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The Burial at Thebes: Sophocles' Antigone
Sophocles' play, first staged in the fifth century BC, stands as a timely exploration of the conflict between those who affirm the individual's human rights and those who must protect the state's security. During the War of the Seven Against Thebes, Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, learns that her brothers have killed each other, having been forced onto opposing sides of the battle. When Creon, king of Thebes, grants burial of one but not the "treacherous" other, Antigone defies his order, believing it her duty to bury all of her close kin. Enraged, Creon condemns her to death, and his soldiers wall her up in a tomb. While Creon eventually agrees to Antigone's release, it is too late: She takes her own life, initiating a tragic repetition of events in her family's history.
In this outstanding new translation, commissioned by Ireland's renowned Abbey Theatre to commemorate its centenary, Seamus Heaney exposes the darkness and the humanity in Sophocles' masterpiece, and inks it with his own modern and masterly touch.
In this outstanding new translation, commissioned by Ireland's renowned Abbey Theatre to commemorate its centenary, Seamus Heaney exposes the darkness and the humanity in Sophocles' masterpiece, and inks it with his own modern and masterly touch.
68 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Seamus Heaney
380 books1,088 followersWorks of Irish poet Seamus Justin Heaney reflect landscape, culture, and political crises of his homeland and include the collections
Wintering Out
(1972) and
Field Work
(1979) as well as a translation of
Beowulf
(1999). He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1995.
This writer and lecturer won this prize "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past."
Heaney on Wikipedia.
This writer and lecturer won this prize "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past."
Heaney on Wikipedia.
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October 11, 2010
I have just finished reading four different translations of Sophocles' classic tragedy Antigone, which was chronologically the first of his three great 'Theban Plays.' The other two, in the order written, include, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Antigone is thought to have been written around 441 BCE. I thought it might be interesting to briefly compare and contrast the four very different translations that I read. As is to be expected, each had strengths and weaknesses. At least you'll get a sense of what the various translations are like; and if you are a high school English teacher this might even be a helpful review.
First though, it is probably worth just giving a thumbnail sketch of the plot of the play. Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles are the adult children of the accidentally incestuous marriage of Oedipus and his mother Jocasta. The story of Oedipus and Jocasta is told in Sophocles' other two 'Theban' plays (mentioned above). Also, if you have never read Antigone, and are worried about 'Spoilers,' you may just want to scroll down to the bottom and look at the comparisons between the four versions, and skip the next five paragraphs (i.e., those between the ***).
***
In Antigone, we find the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, together in the Greek city of Thebes where a great battle has just concluded, and both of their brothers have been killed. In fact, Polyneices and Eteocles have killed each other in single combat; with Polyneices fighting on the side of the Argive army attacking Thebes and its defenders, including his brother Eteocles. The new king of Thebes, Creon, is their uncle (their mother, Jocasta's brother). While Creon orders full military honors and funeral rites for the slain Eteocles, he issues an edict that the sisters' brother's body, Polyneices, be left to rot and be eaten by scavengers. This harsh order profoundly offends Antigone's sense of family honor, and it completely runs afoul of the wishes of the gods that all dead are treated with respect and buried with appropriate honor and dignity. Creon further adds that if anyone attempts to bury the dead man that they will be immediately executed.
Antigone asks her sister to go out on the battlefield and give their slain brother's body its proper funeral rites. Ismene, however, is afraid of violating Creon's orders and refuses to help. Antigone is appalled at her sister's weakness, and goes out by herself. She finds her brother's body, purifies it, and covers it with earth to protect it from the scavengers--all done in direct defiance of Creon's edict. The covered body is discovered by Creon's sentries, and is re-exposed to the elements. The disobedience is reported to Creon as well, who is enraged that someone would disobey his direct orders. Of course, Antigone is then caught attempting to rebury her brother's body, and is brought before the king.
The dialog between Antigone, Creon, and the Chorus is truly amazing and quite powerful. It is the classic example of someone standing up and doing the morally correct thing, and knowing full well that what they do may cost them their life. This represents the power of the individual against that of the State. In fact, early on in the play in an example of imperial hubris, Creon utters a statement that we seem to hear from our political leaders time and time again--"And he who cherishes an individual beyond his homeland,/he, I say, is nothing." Antigone stands up to Creon by simply stating that her honor, and the honor of her family, compelled her to do what she had done, and that it was also the law of the gods. Creon says that she must pay the ultimate price for her "treachery" as he puts it. He sentences her to death, and that she must be walled up inside of a tomb.
At this point the Chorus, comprised of Theban elders begins to doubt the wisdom of Creon's actions against Antigone. On top of that, Haemon, Creon's son comes in and begs his father not to kill Antigone. Haemon loves her and wishes to marry her. More importantly, Haemon also believes that what Antigone has done for her slain brother is only right and proper. He tells his father that even the citizens of Thebes believe that Antigone has simply upheld her family honor, and has committed no crime and should be spared. Creon cares not for the opinions of the citizens and does not relent. He orders Antigone to be taken away.
Later the blind 'seer,' Tiresias comes and chastises Creon for his hubris and arrogance, and ultimately convinces Creon that his edict was wrong-headed. Creon accepts this verdict and orders the release of Antigone. But it is too late! When Creon and his guards arrive at the tomb, they find that Antigone has hanged herself, and that Creon's son, Haemon is in the process of committing suicide to be with her in the Land of the Dead. Unfortunately, it only gets worse for Creon. Upon returning to his palace in Thebes, he finds that his wife, Eurydice, has killed herself over the suicide of her son, as well as the death of her older son in the recent battle--both deaths she lays at the feet of her husband, Creon. The Chorus has the last word--
Okay, here are the four different translations that I read. I have to say that they are all quite good; and while the plot is obviously the same, there are subtle differences in meter, lyricism, tempo, and use of contemporary language.
