Antigone By Jean Anouilh Essay
DRAMATURGICAL ANALYSIS:
ANTIGONE
A REMAKE BY
JEAN ANOUILH Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh’s Antigone was remade with the similar political undertones seen in the original version. There are two sources for the play Antigone; the antiquity 5th century story from the Greek play, one part of Sophocles ' trilogy about Oedipus, and the second source comes from the more modern political scene during the Nazi invasion of France. Anouilh mixes both of these sources into a timeless tragedy of universal significance, then he further examines the divergence between individual will and divine will. Anouilh’s version was premiered during 1944 in Nazi-controlled Paris and although a huge success, it provoked great controversy. (Tan) …show more content…
One of the most notable examples is his attack on Charles de Gaulle in Antigone, which was written in response to an act of resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. “In August 1942, a young man named Paul Collette fired at and wounded a group of directors during a meeting of the collaborationist Légion des volontaires français. Collette did not belong to a Resistance network or organized political group, but acted entirely alone and in full knowledge of his certain death. For Anouilh, Collette 's solitary act—at once heroic, gratuitous, and futile—captured the essence of tragedy and demanded an immediate revival of Antigone.” (Tan) When Antigone was to be released the Nazis, fully aware of Anouilh’s intentions, censored the play. Antigone was successfully released two years later and was seen as the “mouthpiece” of Anouilh’s political aggression.
ANTIGONE
A REMAKE BY
JEAN ANOUILH Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh’s Antigone was remade with the similar political undertones seen in the original version. There are two sources for the play Antigone; the antiquity 5th century story from the Greek play, one part of Sophocles ' trilogy about Oedipus, and the second source comes from the more modern political scene during the Nazi invasion of France. Anouilh mixes both of these sources into a timeless tragedy of universal significance, then he further examines the divergence between individual will and divine will. Anouilh’s version was premiered during 1944 in Nazi-controlled Paris and although a huge success, it provoked great controversy. (Tan) …show more content…
One of the most notable examples is his attack on Charles de Gaulle in Antigone, which was written in response to an act of resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. “In August 1942, a young man named Paul Collette fired at and wounded a group of directors during a meeting of the collaborationist Légion des volontaires français. Collette did not belong to a Resistance network or organized political group, but acted entirely alone and in full knowledge of his certain death. For Anouilh, Collette 's solitary act—at once heroic, gratuitous, and futile—captured the essence of tragedy and demanded an immediate revival of Antigone.” (Tan) When Antigone was to be released the Nazis, fully aware of Anouilh’s intentions, censored the play. Antigone was successfully released two years later and was seen as the “mouthpiece” of Anouilh’s political aggression.