1 Sophocles' Antigone Introduction, translation, and notes by ...

Copyright 2000, NICK HERN BOOKS
Introduction
Sophocles is the playwright of heroism, and Antigone the first female character in
drama to be a hero in the full sense of the word. She is the first conscientious objector.
The play is often performed as veiled criticism of the government prevailing at the time to
show that something is rotten in that particular state.
First, I offer a look at tragedy as it was originally performed, then Sophocles' other
work, and its later influence, finally a close look at the Antigone, with suggestions to
facilitate an eventual performance.
The Performance of Tragedy
The first performance of a tragedy is attributed to Thespis, ca. 534 B. C. in
Athens. He had only one actor, who differentiated himself from the chorus, and Aristotle
tells us that Aeschylus added a second actor and that Sophocles added a third, creating
more possibilities for interchange and conflict. The three actors were called Protagonist,
Deuteragonist, and Tritagonist (first, second, and third actor), and if further parts were
needed, they were divided between them. Since all the actors were male, masks allowed
them to play female roles. Masks particularly suited actors in the large theatres in which
they performed. There were also supernumeraries, or nonspeaking parts, such as
attendants and children. An actor was called a hypokritês, which meant "one who
answers, an interpreter, expounder." Aristotle tells us that Sophocles introduced scene-
painting to suggest a visual background.
At the main Athenian dramatic festival, the Greater Dionysia, each dramatist put
on three tragedies and one satyr play which comically handled tragic themes. A comedy
by a different playwright followed. Aeschylus preferred the connected trilogy which
allowed the development of a concept such as the workings of divine justice over several
generations. Sophocles abandoned the practice of writing connected trilogies and instead
preferred to highlight a major character within a single play.
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