1. The first version I read was in an edition entitled Sophocles I from the University of Chicago Press (1991), and the translation was authored by David Grene. This was very solidly done and quite poetic. It also comes with the other two "Theban" plays, referenced above.
2. The second version I read was from the "The Greek Tragedy in New Translations" series entitled, Antigone, from the Oxford University Press. This 1973 translation was prepared by Richard Emil Braun, and was also very well done. Like Grene's translation (No. 1), seemed to emphasize an adherence to a classical interpretation and felt rather scholarly.
3. The most modern and intriguing rendition was the one prepared by the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney in 2004. Heaney's version is entitled The Burial at Thebes. I found this to be a fresh, fast-paced, and a very poetic and lyrical modern translation. Heaney also incorporated an interesting structure in the poem, and uses a meter of three-beats per line for the dialogs of Antigone and Ismene, four-beat lines for the Chorus (similar to the old Anglo-Saxon of his Beowulf translation), and then iambic pentameter for Creon. Cool, huh?
4. My favorite translation of Antigone was that of Robert Fagles in the Penguin Classics edition entitled, The Three Theban Plays (1984). This edition includes the two 'Oedipus' plays and the Antigone, and was nominated for a National Book Award. I really enjoy Mr. Fagles' translations, as they truly seem to feel classical, but are very understandable. I truly enjoyed his translations of The Iliad (my review is on GR too) and The Oresteia; and this translation of Antigone is just as majestic and lyrical. I highly recommend the Fagles' translations of any of these enduring classics.
So, there you are--a quick review of four different versions of Sophocles' Antigone. This is an important play to read and ponder. The moral message put forth in the play illustrates a dilemma that just about each of us probably encounters at least once over the course of our lives. What the Antigone teaches us is that it is the choice of an individual to stand up and be faithful to a code of ethics, with honor, integrity and personal responsibility in the face of external pressures, sometimes forcibly applied, from others advocating a different, but immoral course of action. This is important stuff today, just as it was in Sophocles' time.
First though, it is probably worth just giving a thumbnail sketch of the plot of the play. Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles are the adult children of the accidentally incestuous marriage of Oedipus and his mother Jocasta. The story of Oedipus and Jocasta is told in Sophocles' other two 'Theban' plays (mentioned above). Also, if you have never read Antigone, and are worried about 'Spoilers,' you may just want to scroll down to the bottom and look at the comparisons between the four versions, and skip the next five paragraphs (i.e., those between the ***).
***
In Antigone, we find the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, together in the Greek city of Thebes where a great battle has just concluded, and both of their brothers have been killed. In fact, Polyneices and Eteocles have killed each other in single combat; with Polyneices fighting on the side of the Argive army attacking Thebes and its defenders, including his brother Eteocles. The new king of Thebes, Creon, is their uncle (their mother, Jocasta's brother). While Creon orders full military honors and funeral rites for the slain Eteocles, he issues an edict that the sisters' brother's body, Polyneices, be left to rot and be eaten by scavengers. This harsh order profoundly offends Antigone's sense of family honor, and it completely runs afoul of the wishes of the gods that all dead are treated with respect and buried with appropriate honor and dignity. Creon further adds that if anyone attempts to bury the dead man that they will be immediately executed.
Antigone asks her sister to go out on the battlefield and give their slain brother's body its proper funeral rites. Ismene, however, is afraid of violating Creon's orders and refuses to help. Antigone is appalled at her sister's weakness, and goes out by herself. She finds her brother's body, purifies it, and covers it with earth to protect it from the scavengers--all done in direct defiance of Creon's edict. The covered body is discovered by Creon's sentries, and is re-exposed to the elements. The disobedience is reported to Creon as well, who is enraged that someone would disobey his direct orders. Of course, Antigone is then caught attempting to rebury her brother's body, and is brought before the king.
The dialog between Antigone, Creon, and the Chorus is truly amazing and quite powerful. It is the classic example of someone standing up and doing the morally correct thing, and knowing full well that what they do may cost them their life. This represents the power of the individual against that of the State. In fact, early on in the play in an example of imperial hubris, Creon utters a statement that we seem to hear from our political leaders time and time again--"And he who cherishes an individual beyond his homeland,/he, I say, is nothing." Antigone stands up to Creon by simply stating that her honor, and the honor of her family, compelled her to do what she had done, and that it was also the law of the gods. Creon says that she must pay the ultimate price for her "treachery" as he puts it. He sentences her to death, and that she must be walled up inside of a tomb.
At this point the Chorus, comprised of Theban elders begins to doubt the wisdom of Creon's actions against Antigone. On top of that, Haemon, Creon's son comes in and begs his father not to kill Antigone. Haemon loves her and wishes to marry her. More importantly, Haemon also believes that what Antigone has done for her slain brother is only right and proper. He tells his father that even the citizens of Thebes believe that Antigone has simply upheld her family honor, and has committed no crime and should be spared. Creon cares not for the opinions of the citizens and does not relent. He orders Antigone to be taken away.
Later the blind 'seer,' Tiresias comes and chastises Creon for his hubris and arrogance, and ultimately convinces Creon that his edict was wrong-headed. Creon accepts this verdict and orders the release of Antigone. But it is too late! When Creon and his guards arrive at the tomb, they find that Antigone has hanged herself, and that Creon's son, Haemon is in the process of committing suicide to be with her in the Land of the Dead. Unfortunately, it only gets worse for Creon. Upon returning to his palace in Thebes, he finds that his wife, Eurydice, has killed herself over the suicide of her son, as well as the death of her older son in the recent battle--both deaths she lays at the feet of her husband, Creon. The Chorus has the last word--
"The mighty words of the proud are paid in full***
with mighty blows of fate, and at long last
those blows will teach us wisdom."
