Antigone By Anouilh Essay

409 Words1 Page

Investigating the modifications that Anouilh made to Sophocles’ Antigone.

The alterations made to Sophocles’ Antigone once analysed, really help to explain the reason behind Anouilh writing Antigone. Antigone, written by Anouilh, is a Greek-inspired tragedy and was originally written by Greek playwright Sophocles, interestingly being the third of the three Theban plays chronologically, yet the first written.

Anouilh pays homage to Antigone by preserving most of its storyline, but also makes it is his own by adding touches of French culture and using it as an inspiration for an anti-Nazi sentiment. It is quite interesting that a play can be viewed as a revolutionary act, but that is exactly how Antigone was viewed during the ‘collaboration’ between Germany and France in the 1940’s, dubbed the Vichy France period.

If the general structure of Anouilh’s …show more content…

We can see the change in Creon’s character modified by Anouilh through his use of animal imagery. It was mostly used by Sophocles when he was disregarding the natural laws laid out by the gods and what he felt when his people were leaving out of the body. In the eyes of the Ancient Greek, the treatment of the dead needed to be done properly and respectfully because it was a moral and religious obligation, and for them there was nothing worse than its omission. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon doesn’t seem to care about those feelings at all when he says that “the scavenging dogs can do with him whatever they like.” [Sophocles, p. 8] Creon – The King – is at the highest point of the hierarchy and is portrayed to be allowed to disregard those who are below him, who to him are clearly as low as “the dogs”. Anouilh’s Creon differs and is unlike from this as he actually confesses to not being comfortable

More about Antigone By Anouilh Essay

Open Document