From a woman point of view…

When looking at the play ‘Antigone’ from the feminist point of view, I would say that there is an issue ‘gender inequality’ in the way Sophocles presented the female characters.

Women have no power what so ever in decision making and in voicing out their opinions. Their voice is totally unheard in any way for example in the case of Antigone when she speaks up her reasons of burying Polyneices to Creon. Creon will not listen to such an explanation especially when it comes from a woman, Antigone. For Creon, as he is the king, his alter ego is very high that Antigone is considered as rude and this challenges that ego. Thus, in my opinion, egoism is one of the reasons why he sentences such an unreasonable sentence of putting Antigone in a tomb until her last day.

In this play also, Sophocles presented women as the inferiors who have to submit to the men especially when Ismene sees that her own womanhood as her relative weakness. As for this reason, she does not want to go against the authority, in this case, Creon. She considers that as a reasonable action but personally I think that she is just so stupid to put herself low.

In contrast with this, the character of Antigone represents the new feminity where a woman, Antigone, at last has the courage to stand on what she believes and not to feel intimidated by Creon’s power. Thus, the emergence of such courage really pisses him off. If the setting of this play is in this year of 2006, I belief that Antigone will get a lot of supports especially from the fellow women. It is just so happened that this play is about the Roman society in the Roman Age. This somehow can be a motivational factor for women to fight for their rights.

A way of “digesting” Antigone.

Before reading the play ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles, I have read ‘Oedipus the Rex’ and I assumed that the tragic hero in this play would be Antigone.

However, after I have learned about what a tragic hero is and how the character is considered as a tragic hero, I think that Creon is the real tragic hero in the play ‘Antigone’. From what I have learned about Creon, I actually feel a bit sorry for him as he had to face such a blow of fate of losing all members of his family. Thus, he had to pay a very high price for his past arrogance and foolishness.

To make this play meaningful to myself, I associate it with events that happen to one political figure, Joseph Estrada. In a way, he is similar to Creon as his arrogance and foolishness contribute to his downfall. In my opinion, Joseph Estrade might at first considered as the suitable person to rule Philippines, but along the way, he has his own ‘flaw’ of being greedy. His greediness of being willing to take bribe contributes to his failure of winning his people’s hearts. Unlike the case of Creon, he only loses his power and not the entire of his family.

Thinking along this line, after comparing both persons, I have learned to comprehend the play better. This is very useful to me as when I could understand this play, I can talk more and analyse other elements of the play including the characters’ traits and also the theme of the play.

After reading this, I hope that you will have some insight on how to make this play ‘Antigone’ meaningful to yourselves. Enjoy reading…

To watch or not to watch? That's the question..

Ever wonder how a good play should look like? Well, I have the answer for this question. Considering the fact that on 6th of January 2006, Dr. Edwin had discussed in class about the characteristics of a good play. We for sure do not want to feel cheated if we happen to see a play that is not worthwhile watching. Such a waste of money..
Just consider these few tips on selecting a good play:
1) Does the play satisfies our intelect?
It should actually satisfy our intellect. When we watch the play, it makes us think and consider the issue that is being brought up. At the same time, it is one of the way of evaluating our own values and the values incorporated in the play.

2) Does it show organization?
This is the second question that we should ask ourselves if we want to watch a play. As the audience, we do not want to feel distracted if we happen to see a play that is not organised in term of its flow of the story.

3) Does the play show the ideational content?
A play can be considered as showing the ideational content if it contains certain idea, issue or concept where we can react to that idea. Our reaction can be negative or positive depends on how we perceive the idea and how it contradicts with our own set of beliefs.

4) Is the play meaningful to us?
Another characteristic of a good play is tht it should concern human experiences. It deals with everyday life's situation where we can relate it to ourselves. In a way, it is a reflection of us as Shakespeare has quoted " All the world's a stage And all the men and women merely players".

5) Does the play have economy, novelty and impact?
A good play should have all these features. It should be economical in term of time and money as we do not want to watch something that we later regret. Although the play is about a common issue, it should also be presented in a new way so that we will not get bored. in term of impact, the play can in a way move us emotionally ad intellectually. The theme, the characters, and the conflicts presented in the play are so moving that we do not want to leave our seats until the curtain is drawn.

Consider all these as you are planning to watch a play. I guarantee that these tips are useful although I haven't seen one because these tips come from an expert... So, enjoy watching...

Is it a tragedy?

Friday, 30 December 2005 was the first lesson I had for this course - an introduction to the world of drama and theatres, English of course. The two hour class was filled with the lecture on the history of drama from the time of Greek empire to the era of the modern day. From this first lesson, I learned about how drama evolved as it is today. The shift from the ancient to the modern day theatres was rather interesting to learn as I could learn dramas from various perspectives and world views. However, I had a feeling that it would be rather difficult to truly understand the drama from the ancient Greek time as it involved many Gods that really contradicted with my own belief. Although I had read King Oedipus, I still found it rather confusing and irrelevant.
On this first lesson, I was also introduced to the types of drama including tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, and farce. Before this, I got the idea that every drama that ended with the death of the hero is considered a tragedy. However, after this first lesson, I knew that I was totally wrong. Tragedy and mortality are two different things and I hoped that I would not do the same mistake again in describing a situation as a tragedy or a fatality. As for comedy, it is quite easy to recognize this type of drama.
Overall, this first lesson in a way triggered my curiosity to learn more about drama although at the first place, I did not really like this genre. I hoped that this would be an interesting course.