Okay, here are the four different translations that I read. I have to say that they are all quite good; and while the plot is obviously the same, there are subtle differences in meter, lyricism, tempo, and use of contemporary language.
1. The first version I read was in an edition entitled Sophocles I from the University of Chicago Press (1991), and the translation was authored by David Grene. This was very solidly done and quite poetic. It also comes with the other two "Theban" plays, referenced above.
2. The second version I read was from the "The Greek Tragedy in New Translations" series entitled, Antigone, from the Oxford University Press. This 1973 translation was prepared by Richard Emil Braun, and was also very well done. Like Grene's translation (No. 1), seemed to emphasize an adherence to a classical interpretation and felt rather scholarly.
3. The most modern and intriguing rendition was the one prepared by the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney in 2004. Heaney's version is entitled The Burial at Thebes. I found this to be a fresh, fast-paced, and a very poetic and lyrical modern translation. Heaney also incorporated an interesting structure in the poem, and uses a meter of three-beats per line for the dialogs of Antigone and Ismene, four-beat lines for the Chorus (similar to the old Anglo-Saxon of his Beowulf translation), and then iambic pentameter for Creon. Cool, huh?
4. My favorite translation of Antigone was that of Robert Fagles in the Penguin Classics edition entitled, The Three Theban Plays (1984). This edition includes the two 'Oedipus' plays and the Antigone, and was nominated for a National Book Award. I really enjoy Mr. Fagles' translations, as they truly seem to feel classical, but are very understandable. I truly enjoyed his translations of The Iliad (my review is on GR too) and The Oresteia; and this translation of Antigone is just as majestic and lyrical. I highly recommend the Fagles' translations of any of these enduring classics.
So, there you are--a quick review of four different versions of Sophocles' Antigone. This is an important play to read and ponder. The moral message put forth in the play illustrates a dilemma that just about each of us probably encounters at least once over the course of our lives. What the Antigone teaches us is that it is the choice of an individual to stand up and be faithful to a code of ethics, with honor, integrity and personal responsibility in the face of external pressures, sometimes forcibly applied, from others advocating a different, but immoral course of action. This is important stuff today, just as it was in Sophocles' time.
July 7, 2021
I am a sucker for Greek Tragedy and ‘Antigone’ is way up there in my list of favorites. There is much to commend this version, especially the way the author maintains the structure of the original and yet modernizes certain parts or characters. I also like the wording at the end. Not my favorite of the ‘rewrites’ but still an excellent read.
March 1, 2019
Antigone is one of my favorite heroines. From the first time I read it when I was 13 years-old I felt an affinity. A young women determined to fulfill her duty and therefore entitled to honor, what more is needed to rile the spirit. Tack on sacrifice and the pledge of undying love--PERFECT! *young adolescent self swoons*
My trouble lies with too much familiarity. This version is an excellent updating of the translation with more modern language. I confess that I was a little off-put by some of the exchanges, especially between Creon and the Guard. So, I compared versions.
Heaney's Antigone is feistier and more resolute than Storr's 1912 version. I have no idea which version I read at 13, but it was neither of these. See differences below.
Heaney's version:
ANTIGONE: You can't just pluck your honour off a bush you didn't plant. You forfeited your right.
Storr's version:
ANTIGONE: Claim not a work in which thou hadst no hand;
One death sufficeth. Wherefore should'st thou die?
Now the guard exchange is the one where Heaney felt a bit off to me, like the guard was too informal in his speech during what is an official exchange.
Heaney's version:
CREON: And what I'm telling you is this; unless you expose the guilty party to me,
You'll rue the day you bought into this plot.
Exit CREON
GUARD: O, yes, of course, expose him! Bring him in
But be that as may be, this much is sure:
Yours truly won't be back her in a hurry.
Me that was done for!
Ye gods! Ye gods!
I'm off.
Storr's version:
CREON: Go, quibble with thy reason. If thou fail'st
To find these malefactors, thou shalt own
The wages of ill-gotten gains is death.
Exit CREON
GUARD: I pray he may be found. But caught or not
(And fortune must determine that) thou never
Shalt see me here returning; that is sure.
For past all hope or thought I have escaped,
And for my safety owe the gods much thanks.
I'm probably overthinking this. I still love Antigone and I actually like that Heaney made her even more determined and less mealy-mouthed. It just felt odd. Not bad, but like putting on a pair a shoes you haven't worn in a while only to find they aren't quite like you remember.
I recommend this for readers who'd like a more approachable version, less stilted and less honorifics in speech.
My trouble lies with too much familiarity. This version is an excellent updating of the translation with more modern language. I confess that I was a little off-put by some of the exchanges, especially between Creon and the Guard. So, I compared versions.
Heaney's Antigone is feistier and more resolute than Storr's 1912 version. I have no idea which version I read at 13, but it was neither of these. See differences below.
Heaney's version:
ANTIGONE: You can't just pluck your honour off a bush you didn't plant. You forfeited your right.
Storr's version:
ANTIGONE: Claim not a work in which thou hadst no hand;
One death sufficeth. Wherefore should'st thou die?
Now the guard exchange is the one where Heaney felt a bit off to me, like the guard was too informal in his speech during what is an official exchange.
Heaney's version:
CREON: And what I'm telling you is this; unless you expose the guilty party to me,
You'll rue the day you bought into this plot.
Exit CREON
GUARD: O, yes, of course, expose him! Bring him in
But be that as may be, this much is sure:
Yours truly won't be back her in a hurry.
Me that was done for!
Ye gods! Ye gods!
