Structure in Sophocles Antigone Essay -- Antigone essays S

Structure in Sophocles Antigone Aristotle in his Poetics (chap. 7) says ?Let us today discuss the proper structure of the plot, since this is the first and most important thing in tragedy? (1033). M. H. Abrams says that ?almost all literary theorists since Aristotle have accentuate the importance of structure, conceived in diverse ways, in analyzing a work of belles-lettres? (300). The matter of the structure of Sophocles? Antigone is a subject of varying interpretation among literary critics, as this essay will reveal. Gilbert Murray, professor at Oxford University in England, cites structure as one of the reasons why he chose Sophocles to translate. Then he elaborates on this structure ?But Sophocles worked by blurring his structural outlines just as he blurs the ends of his verses. In him the traditional divisions are all made less(prenominal) distinct, all worked over the direction of bulkyer naturalness. . . .This was a very great gain. . . .? (107). Murray here refers t o Sophocles? modification of the classic structure for tragic drama. This is distinct from what Aristotle above refers to as the ?structure of the plot.? The classic structure for drama includes Prologue ? everything up to the emit Parodos ? the chorus? sings First Episode ? development of plot by main character(s) First Stasimon ? the chorus again Repetition of Episodes and Stasimons until the climax is near Exodos ? the climax, crisis, and catastrophe. As Murray notes, Sophocles does not adhere to the classical structure as rigidly as other dramatists of the period. Aristotle?s ?structure of the plot? is what most literary critics entertain when they refer to the ?structure? of Antigone. In Chapter 18 of the Poetics Aristotle states ?Ever... ...s Hurt. NewYork Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984. Murray, Gilbert. ?A swell Translator?s Reflections on Oedipus the King.? In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA Greenhaven Press, 1997. Segal, Charles Paul. ?Soph ocles? Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone.? In Sophocles A exhibition of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Sophocles. Antigone. Translated by R. C. Jebb. The meshing Classic Archive. no pag. http//classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html ?Sophocles? In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984. Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.