Before the discussion of the Interactive Orals, to me “Antigone” was only about the character of Antigone who buried her brother because of her loyalty as well as her Hubris eventually leading to her downfall. After a detailed discussion of the groups of several aspects of the play I have a deeper insight of what Sophocles actually tried to convey through his characters.
To start off with we discussed the conventions in theatre which include all the elements that Sophocles might have considered.
The actions of the characters were made to be very elaborate because the masks used covered the faces of the actors. They also had to be painted to convey emotion and characterisation. Also I learned that there were no women in theatre due to role of women in Athenian society.
After the discussion of the second group, I understood that Athenian society had a big influence on the play in terms of gender roles, religious beliefs, importance of debate and the reasons why certain characters chose to behave in these manners. For example, Antigone choses to bury Polynices because of her loyalty towards her family and her equal love towards both her brothers, but also due to her Hamartia (her excessive pride). Ismene on the other hand chooses not to bury Polynices and choses civil law instead of divine law. Women were not allowed to take any decisions because they were controlled by their father before marriage and their spouses after marriage. This role of women is also evident in the