I'm off.
Storr's version:
CREON: Go, quibble with thy reason. If thou fail'st
To find these malefactors, thou shalt own
The wages of ill-gotten gains is death.
Exit CREON
GUARD: I pray he may be found. But caught or not
(And fortune must determine that) thou never
Shalt see me here returning; that is sure.
For past all hope or thought I have escaped,
And for my safety owe the gods much thanks.
I'm probably overthinking this. I still love Antigone and I actually like that Heaney made her even more determined and less mealy-mouthed. It just felt odd. Not bad, but like putting on a pair a shoes you haven't worn in a while only to find they aren't quite like you remember.
I recommend this for readers who'd like a more approachable version, less stilted and less honorifics in speech.
November 12, 2022
Heaney's highly readable translation and adaption of Antigone, the reader is able to read Sophocles play and easily understand what the author was attempting to relate. As one of the most erudite and poets of his day, Heaney relates the tale in a manner that everyone can appreciate.
May 18, 2018
There are some interesting elements Heaney incorporated to bring the ancient and the modern together. While the overall structure and technicality follow that of Sophocles, with concepts like parodos, episodes, rhesis, stichomythia and so on, there are also different registers of the language used. The chorus is that of an ancient Greek play with rhythm to be sung or danced, and Creon's speech is in the iambic meter, whereas the Guard's speech is, for example, in colloquial English. Heaney pulls this off masterfully helping to keep the modern reader grounded in the play, and the effect of such exchanges between characters, while sometimes borders on the comic, generally make the play accessible and enhance a sense of immediacy to the action.
A most enjoyable read.
A most enjoyable read.
July 10, 2019
Antigone has always been my favorite ancient play, portraying perhaps too simply our issues with duty and law. I was excited to see the great poet's translation but found myself somewhat jarred when the language of 2004 was inserted into Creon; whatever he was, it wasn't George W. Bush. It was intriguing to note that Ruth Negga played Antigone in the first staged performance. I rhetorically asked if she performed the play in her O'Hare accent (from the TV show Preacher). My wife dryly noted that Jesse Custer would've kicked the shit out of Creon.
October 18, 2017
Seamus Heaney means to draw a connection between Creon and GW Bush - bear with me - or don't - and while that's vaguely interesting, it also consigns it to be debated in terms of modern politics, which is a shitty little rabbit hole. Sophocles is better than GW Bush.
The general plot:our heroine Antigone just wants to bury her brother; but King Creon is all "That guy was a dick and I'm going to let the vultures eat him." He broke the rules, and Creon has to make an example of him. Antigone is like "Nu-uh!" Creon is like "Yeah huh!" Tragedy ensues.
It's common to call pride Odysseus's tragic flaw, but that's never struck me as true; it's curiosity that does that motherfucker in. But pride is certainly Creon's flaw. He pays, as surely as Antigone does, and it would be fair to call him the co-lead of Antigone. She owns the first half of the play; he owns the second.
But tragic flaws are for heroes, and Creon's no hero. Does he work from understandable feelings? Well, sure. Can you understand his anguish at the result? Totally. Are he and Antigone both punished for the same thing - headstrongness? Absolutely. (Do I like answering my own questions?) But it's crystal clear in this play that Antigone is the protagonist and Creon is the antagonist. She's headstrong, but she acts - and goes out - nobly. Creon's headstrong, but he also makes the wrong decision, and he loses his people and his family as a result. By the end of the play, there is no one - no character in the play, including Creon himself, and including the reader - who thinks he's done the right thing.
The difference between rulers and tyrants was of particular concern to the Greeks, and Antigone is an exploration of that difference - and a clear warning to those who might become tyrants. It is not an ambiguous play.
Translation Review: Weird. Heaney gets wicked colloquial at times; he also puts the poetic power he has into it at times. I feel like he was trying to make Antigone accessible. Compare this with his Beowulf, in which he put little or no effort into accessibility; while that's our best translation of Beowulf, it's not because he made it easy. I'm not sure this is our best translation of Antigone, although it is fun to read.
The general plot:our heroine Antigone just wants to bury her brother; but King Creon is all "That guy was a dick and I'm going to let the vultures eat him." He broke the rules, and Creon has to make an example of him. Antigone is like "Nu-uh!" Creon is like "Yeah huh!" Tragedy ensues.
It's common to call pride Odysseus's tragic flaw, but that's never struck me as true; it's curiosity that does that motherfucker in. But pride is certainly Creon's flaw. He pays, as surely as Antigone does, and it would be fair to call him the co-lead of Antigone. She owns the first half of the play; he owns the second.
But tragic flaws are for heroes, and Creon's no hero. Does he work from understandable feelings? Well, sure. Can you understand his anguish at the result? Totally. Are he and Antigone both punished for the same thing - headstrongness? Absolutely. (Do I like answering my own questions?) But it's crystal clear in this play that Antigone is the protagonist and Creon is the antagonist. She's headstrong, but she acts - and goes out - nobly. Creon's headstrong, but he also makes the wrong decision, and he loses his people and his family as a result. By the end of the play, there is no one - no character in the play, including Creon himself, and including the reader - who thinks he's done the right thing.
The difference between rulers and tyrants was of particular concern to the Greeks, and Antigone is an exploration of that difference - and a clear warning to those who might become tyrants. It is not an ambiguous play.
Translation Review: Weird. Heaney gets wicked colloquial at times; he also puts the poetic power he has into it at times. I feel like he was trying to make Antigone accessible. Compare this with his Beowulf, in which he put little or no effort into accessibility; while that's our best translation of Beowulf, it's not because he made it easy. I'm not sure this is our best translation of Antigone, although it is fun to read.
