What I Learned from Lecture 1

 One thing that was interesting to me that I learned from the lecture is Sophecles’ choice of picking Thebes as the setting of the play. I learned that Sophocles made this choice so he could provide more criticism against a king and the political landscape of a city. This criticism could apply to Greece as well, but by making Thebes the setting, Sophocles was able to criticize the political system in Greece, while not risking angering the king of Greece, who helps make the play happen. This leads me to the next point that the king of Greece and a rich person in Greece are the ones who make the play happen by paying for everything and if the play is successful, they will get a monument of themselves and be praised by the general public. This would also play into the playwright’s choice to write the setting as Thebes.


I also learned about the previous plays in the trilogy of Sophocles through the lecture. I was pretty confused reading the first part of Antigone, but after learning the context, I can understand why what is happening in Antigone is happening. One thing interesting to me that I will research is why Oedipus left Thebes with Antigone and not also with Ismene and why Polynecias is considered a traitor, but Eteocles is not, even tho Polynecias is older and should therefore inherit the throne after Oedipus was expelled. This would help me understand the context of the play better and get rid of some confusing plot points even with the context provided through the lecture. 

Comments

  1. CassiOctober 16, 2022 at 2:08 PM

    Hi Paulos! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this first lecture. I had a lot of the same ideas when I was watching the video, especially about Thebes and Greece. Something I do wonder though why the King wouldn't be angry when it is very pointedly about his country... maybe it has something to do with plausible deniability where he can't exactly PROVE it relates to Greece? Interesting stuff!

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  2. Eloise DanielloOctober 17, 2022 at 9:50 AM

    Hey Paulos! This is super interesting. I assume the main reason the king of Greece allowed this play to happen in order to get a monument of himself and saw through how the play may be a mockery of his ruling. Also, I've read the play before in one of my English classes so I sort of knew what was happening, but I can totally see how it could be really confusing at first. I forget why Polyneices was a traitor though and I hope we find out soon!

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  3. Jalen PaigeOctober 17, 2022 at 10:17 PM

    I also thought it was interesting that this was a trilogy of plays! I would be interested in reading the other two, like you, if it could maybe illuminate more of the story and characters. The setting of Thebes was interesting, too. A lot of modern stories use fantasy settings to mask societal criticism, which this reminded me of.

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  4. Critical Thinkers and WritersOctober 20, 2022 at 8:45 AM

    Just to clarify: both Thebes and Athens are in Greece, but they are different, and actually enemy, city-states. The whole idea of the nation of Greece doesn't apply to this time period but emerges later, in the 18th century. Instead, the city is the state here. And Polyneices is a traitor because he fought for the enemy against Athens, unlike his brother, Eteocles, who fought for Athens.

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