Classics and Contemporary Politics: Adaptations of Antigone

This assignment analyzes how Bertolt Brecht and Athol Fugard adapted Sophocles' Antigone to comment on contemporary politics, as well as the concept of intergenerational responsibility. The student explores the themes of political power, ethics, and morality within the context of the plays, examining how Brecht and Fugard used Antigone to critique contemporary political situations. The response to the first question discusses the adaptations of Antigone by Brecht and Fugard, highlighting their different approaches and how they reflect the political and social issues of their respective times. The second question explores the concept of intergenerational responsibility, particularly in the context of environmental concerns, tracing its roots back to ancient Greek tragedies. The student argues that the Greek tragedies, such as those by Sophocles and Aeschylus, laid the foundation for understanding responsibility and justice, particularly through the use of the chorus and the portrayal of collective societal actions. The assignment demonstrates a clear understanding of the plays and their relevance to modern political discourse, offering insights into the enduring power of classic literature.

Running Head: CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Classics and their Use in the Contemporary Politics
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author's Note:
Table of Contents

1CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Response to Question 1..............................................................................................................2
Response to Question 2..............................................................................................................6
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................10

2CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Response to Question 1
Sophocles' Antigone is one of the early Greek classics and was taught and left to
public access in the ancient city of Athena. Among the contemporaries of Sophocles and him,
the quest to find the answer of man's nature and the reason for his existence was the most
prominent one. It was considered because the philosophers and tragedians of the fifth century
Greek considered themselves to be guardians of establishing morals and ethics in society.
They achieved their psychological satisfaction of conveying the ethical scale through their
drama and plays. Sophocles' Antigone is the last of the Theban plays (Wrigley, 2010). The
presence of the question of man's identity is more accurately portrayed with the political
show not just within the concept of administration or the ruler but to exert the question of
man and his fervent ethical combines intimate relationships such as between father and son in
case of Creon and Haemon and Creon and Antigone. It increases the stakes intensifying the
portrayal of politics and way it moulds the question of man in a way Sophocles can portray
him as a political animal, sui generis (Van Bever Donker, 2017).
The plot of tragedy shows a ruler who does not allow the cremation of a soldier who
has died in his land, which could be seen as retribution. However, when it is combined with
Greek mythology, one can understand the depth of the matter as it concerns the denial of the
burial services, which holds a significant role in society. Like various other ancient cultures,
Greek cultures also deems burial and the last rituals equally important as the rites of life
because the last rites of burial are considered as the preparation for the journey afterlife
which is the ultimate one (Gordon, 2012). The next series of action shows Creo amidst the
confusion which has brought upon him the destruction that leaves him and the city in ruin
even before he could realize and change his decision or compensate for it. The loss bore by
Creon is, however, the bigger one in the sense that within a small of the period he loses his
entire family as well as his kingdom.

3CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Bertolt Brecht and Athol Fugard both wrote tragedies in the period of epic theatre in
their consecutive languages and challenged the conventional understanding of rule in their
period. Fugard conveyed the apartheid time in which he lived and portrayed the changing
dynamic or the perception of change that the society has accepted in the political scenario in
his play The Island which follows a simple plot of an unknown prison and two prisoner’s life
and approaches towards their administration. In case of Fugard, one can see the appeal of the
play as the system of apartheid was inflicted on them where they suffered despite being in the
majority showing the system of slavery they were subjected to even after independence. It
was not possible for writers to openly criticize the government being condemned and
punished for it and to escape that he used the exemplary play from the Greek tragedy
showing the impact and grip of unchecked administration (Sarah, 2013). The plot is based on
two characters who are imprisoned in unnamed and anonymous prison which stands for
Robben Island in South Africa where Nelson Mandela also served his prison term. The use of
the tragic form is not direct but in the form of play inside a play which is also observed as one
of the features of Brecht's epic theatre. Nevertheless, in the play, two of the convict's John
Kani and Winston Ntshona are made for sharing the same room and are bound to each other
through chains. It depicts the way the government made people realize their dependence on
others to institutionalize their governance and its acceptance in them.
The chains which were shown to be their weakness is used by Fugard to demonstrate
their effect when it comes to questioning the authority. The role-play or the feature of play
within the play conveys the sense of helplessness among the prisoners inside their rooms to
which they sealed. It represents their effort to escape the reality of life, which can also be
seen as the protest against the administration, which kept them chained together in order to
punish them. However, they use each other company to find the strength to bear the suffering
and their little role plays and acting's were a method of transporting themselves out of their

4CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
prison (Gordon, 2012). If not physically, we see the character freeing themselves from the
prison psychologically. They are both shown to accept the roles intentionally to be played by
them, which stands for them standing up against the oppression done to them. The role-play
which affects the dynamic structure between the characters is the realization and the self-
questioning which emerges when John is given the permission and is granted freedom after
three years. He is doomed to live his entire life in prison. The feeling of suffering and
oppression is enhanced in him when he realizes that not only has to live in prison but has
been subjected to lose the only sense of companionship he has built with his roommate
(Gordon, 2012). While John performs the role of Antigone more exerting with the renewed
sense of his approaching freedom Winston become restless. It shows the two approaches
towards the apartheid government, which is directed by Fugard, one is towards the
government and another towards the African community who has never dared to question
them.
In the case of Brecht's narrative, we see a direct adaptation from the Sophoclean
tragedy with the same set of character and even the same set of plots and scenes. Brecht's epic
theatre and its approach were not as subtle as Fugard's approach. His approach and the
formulation of theatrical practices emerged due to the frustration of the authors of the time
with the prevalent practice of illusion in theatre which inclined towards surrealist's works
(Brecht & Jelen, 2013). Brecht's works responded to the political and social issues of the time
and were made to make the audience come face to face with the real face of the society they
lived in and made them face the reality of their lives. It made him an unbearable character in
the times of the fascist rule and was exiled twice, but his approach was accepted by other
authors and was used to criticize the government. His adaptation of the Sophoclean tragedy
shows his understanding of the relativity and adaptability of the play's content and plot to his
time. The role Creon in the play is modified in Brecht's adaptation to the way he saw the

5CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
government's attitude towards its citizen. Polynices is stripped off his heroic character of
dying in the war and is seen as the deserter who was killed in the war and did not deserve the
rites of burial. It conveys the control of the government in an apolitical matter as well.
The role of Creon in the injustice towards Polynices sows its result in the way which
demonstrates the impact which the instability in the ethical and moral structure of
government can bring. When he denies Polynices, he establishes his influence over the social
workings of society. At the same time, a king, the sole governing body is responsible for
managing the political scenario of the society. The elders of Thebes agrees with the King and
does not raise any objection because he pushed for the continuation of the war and was
punishing a deserter which signified laying the rule for other soldiers to convey the result if
anyone dares to protest like him (Van Bever Donker, 2017). The elders also pay in the end
when the kingdom is lost to the hand of Argos, and they are left as nothing but a mere puppet.

6CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Response to Question 2
The notion of intergenerational responsibility has emerged in the twenty-first century
in a very new shape and form with the deterioration in the environmental situation of the
planet. Moreover, with the advancement of science and civilization the explosion of
understanding among the young generation has been enhanced and their active role in
demanding for the opportunity to have the world to themselves, if not in a better condition
than not in the worst. The concept of responsibility, whether present or intergenerational, can
be understood better with the help of the ancient Greek Tragedies from where the notion of
ethics and morality emerged in the society of man. A sudden and abrupt emergence in the
understanding and demand from the young generation can also be traced to the reason of the
drastic change in the intensity and the category of complicated problems they are expected to
fight and emerge victorious from despite the previous generation acting with utmost
irresponsibility leading to the point of extinction.
Environmental activists, the term has become a rampant phrase in a way that even
huge multi-national firms are now aware of their influence. First of all, if we go to the origin
of the word we notice that they were mostly denoted to the older generation in the past who
knew and could see the destruction which was being havocked and the number of pollutants
dumped into the ecosystem. However, the dynamic structure of the watchdog and the
performer has been reversed in this era with young individuals, as young as nine and ten
years old could see the impending disaster of the society into which they will be forced to
live in the future. It has been claimed in certain sectors that the concept of intergenerational

7CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
responsibility and justice is new. However, it can be traced back to the origin of democracy
and as back in history as the ancient Greek tragedy of the fifth and sixth century BC
(Markovits, 2009).
The ancient Greek tragedy and the philosopher writers are seen as the ethical teacher
who wrote under the impression that their writings were to lay down the rule of the moral
grounds that will be followed in the society. One can relate to the previous question of the
meaning of the existence of man. The democratic views that were established in that period
form the foundation of our understanding of responsibility. Two tragedians can be seen as the
founder of the concept through their work. The first is Sophocles and second, being
Aeschylus. The most crucial part of the tragedies written by them was that they were the first
documents which were not written or kept exclusive for the elites of the society but was
subjected towards the society as a whole. The step achieved two goals that left a huge mark in
the societal perception of morality, ethics, responsibility, dependence, as well as justice. The
use of chorus was introduced, which served as conveying the sense and the prevalent emotion
of the work. However, their presence can also be seen as the collective understanding of the
sense which was expressed in the form of the chorus to transfer their knowledge (Markovits,
2009). The second was that it painted the image of collective working of the group and the
responsibility of the group as a whole to convey and the positive or the negative of the
society.
The positivity of the negativity can also stand for the advancement in the civilization
and the emergence of capitalism and urbanization, which brought with itself both the positive
as well as the negative impact in the society. Circling back to the third important way in
which the Greek tragedies can be explored in terms of understanding responsibility was the
expression of equality that was implied by the work being meant for everyone in the society
and it was open to discussion in the public as Aeschylus’s Oresteia was written for a

8CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
competitive festival. It also meant that everyone present was meant to judge it and form their
respective understanding and judgement, and that was based on the morality and ethics of the
individual. The question of the morality of the individual as well as that of the society was
formed by the work of Sophocles such as that of Antigone (Markovits, 2009).
In the play, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus is the first symbol who rises against
the order of the authoritarian rule of the Kind and her uncle Creon who was also meant to be
her Father-in-law. The play shows the destruction and chaos caused in the kingdom due to
unchecked and unquestioned authority who had no sense of responsibility or justice towards
Polynices who has not simply fought for him but was also niece. In this instance, coincidently
Greta Thunberg’s words spoken thousands of years later rang true, “You say you love your
children above all else and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” It can
be seen as an informed opinion which was formed in the psychology of Haemon when his
father denies him the right to save he would-be wife (Leonard, 2003). It was the result of the
sense of power which was concentrated in his grasp with a clear understanding of zero
accountability to anyone. The understanding of the working of democracy as the foundation
on which the base of an intergeneration relationship is explicitly noticeable in both Sophocles
and Aeschylus’s work.
It can be confusing basing the entire concern on the democratic origination from these
tragedies, but the way these tragedies led the way into changing the autocratic and blood
fuelled kingdoms into accepting the democratically formed sons. It brought the lives of the
young Athenians who when they were young enough to serve their country took a specific
oath, ephebic which was their promise to their land of leaving the city or the land they serve
in better condition in which it was given to them. Though these oaths are seen under the
image of gender discrimination portrayed by the oath of Clytemnestra and Orestes’s oath in
the play when considered under the context of intergenerational notion, it was the oath which

9CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
saved him from his destruction and brought about the difference between Athens and Argos
in the play (Bolmarcich, 2013). The oath was the representation of the ethical understanding
of the damage that unchecked war will have on the kingdom and the next generation he swore
to present with a better city than they had given him when they accepted him as their King. It
was negation and ignorance from Creon of the same understanding which saved Orestes that
led him to be left with nothing to compensate for or anything which he can rectify. It shows
how the concept of responsibility was generated through the understanding of the action-
effect with the use of the authoritative rulers and the revolting subjects and the effect of it on
the innocent progeny of the rulers which consisted of their citizens as well.
The emergence of unchecked capitalism and urbanization can be seen as the
authoritative rulers of these plays who did not pay heed to the result of their action. The
decrease in the age of the environmental activists and the increase in their number is due to
the sudden change of global warming, loss of ozone layer, melting of glaciers which are
resulting in the release of deadly viruses that were trapped in them for millions of years,
deterioration in the quality of air and the increase in mortality rate. These new categories of
problems show the negligence of understanding in intergenerational responsibilities the
society bears towards their next generation.

10CLASSICS AND THEIR USE IN THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
Bibliography
Bolmarcich, S. (2013). Mnemosyne, 66(3), fourth series, 489-492. Retrieved April 12, 2020,
from www.jstor.org/stable/24521858
LEONARD, M. (2003). ANTIGONE, THE POLITICAL AND THE ETHICS OF
PSYCHOANALYSIS. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society, (49), 130-
154. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/44696793
MARKOVITS, E. (2009). Birthrights: Freedom, Responsibility, and Democratic
Comportment in Aeschylus' "Oresteia". The American Political Science
Review, 103(3), 427-441. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from
www.jstor.org/stable/27798514
Brecht, B., & Jelen, G. (2013). The Antigone of Sophocles. Bloomsbury.
Gordon, R. (2012). Fugard, Kani, Ntshona's "The Island: Antigone" as South African
Drama. Comparative Drama, 46(3), 379-399. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from
www.jstor.org/stable/23526355
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through Sizwe? Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, 21(2), 11-47.
doi:10.2307/arion.21.2.0011
Van Bever Donker, M. (2017). THE PRINCIPLE OF INSUFFICIENCY: ETHICS AND
COMMUNITY AT THE EDGE OF THE SOCIAL. In Van Bever Donker M.,

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