October 1, 2025
hehehe rtc
(i will try to actually do it this time cause i keep saying rtc and then not doing it lol)
(i will try to actually do it this time cause i keep saying rtc and then not doing it lol)
January 25, 2008
Versions, as opposed to translations, are becoming quite common. They seem to have two virtues, allowing contemporary writers to attempt the classics without having to be fluent in the source language, and providing extra license to creatively explore the story. Heaney has now twice taken on Sophocles tragedies. Both have been excellent re-renderings, though I’d give The Cure at Troy the overall edge. The language in The Burial at Thebes reminds me of Heaney’s earliest poetry collections, Death of a Naturalist and Door into the Dark, crisp lines with simple, unadorned words and phrases. He doesn’t stretch for power or beauty, nor does he employ any tricks to make the work more relevant—no contemporary interjections of cultural references or use of anachronistic elements (the stage directions make no references to any time or place so it is ancient Thebes nor does he us any emblematic phrase making, slogans or specific contemporary phrases). The plain-spoken English employed here (Be easy with him, sir. / Allow a youngest son to say his say. / He’ll be beyond himself. He’ll have gone wild. / He’ll know his father doomed his bride to death.) has a timelessness to it so when Heaney does intentionally connect the drama to contemporary events the point is made powerfully but inobtrusively. For example, it is clear as you read the play (and the after note makes it explicit) that Heaney had George W. Bush’s rhetoric and stance in mind as he considered Creon. The phrase if you are not with us, you are against us may not appear (then again it may—I thought it did but couldn’t find it when I looked back for it) but the sensibility governs Creon’s language and actions. He confuses himself with the state, the state with justice, and policy with unrelenting necessity. The Burial at Thebes is a masterfully understated rendering that allows the ample drama in the clash of inflexible wills to carry the day.
February 6, 2025
Mid 3.
I <3 stichomythia
I <3 stichomythia
Read
September 10, 2017read in conjunction with my second readthrough of Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire.
More later when I post about Shamsie's novel, hopefully this coming week.
More later when I post about Shamsie's novel, hopefully this coming week.
May 13, 2017
Haney's version of this classic drama, commissioned for the centenary of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Haney uses the cadences of the Gaelic poetry of the Irishwoman Eibhlin Dubh for the speakers and chorus. I loved the accessibility of story, the ease of reading, the smoothness and sometimes lyricism of the language. I read it out loud, which made it more meaningful. The plot boiled down to an ethical dilemma--whether the body of the heroine's brother should be buried with all due rites although he was a traitor to the city of Thebes. The king had passed a law which said otherwise and to disobey was on pain of death. Antigone courageously performs what she feels is moral and goes against the State and its law. She is willing to die for what she feels is right.
Even if you've read other translations of Antigone by Sophocles, you will look at the drama anew, if you read this version. I read it in an hour or two.
Even if you've read other translations of Antigone by Sophocles, you will look at the drama anew, if you read this version. I read it in an hour or two.
June 23, 2025
No windfall or good fortune comes to mortals
That isn’t paid for in the coin of pain.
Seamus Heany, whose translation of Beowulf finally brought the poem’s appeal to my attention, pulled off a similar magic trick with his take on Sophocles’s masterpiece, Antigone. I have always loved this play, but Heaney’s deliberately poetic interpretations have given me a whole new appreciation for its power and relevance today. I read this version alongside an older translation that I own, and it was delightful to compare and contrast the language and meter of the two versions of this great play. I was particularly struck by Heaney’s use of meter to characterize the dialogue of his characters: the most striking example comes from Creon’s exchange with the guard. Creon speaks in very careful, iambic prose, while the guard speaks in unmetered, casual English, reflecting the two men’s positions in Thebes, as well as their respective priorities—while Creon is dedicated to upholding order and structure at all costs, the guard is just looking to avoid a painful execution.
It’s a quick read—I knocked it out in one sitting last night while dealing with some insomnia—and well worth the time.
That isn’t paid for in the coin of pain.
Seamus Heany, whose translation of Beowulf finally brought the poem’s appeal to my attention, pulled off a similar magic trick with his take on Sophocles’s masterpiece, Antigone. I have always loved this play, but Heaney’s deliberately poetic interpretations have given me a whole new appreciation for its power and relevance today. I read this version alongside an older translation that I own, and it was delightful to compare and contrast the language and meter of the two versions of this great play. I was particularly struck by Heaney’s use of meter to characterize the dialogue of his characters: the most striking example comes from Creon’s exchange with the guard. Creon speaks in very careful, iambic prose, while the guard speaks in unmetered, casual English, reflecting the two men’s positions in Thebes, as well as their respective priorities—while Creon is dedicated to upholding order and structure at all costs, the guard is just looking to avoid a painful execution.
It’s a quick read—I knocked it out in one sitting last night while dealing with some insomnia—and well worth the time.
January 8, 2023
So unexpectedly brilliant- some of the poetry in this was so beautiful and overall this was just such a mind blowing story- aside from a few aspects this is one of the best books/plays I've read in a while; Haemon and Antigone's love story whilst I first thought was quite weak had such a tragic end and just wow.
April 2, 2012
I've always been interested in Sophocles' works -- which is good, since I studied Oedipus for both GCSE and A Level Classics; I more or less had to like it -- and I was intrigued when I saw that Seamus Heaney had done a 'translation'. This is less of a translation and more of a version: I wouldn't use it for scholarly study of the play itself, though it would be interesting in studying modern rewritings and retellings of ancient myths. He keeps the play format, and some of it is really, really good poetry, though it threw me off that as usual with Heaney, there was a lot of colloquial language. I'm used to the play in a quite formal, conservative translation, which doesn't help.
