Jan. 22, 2007

NOTES- 1/22

Vocabulary-
Agon- a Greek word for battle or contest. Thus creating the word in English, "agony".
Ob-"off" scene- "the scene" = obscene

There are 5 main conflicts in lines 441-581 in Antigone:
1) Man and woman
2) Young and old
3) Individual vs. society
4) Living and dead
5) Human and God(s)

Steiner - pg114, pg121: You can take myths from the past, and relate them back today.
pg231-277: Thoroughly explains lines 441-581. Steiner takes the 5 conflicts and presents them in a different, and much more complex, language.


So in terms of old versus new, I ask myself, how does Antigone fit into the old and how does she fit in with the new? To begin with, Antigone is trying to change an old notion or law, and create something new. By "illegally" buring her brother and being charged with death, she defies old laws and typical notions of men being in charge and women being the followers. She also stands for what she believes is right, which in her day, was very hard to do as a woman. But, without the old laws and beliefs, how would she have influenced the new? "It is better to spend one day contemplating the birth and death of all things than a hundred years never contemplating beginnings and endings." ~Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta Antigone just wants to embrace the past by enhancing its' values, to better the future. For every beginning, there is an ending, but for every ending there is a bright new beginning. Thus proving that everything in life, whether in the past or present, can ALWAYS relate to something in the past.

THE PAST IS NOT A PACKAGE THAT ONE CAN LAY AWAY. ~EMILY DICKINSON