that the kingship belonged to him, exiling his older brother Polyneices. Polyneices then attacked Thebes with a massive army, but neither son won because they killed each other in battle. The new Theban king, Creon, declares that Eteocles will be buried and honored as a hero while Polyneices' body will rot away and be eaten by dogs in disgrace; the pe
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Apr 04, 2009
Juan Pablo
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Mar 19, 2009
Brittany
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The worst thing you can do with this great tragedy is try to find a villian. At the end of the day, the villian is ignorance, hubris and rigidity. Beware.
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Jan 24, 2012
Sonnie (Future Mrs.Eric Northman)
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This was my first reading of Antigone, and I have to say the translation is wonderful. The language was easy to understand and really kept me in the play. The glossary in the back was very helpful and gave short backgrounds on Greek gods and characters mentioned in the play. This edition also had side notes that were extremely helpful.
I read this for my Young Adult Lit class, and I really enjoyed it.<spoiler> I love the fact that the message it brings can be carried acros More...
I read this for my Young Adult Lit class, and I really enjoyed it.<spoiler> I love the fact that the message it brings can be carried acros More...