It'd be a bit of a shock to an unsuspecting Classics student, I'm sure, but it's also a very lively and interesting read. I'm not sure what I think about this trend of 'updating' the classics to make them more readable for a modern audience, but Heaney does it well.
It'd be a bit of a shock to an unsuspecting Classics student, I'm sure, but it's also a very lively and interesting read. I'm not sure what I think about this trend of 'updating' the classics to make them more readable for a modern audience, but Heaney does it well.
August 22, 2017
It took me few pages before I got into this short story of verses, but when it ended I felt sad it had. This is a sad story of a new king who won't allow an opposing warrior a proper burial. When Antigone, the warrior's sister performs burial rites despite it being forbidden, she is sentenced to death.
I had not expected to like this as much as I did. My rating is hesitant as I am not sure how to rate such a short, but powerful work of tragedy. I have not read the original, so I cannot compare, but it makes me want to check it out, which is wonderful.
I thoroughly enjoyed this little book and I am glad I finally picked it off my shelves to read.
I had not expected to like this as much as I did. My rating is hesitant as I am not sure how to rate such a short, but powerful work of tragedy. I have not read the original, so I cannot compare, but it makes me want to check it out, which is wonderful.
I thoroughly enjoyed this little book and I am glad I finally picked it off my shelves to read.
July 30, 2018
This translation was commissioned by the Abbey Theatre to commemorate its centenary. This one usually sticks to a more contemporary tone than the other translation I read, the one in The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex/Oedipus at Colonus/Antigone but I think it's just as good.
December 26, 2019
“Are we sister, sister, brother?
Or traitor, coward, coward?”
A wonderful translation of one of Sophocles’ Theban plays. Heaney writes in the postscript, “Greek tragedy is as much musical score as it is dramatic script.” And he well does justice to both its musicality and drama, while still honouring the “ritual formality” of the original.
Or traitor, coward, coward?”
A wonderful translation of one of Sophocles’ Theban plays. Heaney writes in the postscript, “Greek tragedy is as much musical score as it is dramatic script.” And he well does justice to both its musicality and drama, while still honouring the “ritual formality” of the original.
July 31, 2022
When I review Sophocles, Antigone often gets the short end of the stick. Stuck at the end of the trilogy, by the time I start writing about her, I'm spent. So maybe it's good that I read this as a stand alone work.
My sister, and fellow literary critic often refers to Antigone as "Mantigone" - because, "It's all about the men."
That - that is what I want to address here. If by "all about the men," she means how wrong and bullheaded they are, then maybe. If she means it's "all about the men" in the sense that it shows the stupidity of patriarchy in ancient times, then I'm right there with her.
From Creon assuming it had to be a man who acted so defiantly, "What man would dare to do this?" To Creon calling her "reckless," and Antigone's cool response, "Never, Creon, forget: You yourself could be the reckless one."
And Creon's certain reminds one of the Yeats line, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." (I think of that line often.) Creon is SO certain the gods are on his side. -Right after talking to the guards - or when speaking to Haemon. These are not good looks - and the audience knows it.
Or Creon here: "No woman here is going to be allowed to walk all over us. Otherwise, as men we'll be disgraced. We won't deserve the name."
And yet: they were disgraced. A: She was right. B: The people all knew it. C: You should have just listened to her.
I liked the Heaney translation, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was my favorite. It was maybe a little too Friends. A little too Gilmore Girls.
But it was good.
And one scene I liked best in this translation was the guard. IT WAS SO FUNNY. Like, in this translation, Heaney has the guard call King Creon "boss." As in, "First off, boss, you must know I'm in the clear. I didn't do the thing, I didn't see who did it and so, in fairness, I shouldn't be blamed for it." That read as perfect to me. That whole exchange.
It's a very affirming play in times of deep sorrow - or years after that deep sorrow has passed. "...when I did what people know in their heart of hearts was right, I was doomed for it."
What is our responsibility to each other? To the living? To the dead?
And easy five stars.
* EDIT *This WAS the introduction, but I'm moving it down. Maybe I'll come back and edit it later.* EDIT OVER *
This is my 6th summer in a row reading Sophocles. This edition is only Antigone - rather than the full Theban Trilogy (if indeed it is a trilogy). The thing is, Seamus Heaney only translated Antigone. He didn't translate Oedipus the King or Oedipus at Colonus. On the other hand - YEATS DID translate those two, but didn't translate Antigone. So, maybe this year would be good one to read those as well... I pulled out a Greek Plays anthology out of the library that I've started but maybe I should set that aside and find Yeats and make it an Irish-heavy summer.
I'm a Heaney fan, and have read a number of his poetry collections, and just read his rendering of Beowulf this summer as well.
I had high, high expectations for this translation. I've seen it on the shelf every year for the past decade and thought: that's the one I'm going to read and love. But again - it's only Antigone, and I was looking to read all three.
Robert Fagles Translation - Read in 2021
Paul Roche Translation - Read in 2020
E.F. Watling Translation - Read in 2019
Theodore Howard Banks Translation - Read in 2018
Francis Storr Translation - Read in 2017
My sister, and fellow literary critic often refers to Antigone as "Mantigone" - because, "It's all about the men."
That - that is what I want to address here. If by "all about the men," she means how wrong and bullheaded they are, then maybe. If she means it's "all about the men" in the sense that it shows the stupidity of patriarchy in ancient times, then I'm right there with her.
From Creon assuming it had to be a man who acted so defiantly, "What man would dare to do this?" To Creon calling her "reckless," and Antigone's cool response, "Never, Creon, forget: You yourself could be the reckless one."
And Creon's certain reminds one of the Yeats line, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." (I think of that line often.) Creon is SO certain the gods are on his side. -Right after talking to the guards - or when speaking to Haemon. These are not good looks - and the audience knows it.
