What do we mean by the social context?
Social context is mainly about how the play relates to the world around it, for example what was happening politically at the time of the play, how society worked etc.I t relates to the world it was conceived in, and how it relates to an audience now.
How did people live at the time Antigone was created?
War was common in Ancient Greece, especially between states, however many people had started to appreciate the arts, for example theatre and music. Also, a democracy within Greece had been introduced at the time that Antigone was created.
Who was the target audience for the piece?
Although men were the only ones allowed to watch Theatre, the fact that the protagonist was a Woman would not have appealed to men. In ancient Greece women were given very few rights, and were expected to stay at home and bear children, therefor having a woman as the strong leading role would be unheard of in Ancient Greece. In despite of this, the play would still appeal to the target audience as Sophocles touches on the themes of war within states, and most of the audience could relate to this as they were most probably soldiers.
What were the needs, values and beliefs of the target audience?
A typical job for a man in Greece at the time would be either a farmer, politician or a soldier. At least 25% of the population were slaves, and did most of the manual labour that added to the growing economy.
How did this influence the themes and characters of Antigone?
I think that Sophocles intended to defy the stereotypes of Women by creating the character such as Antigone- a strong woman who has her own morals that could not be changed by a man. Women in Ancient Greek would not posses this kind of ideology, so it would be a shock to the all- male audience.
What have you found out about the social context of Antigone? Think about what was going on at the time that Sophocles wrote the play.
Greek Gods were highly important in Greek society, and many people were devout to their religion. Sometimes, religion would intervene with philosophy and law, just like in Antigone. Socrates- a great philosopher, was killed because of his religious beliefs as they did not comply with society's rules which is similar to the situation between Antigone and Creon.
Who went to the theatre?
Armies visited the theatre, and would sit together.Priests sat at the front of the auditorium (closest to the stage) along with the societal leaders, whilst the general public would sit in the seats furthest away from the pit, which was the equivalent of a stage.
What was the relationship between theatre, politics and religion?
Although men were the only ones allowed to watch Theatre, the fact that the protagonist was a Woman would not have appealed to men. In ancient Greece women were given very few rights, and were expected to stay at home and bear children, therefor having a woman as the strong leading role would be unheard of in Ancient Greece. In despite of this, the play would still appeal to the target audience as Sophocles touches on the themes of war within states, and most of the audience could relate to this as they were most probably soldiers.How did this influence the themes and characters of Antigone?
I think that Sophocles intended to defy the stereotypes of Women by creating the character such as Antigone- a strong woman who has her own morals that could not be changed by a man. Women in Ancient Greek would not posses this kind of ideology, so it would be a shock to the all- male audience.
Greek Gods were highly important in Greek society, and many people were devout to their religion. Sometimes, religion would intervene with philosophy and law, just like in Antigone. Socrates- a great philosopher, was killed because of his religious beliefs as they did not comply with society's rules which is similar to the situation between Antigone and Creon.
Greek Theatre would often be about the Gods as they were important to Greek society. Tragedy plays were often aimed to force the audience to make a choice- what would they do if they were in the characters position? Antigone, for example, questions weather to abide by religion and the gods, or to accept the law of the city and abide by this, no matter if it is against religion. Theatre was also a place to discuss society, which would be interesting due to the contrast in audience members (priests and politicians). If the audience were against the themes of the play, it would be labelled as inappropriate.
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