Antigone by Jean Anouilh (Book Analysis) E-Book

Bright Summaries

• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 20

Beschreibung

In this clear and detailed reading guide, we’ve done all the hard work for you!

Antigone by Jean Anouilh was released during the Occupation in France and prompted a debate as to its possible interpretations. It tells the story of the young Antigone who fights against the authority of her uncle, King Creon, and is eventually sentenced to death.

This practical and insightful reading guide includes:
   • A complete plot summary
   • Character studies
   • Key themes and symbols
   • Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

Jean Anouilh

French writer and playwright

Born in Bordeaux in 1910Died in Lausanne in 1987Notable works:The Traveller Without Luggage (1937), playThieves’ Carnival (1938), comedyAntigone (1942), tragedy

A discreet man, Jean Anouilh first began working for an advertising agency. But in 1928, a performance of Jean Giraudoux’s Siegfried convinced him to write for the theater. In 1930, he became the secretary of Louis Jouvet (French actor and director, 1887-1951; Director at the Athenaeum Theatre). Given their incompatible personalities, this collaboration turned out to be a short one. However, this experience prompted him to write L’Hermine (1932). His inspirations, besides Marivaux and Musset which he ‘read a thousand times’, were as diverse as Claudel, Pirandello, Shaw and Molière.

A prolific playwright, he classified his plays, all marked with deep pessimism, according to categories with revelatory titles: ‘black’ plays (Antigone, 1944) ‘pink’ plays (Thieves’ Carnival, 1938), ‘grating’ plays (The Cave, 1961), ‘brilliant’ plays (Repetition, 1950), ‘costumed’ plays (The Lark, 1953), ‘secret’ plays (The Arrest, 1975) and even ‘joker’ plays (The Navel, 1981).

Antigone

A famous tragedy

Genre: TragedyReference edition: Anouilh, J. (1975) Antigone. Paris: La Table Ronde.1First edition: 1944Themes: tragedy, family, respect, prohibition

Antigone is a modern tragedy written in prose, adapted from the ancient text of Sophocles. Published in 1944 under the Occupation, the play was approved by Nazi censorship, which viewed Creon’s victory as a justification of the established order. After an initially cold reception, the play experienced huge success. This is probably due to the fact that the youth interpreted the author’s intentions differently than the Nazi occupiers and admired the heroine for daring to stand up to authority, instead of seeing the play as an acceptation of the power in place.

The many anachronisms in the play, and the fact that it is presented in the form of a continuous dialogue, without any formal division, separate it from traditional French theater.

Even today, the play is the subject of extraordinary interest. All idealists can identify with Antigone’s search for purity and the absolute.

1Quotes taken from the reference edition have been translated by BrightSummaries.com.

Summary

Transgression