Or Creon here: "No woman here is going to be allowed to walk all over us. Otherwise, as men we'll be disgraced. We won't deserve the name."
And yet: they were disgraced. A: She was right. B: The people all knew it. C: You should have just listened to her.
I liked the Heaney translation, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was my favorite. It was maybe a little too Friends. A little too Gilmore Girls.
But it was good.
And one scene I liked best in this translation was the guard. IT WAS SO FUNNY. Like, in this translation, Heaney has the guard call King Creon "boss." As in, "First off, boss, you must know I'm in the clear. I didn't do the thing, I didn't see who did it and so, in fairness, I shouldn't be blamed for it." That read as perfect to me. That whole exchange.
It's a very affirming play in times of deep sorrow - or years after that deep sorrow has passed. "...when I did what people know in their heart of hearts was right, I was doomed for it."
What is our responsibility to each other? To the living? To the dead?
And easy five stars.
* EDIT *This WAS the introduction, but I'm moving it down. Maybe I'll come back and edit it later.* EDIT OVER *
This is my 6th summer in a row reading Sophocles. This edition is only Antigone - rather than the full Theban Trilogy (if indeed it is a trilogy). The thing is, Seamus Heaney only translated Antigone. He didn't translate Oedipus the King or Oedipus at Colonus. On the other hand - YEATS DID translate those two, but didn't translate Antigone. So, maybe this year would be good one to read those as well... I pulled out a Greek Plays anthology out of the library that I've started but maybe I should set that aside and find Yeats and make it an Irish-heavy summer.
I'm a Heaney fan, and have read a number of his poetry collections, and just read his rendering of Beowulf this summer as well.
I had high, high expectations for this translation. I've seen it on the shelf every year for the past decade and thought: that's the one I'm going to read and love. But again - it's only Antigone, and I was looking to read all three.
Robert Fagles Translation - Read in 2021
Paul Roche Translation - Read in 2020
E.F. Watling Translation - Read in 2019
Theodore Howard Banks Translation - Read in 2018
Francis Storr Translation - Read in 2017
April 13, 2021
This is the Seamus Heaney translation of the classic Greek tragedy Antigone. I liked its plain stark use of language and the way Heaney used comic relief and a mixture of poetry and prose in the same way Shakespeare did two thousand years later.
Antigone proves the old adage that more things change, the more they remain the same. It is the story of a young woman who defies the king and tries to bury her disgraced brother against his decree. There has been a civil war and her brother Polynieces had stood against his own city of Thebes and killed her other brother Eteocles in battle. Eteocles is given a warrior's burial and the body of Polyneices has been left outside without ritual cleansing and burial to rot. Even though she is threatened with death by King Creon, Antigone refuses to change her mind and dies a noble but haunting death in trying to bury her brother.
Of course this story is so much more than the tragedy of a dysfunctional royal family. It's also the story of how some people reject the civil law for a higher universal law and most importantly, in our days of Black Lives Matter and death row executions about who get to live in each civil or uncivil society and who get to die. It is a tale which remains endlessly compelling and in these dark times, especially and eternally relevant.
Antigone proves the old adage that more things change, the more they remain the same. It is the story of a young woman who defies the king and tries to bury her disgraced brother against his decree. There has been a civil war and her brother Polynieces had stood against his own city of Thebes and killed her other brother Eteocles in battle. Eteocles is given a warrior's burial and the body of Polyneices has been left outside without ritual cleansing and burial to rot. Even though she is threatened with death by King Creon, Antigone refuses to change her mind and dies a noble but haunting death in trying to bury her brother.
Of course this story is so much more than the tragedy of a dysfunctional royal family. It's also the story of how some people reject the civil law for a higher universal law and most importantly, in our days of Black Lives Matter and death row executions about who get to live in each civil or uncivil society and who get to die. It is a tale which remains endlessly compelling and in these dark times, especially and eternally relevant.
Read
October 2, 2024I didn't have much of an interest in reading this. I only did because it was selected for discussion by this group I'm in. Overall I didn't hate it at all I just didn't find it incredibly moving.
It's written in a way that seems incredibly simplistic, and not necessarily in a bad way, more so in a way I would expect from translations of ancient Greek plays. This however is only an adaptation of an ancient Greek play and was written in the 1900s. I guess its trying to imitate that style but I feel it does the story a mild disservice.
Antigone's assertion of her allegiance to a morality higher than that of the state's was admirable, and I did like that her actions inspired those around her to do the right things. I was relieved to see Creon corrected and thoroughly humbled.
I really liked these lines:
"The proclamation had your force behind it
But it was mortal force, and I, also a mortal
I chose to disregard it. I abide
By statues utter and immutable-
Unwritten, original, god-given laws
Was I going to humour you, or honor gods?"
It's written in a way that seems incredibly simplistic, and not necessarily in a bad way, more so in a way I would expect from translations of ancient Greek plays. This however is only an adaptation of an ancient Greek play and was written in the 1900s. I guess its trying to imitate that style but I feel it does the story a mild disservice.
Antigone's assertion of her allegiance to a morality higher than that of the state's was admirable, and I did like that her actions inspired those around her to do the right things. I was relieved to see Creon corrected and thoroughly humbled.
I really liked these lines:
"The proclamation had your force behind it
But it was mortal force, and I, also a mortal
I chose to disregard it. I abide
By statues utter and immutable-
Unwritten, original, god-given laws
Was I going to humour you, or honor gods?"
December 27, 2025
As someone who is just starting to reading works from antiquity, this was a very light and enjoyable read!
