However there are some specs of reservation when it comes to Creon that could serve as the chorus casting some doubts to predispose the audience towards the dilemma that will follow. For example the sentences \u201c..but he\u2019s right for the city at this moment.\u201d (p.9) and \u201cWhy he has sent for us To be privy to his thinking\u201d gives the impression of an insecure king. The chorus also serves as a link to the Creon\u2019s monologue and provides as with background information essential for the comprehension of the story.<\/p>\n
So far the chorus is fully submitted to Creon\u2019s will, however its unwillingness to guard the dead\u2019s body \u201cyounger men would be better for that job\u201d (p.11) is a sign that the chorus fears the Gods\u2019 wrath for that sacrilege but they fear Creon more and transmit that fear to the audience.<\/p>\n
Another contribution of the chorus is the elevation of Antigone\u2019s character to a heroic one. \u201cWho would choose to be dead? (p.12). Another bitter irony. We already know Antigone\u2019s intentions to disobey the king. This way Antigone becomes a brave woman ready to sacrifice herself for her beliefs.<\/p>\n
After the guard\u2019s narrative, chorus addresses the Gods involvement and fears their wrath since they know that what the king has decided contradicts religiousness. \u201cThe gods have had a hand in this somewhere\u201d (p.14),\u201dIs this The gods at work?\u201d Perhaps Antigone is not alone anymore. Chorus comments could also be more like an attempt to soothe Creon\u2019s outburst and anger in order to make him understand that he cannot be above the Gods rather than a sign of its religiousness.<\/p>\n
Therefore, chorus contribution is to unveil Creon\u2019s moral values and elevate the dramatic tone of the play. Will he still be a righteous king or will he act like a tyrant :obsessed, angry and stubborn?<\/p>\n
In the first stasimon, the chorus ode to mankind, written in an \u201celevated poetic language\u201d(Hardwick,2008, p200) links the episodes before and after Antigone\u2019s arrest. Here the Chorus\u2019 contribution is to insinuate the main theme of the play. Creon represents the power of human civilianization and its accomplishments while Antigone the power of God\u2019s will. The dilemma chorus faces becomes more evident. Although they are loyal to Gods and religious traditions \u201cwere born and he bowed down to worship them\u201d (p17), nevertheless, they do not neglect to mention of the importance of obeying the law and be anxious of what will happen to the \u201cchild of doom\u201d (p17) who dared to break the law. The ode to mankind also contains a warning to warning for the people who dare to insult the gods-\u201cThen let this wonder of the world remember:\u201d (p17) and adds suspense to the play. The chorus also provides religious information of that era on how the man was created.<\/p>\n
In the second episode chorus intervenes by criticizing Antigone\u2019s character, \u201cThis wildness in her comes from Oedipus. She gets it from her father. She won\u2019t relent\u201d (p.21), and emphasizing the tragic fate of Antigone\u2019s family once again. Although they blame Antigone for being stubborn they also claim that this fault in her character is inherited and cannot be blamed for it. At the same time\u00a0 chorus acts as a friend and advisor to Creon warning him that she will not back down. This also intensifies the atmosphere making the audience wonder what will happen next.<\/p>\n
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In the second stasimon the tragic fate of Antigone\u2019s family is narrated in a lamenting tone. The repetition of \u201cgeneration after generation\u201d(p28) and metaphors \u201clike an undulation underwater\u201d (p.28), create a dramatic imagery. The chorus also makes moral comments of didactic value on the themes of ambition and obsession (p200) \u201cmad ambition\u201d (p.29). It also uses a metaphor \u201c..the man obsessed is a cock-of \u2013the-walk in a hurry towards the worst\u201d (p29) to stress how severe\u00a0 stubbornness can be. The chorus also introduces Haemon and the language shifts from dramatic to political and pragmatic (200) where arguments of both sides are presented. In the dialogue that follows between Creon and his son, chorus acts as a friend to Creon who tries to make him see Haemon\u2019s point of view based on solid arguments. However, chorus remains impartial and neutral saying that both sides are right.<\/p>\n
After Heamon\u2019s depart, chorus plays the role of the \u201cmoral interrogator\u201d\u00a0 (Hardwick, 2008, 201) that influences positively Creon\u2019s decision over Ismene\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
In the third stasimon \u201cthe Ode to love\u201d the chorus praises love that is so great that can lead people to destruction. Perhaps this ode prepares the audience for what is to follow and how Creon\u2019s decision will affect his son who seems to love Antigone .The lamenting tone becomes intense again but this time chorus feels sorry for Antigone, praises her and mourns for her death and acknowledges her heroic act, \u201cBut the law and all it stands for Cannot hold back my tears\u201d (p37).<\/p>\n
The fourth stasimon besides linking the episode in Thebes to mythological backgrounds and referring to gods to deliver Antigone from death, it also introduces Tiresias, elevates the power of gods over the law of state (Hardwick, 2008, p201) \u201cno military power nor the power of money.\u201d (p.42). The lamenting tone is also reinforced with the recurrence of the poetic phrase \u201cWhoever has spared the worst is lucky\u201d (p28, 42).<\/p>\n
In the stichomythia between the chorus and Creon, the first finally manages to convince the latter to change his mind. The suspense is elevated and a celebratory ode to the gods follows but all collapse with the arrival of more bad news. The chorus in the exodus keeps the same principles of the classic Greek tragedy; therefore its purpose is didactic and full of moral meanings. Heaney, though, as Hardwick (2008,p202) points out \u201cuses speech rhythms, images and religious allusions attuned to the cultural framework of his potential audience\/readers\u201d. \u201cBear with the present;what will be will be.\u201d,wise conduct is the key to happiness\u201d,(p 55)\u201dAnd in due season teach them to be wise\u201d (p56) are all references to the Bible ,Ecclesiastes 3 . In this way chorus closes the play and brings back the audience to reality, which is not far away from the themes of the play.<\/p>\n
To conclude, the role of the chorus is of crucial importance to the themes the play wants to convey. Heaney\u2019s version of the chorus tried to stay close to the original text by Sophocles, using it to link narratives and highlight the themes as well as adding a poetic or dramatic tone to the play. Chorus was sympathetic towards both Antigone and Creon and they were both perceived as tragic victims of their stubbornness and obsession. They both paid the price and lost everything.<\/p>\n
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. Chorus was sympathetic towards both Antigone and Creon and they were both perceived as tragic victims of their stubbornness and obsession. They both paid the price and lost everything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[473,474],"tags":[739,738,737],"class_list":["post-6515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-katethese-tin-diki-sou-kritiki","category-theatro-kinimatografos-animation","tag-antigone-2","tag-chorus","tag-heaney","disable-dropcap","disable-2-columns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6520,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6515\/revisions\/6520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unspotted.gr\/el\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}