Reception of the Antigone

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Andrés Fabián Henao Castro (University of Massachusetts, Boston); Melissa Mueller (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Ed. by Jonathan Burgess, University of Toronto
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool)

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Sophocles’

Antigone

has been more often adapted and rewritten than any other Greek tragedy, according to George Steiner, whose 1984 book

Antigones

brought unprecedented attention to the reception of this play. Steiner (1984) focuses on Antigone’s position within 18th and 19th century Western European thought, but in fact scholars and artists from all corners of the globe have engaged with this Sophoclean heroine. Antigone has been a symbol for the anti-colonial struggle against apartheid in the African Diaspora (Brathwaite 1962, Fugard, Kani and Ntshona 1973). She has been a touchstone of debates involving anti-fascist organizations in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War (Anouilh 1944, Brecht 1948, Espriu 1955); a political voice against neo-colonialism and various forms…

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4694 words

Citation: Henao Castro, Andrés Fabián, Melissa Mueller. "Reception of the Antigone". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 November 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19318, accessed 21 November 2024.]