READING AND STUDY QUESTIONS FOR SOPHOCLES’ ANTIGONE, BRECHT’S ADAPTATION, AND ERWIN KOWALKE 

During the first 1.5 weeks, we will read the Antigone of Sophocles and consider what it is that she is doing. Then we will look at several critical readings of the play and, finally, we will consider variations on or adaptations of Sophocles’ Antigone (Brecht) and the archetype or “brand” of Antigone.

The reading assignment for the first lecture is all of Antigone (pp.57-128), but the questions below will occasionally refer you to other parts of the book. Make sure that you have the Penguin edition and please look at those short sections referred to in addition to reading the play. You will also be reading Brecht’s Antigone (Malina, 1-64) and Erwin Kowalke (Reader, 144-48).

1.What does Antigone’s FAMILY look like? Consult the chart on p.425 and note the positions of the following family members:  Antigone, Ismene, Oedipus, Jocasta, Creon, Haemon, Eurydice, Eteocles, Polynices.

Now, for each of these characters, indicate what his or her condition is at the end of the play and briefly describe how he or she came to be in this condition (pp.27-29 will be helpful).

2. What does Antigone’s STATE look like? What form does it take (monarchy? democracy?).  Who is the head of state and how did the last few heads of state achieve that status? (27-29).

3. Why must the dead be buried in this play? Why is burial so important?

4. Watch the chorus. Who are they and what functions do they serve?

5. What are Antigone’s first words and how do they situate her?

6. What is the substance of Creon’s edict or proclamation?

7. How does Creon make his case for exposing Polynices on p.68?

8. What does Antigone mean on p. 82 when she speaks of “great unwritten, unshakeable traditions?

9. How do you evaluate Antigone’s treatment of Ismene? Why won’t she let Ismene join her in death?

10. How does Creon argue for the primacy of the father-son relationship on p.93?

11. P.105.  a) Lines 995-1004, in which Antigone explains that she would only have defied the edict to bury a brother, not for a husband or child, have baffled readers and spectators for centuries. What is Antigone saying and how is it consistent or inconsistent with what she says and does in the play? Can a true representative of kinship issues assert that she would not bury a husband or child?

b) Goethe said that he hoped that scholars would someday discover that these lines were not part of the play. Do you share his sentiments? Why or why not?

12. Since the play involves the clash of two worlds or at least of two viewpoints, it is natural that one would like to come to some sort of conclusion as to who was right or who was wrong or whether there is a third position. Which way do you incline? Can you support either side or can you support both? Or neither?  Give your reasons.

13. Brecht’s Antigone: What is Brecht doing? Why does his Antigone break the law and what do you make of this? This is an adaptation that brings Sophocles’ Antigone to post World War II Germany (first performed in Switzerland in 1948). How does the historical moment (aftermath of devastating war conducted by bad leaders) influence its concerns? Think about this as you read.

14. As the Russian troops advanced on Berlin, the German leadership ordered their troops to hold out, even as defeat became obvious and inevitable. Many of those who left their posts were hanged from lampposts as a warning to others. What is happening in the Prologue to Brecht’s adaptation? How does it combine Sophocles and the current historical climate?

15. Which sister is Ismene and which is Antigone? How can you tell?

16. What is the effect on Doing (or potential Doing) of the refrain, “If you see, you’ll be seen”?

17. As you read the play, you will hear echoes of Sophocles’ dialogue because this is based on a German translation of Antigone by the poet Hölderlin (1804). So, in a sense you are reading the same play, but only parts of the same play. Brecht has made significant changes in Kreon’s role, in the war, and in Polyneikes’ offense. Watch for these as you read.

18. Kreon announces a complete victory, but the Elders (chorus) ask about the wagons of booty (plunder) that would normally result from such a triumph. How does Kreon respond?

19. Chorus’s Song of Man (Sophocles, 76-78; Brecht 25-26). This is recognizably the same passage, but with many variations. You are reading a translation (by Malina into English) of an adaptation (by Brecht) of a translation (by Hölderlin into German) of Sophocles’ Greek play. How does Brecht’s version establish what man is and what is to be expected of him/her?

20. Antigone makes a number of intriguing statements about power (the salt water comparison, for example). On p. 32, she says “The men in power always threaten us with the fall of the state.” Can you give an example of this kind of political rhetoric from current events or recent history?

21. “Search for the Fallen” :  What is Erwin Kowalke’s definition of war?

22. In what ways are Kowalke’s activities this a matter of kinship? What resistance does he encounter?

Discussion Question:

1.Think about the burial practices of your family, religious heritage, cultural heritage. Can you give a detailed description of these practices and explain the reasoning behind them? Your instructor may ask you to do this in class.

2. Can you think of other conflicts where world views clash as they do in Sophocles’ Antigone or in Hegel’s reading of it? What might a current conflict be where two individuals or two sides are opposed and there are convincing arguments for both sides?

3. The Elders seem to reproach Brecht’s Antigone when they say :

But she too once ate of the bread that was baked by slaves in the dark cliffs.. (p.49).

Read the whole passage carefully. What do they mean and what does this mean for Brecht’s immediate audience?

4. Brecht’s Prologue: Deserters were hanged on public streets at the end of the war, so the situation Brecht is depicting as an Antigone-like problem is somewhat realistic. The brother is hanged and exposed and the sister goes out with a knife. What do you think the Second Sister would DO if the play were to continue?

5. “Search for the Fallen” This is a piece from the LAtimes feature section and it describes a man who digs up the bones of WW II soldiers, mostly German, but some Russian. Is he a male Antigone?  Why or why not? Calculate his Antigone index.