UGS 303 1st Edition Lecture 6 Outline of Last Lecture I Do we ever need a tyrant II How bad are tyrants III How would leadership best make a tyrant more effective Outline of Current Lecture I The chorus II Conflicts III The structure IV Questions Current Lecture I The chorus is very important in Greek plays Audiences would come to see the chorus as much as the show itself A The chorus typically danced and sang to the accompaniment of flutes similar to clarinets and drums B The chorus was composed of 12 15 young men of all different social classes who lived and trained together for months C All plays were performed in the theater of Dionysus and they were competing with each other The play that won usually succeeded because of the quality of its chorus D The chorus basically functions as an audience They watch the play and then set an example for how the real audience should react 1 Similar to cheerleaders at football games Woodruff calls the chorus griefleaders II Main conflicts in the play A Men v women 1 Like in the scene performed by students in the previous lecture B Youth v age 1 Mainly the Creon v Haemon debate C Family v society 1 The fact that Antigone buries her brother even though society forbids it D Earth v sky III Structure of the play A The first scene is the prologue 1 In this play this is the Antigone v Ismene scene B Odes separate the scenes from one another These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute 1 Scenes were called episodes Epis after so episode after ode C The Parados meaning victory this is the ode after the prologue D Stasimon I the first ode after the Parados 1 In this case it is the famous ode to man 2 This ode both celebrates innovation and bemoans the danger that it brings 3 Food for thought why is this ode located where it is Is its subject Creon or Antigone Whose side is the playwright on 4 Stasimon I is followed by the Creon v Antigone debate E The next ode is about the family stating that madness stalks it F Stasimon III is about destroyer love is Haemon just a crazy teenager 1 The ode seems to support this view by interjecting an ode about how love makes men crazy right after the Creon v Haemon debate G Stasimon IV courage 1 The chorus tries to comfort Antigone by telling her that others have suffered too H Stasimon IV is follwed by the Creon v Tiresias episode 1 Tiresias is an old blind prophet who can see the future However people rarely believe him this is a common trope in Greek myths 2 Tiresias tells Creon that he has made a grave mistake by sentencing Antigone to death I Who really talked Creon into yielding 1 After Tiresias speaks Creon is merely shaken His mind has not yet changed 2 It is when the chorus speaks in support of Tiresias that Creon truly changes his mind J Stasimon V the Kletic 1 A prayer to Dionysus god of many names O leader in the dance of stars 2 It is a joyful ode to the gods at a moment of crisis in the play IV Questions A Who says we are women we do not fight with men 1 Ismene B Who says the city is our lifeboat we have no friends at all unless we keep her sailing right side up 1 Creon C Are members of the cursed family capable of making decisions for themselves 1 72 say yes 2 28 say no D What makes Creon so stubborn 1 Fear 31 2 Contempt 16 3 The gods 1 4 Principle 51 E Who said both sides spoke well 1 The chorus leader a All chorus lines directly interacting with the play characters are said by the chorus leader b Question is this line honest or a wishy washy attempt to avoid making a decision Many scholars think the latter but Woodruff holds that the chorus is modeling how the audience should feel that both sides are valid and understandable F Is Haemon out of his mind with love 1 Yes 41 2 No 59 G Is it true that one learns in old age to be wise Can a young person like the chorus or students learn to be wise by studying the events of tragedies such as Antigone