I’m working on a writing discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
This discussion will focus on the story of Antigone originally written by Greek playwright Sophocles. Please read the play Burial at Thebes, an adaptation by Seamus Heaney. Much to discuss. Antigone vs. Creon, Ismene vs. Antigone, Hamon and Antigone, Creon and Jocasta – the play is composed of many pairs and the relationship between these pairs forms the interlocking dramatic networks of the play. What does writer and philosopher Albert Camus mean when he writes that, “Antigone is right. But Creon is not wrong”?
Do you agree with Antigone? Did you feel aligned with her and her decision to bury her brother, or did you feel more for Creon and his difficult choices as head of state? What do you make of the fact that women in Greek society were essentially powerless and denied access to public life, and yet in this play, we encounter a female central character who is strong, forceful, and poses some of the play’s most challenging questions?