I will refrain from going in-depth in my review of Sophocles' "Antigone" proper until perhaps I read a more literal translation, but the edition by Heaney is nevertheless a strong translation which provides a complementary mixture of classic and modern tones.
Antigone herself was a compelling heroine and the message perpetuated by her arc was well-thought out. The thing I was particularly struck by was the balanced use of the Chorus, which seamlessly acted both as a vessel for inner thought and a separate player on stage! I'm keen to see how this narrative device might be used in other Ancient Greek plays.
Favourite quote?
"It doesn't need to be said.
It cannot be kept hidden."
Favourite moment? Antigone's defiant justification to Creon.
I will refrain from going in-depth in my review of Sophocles' "Antigone" proper until perhaps I read a more literal translation, but the edition by Heaney is nevertheless a strong translation which provides a complementary mixture of classic and modern tones.
Antigone herself was a compelling heroine and the message perpetuated by her arc was well-thought out. The thing I was particularly struck by was the balanced use of the Chorus, which seamlessly acted both as a vessel for inner thought and a separate player on stage! I'm keen to see how this narrative device might be used in other Ancient Greek plays.
Favourite quote?
"It doesn't need to be said.
It cannot be kept hidden."
Favourite moment? Antigone's defiant justification to Creon.
December 12, 2024
Read this for class, had never read Antigone before and whew that girlie was going through it! Didn’t have any empathy for Creon when I was reading it (probably because he’s a dumb man) but appreciated his tragedy after the discussions during the seminar. Wished Noora had been there to give her Bush 9/11 connection, really would’ve *spiced* the discussion up.
November 16, 2020
I love the way Seamus Heaney translates the classics.
November 26, 2024
3.5 nice version of Antigone
You courted calamity.
Resign yourself.
You courted calamity.
Resign yourself.
November 23, 2025
I first read this play in Seamus Heaney’s excellent translation several years ago whilst studying Ancient Greece during the first year of my OU Eng Literature degree. I have reread it as part of a ‘transformations’ exercise for my online Booker Prize Bookclub.
The spare prose and dramatic tension are even better this time around. I was also reminded of seeing the fabulous Juliette Binoche in the title role at the Barbican: raw emotion as family values and traditional religious beliefs collide with the dictates of a state ruled by a power hungry tyrant Creon, who had snatched power from Antigone’s father Oedipus, after his unwitting incestuous relationship with his own mother is revealed. Truly a Greek dramatic tragedy.
However the central themes still chime with me now and are brilliantly reflected and amplified in Shamsie’s Home Fire: the story updated and reimagined in contemporary multicultural Britain struggling with its own identity.
Overall Seamus Heaney has written the best translation and modernisation of Antigone: incredibly a 3,000 year old text whose themes still resonate today.
The spare prose and dramatic tension are even better this time around. I was also reminded of seeing the fabulous Juliette Binoche in the title role at the Barbican: raw emotion as family values and traditional religious beliefs collide with the dictates of a state ruled by a power hungry tyrant Creon, who had snatched power from Antigone’s father Oedipus, after his unwitting incestuous relationship with his own mother is revealed. Truly a Greek dramatic tragedy.
However the central themes still chime with me now and are brilliantly reflected and amplified in Shamsie’s Home Fire: the story updated and reimagined in contemporary multicultural Britain struggling with its own identity.
Overall Seamus Heaney has written the best translation and modernisation of Antigone: incredibly a 3,000 year old text whose themes still resonate today.
October 27, 2025
"Behold your king of wrong."
October 23, 2021
A greek tragedy play that deserves to be recognised purely by people that are in love with literature.
Antigone was yet another female character that audaciously snatched my little tiny heart. I am usually a sucker when it comes to women that dare to defy "superiors" like kings or gods and Antigone is one of them.
She is a noble character, that fearlessly defied the rule that was ordained by the king of Thebes and she has accepted the verdict that was made by King Creon with resolution. The fact that she has trusted the gods, and went ahead to bury the body of her dead brother, Polynieces shows how brave, strong-willed, decisive and uncompromising. She literally raised my spirit, and morally made me rethink things. Her trust in gods was everything to me. It is something I can't merely explain.
Another character that I would like to talk about, who can be described as the antagonist of the play is Creon, AKA king of Thebes. The egotistic and incompetent king who didn't all anyone to voice their opinions merely because he considered himself to be superior. I love characters like him because their weaknesses and flaws usually lead to their ultimate downfall. What's the point of your status if your egoistic nature can lead to misery of you, your family and your nation? It means absolutely nothing. He has tried to mend and repair his deed but unfortunately, it was too late and it cannot be fixed.
All in all, it was a good read and I will definitely reread it again since it is attributed to my English literature course.
Antigone was yet another female character that audaciously snatched my little tiny heart. I am usually a sucker when it comes to women that dare to defy "superiors" like kings or gods and Antigone is one of them.
She is a noble character, that fearlessly defied the rule that was ordained by the king of Thebes and she has accepted the verdict that was made by King Creon with resolution. The fact that she has trusted the gods, and went ahead to bury the body of her dead brother, Polynieces shows how brave, strong-willed, decisive and uncompromising. She literally raised my spirit, and morally made me rethink things. Her trust in gods was everything to me. It is something I can't merely explain.
Another character that I would like to talk about, who can be described as the antagonist of the play is Creon, AKA king of Thebes. The egotistic and incompetent king who didn't all anyone to voice their opinions merely because he considered himself to be superior. I love characters like him because their weaknesses and flaws usually lead to their ultimate downfall. What's the point of your status if your egoistic nature can lead to misery of you, your family and your nation? It means absolutely nothing. He has tried to mend and repair his deed but unfortunately, it was too late and it cannot be fixed.
All in all, it was a good read and I will definitely reread it again since it is attributed to my English literature course.
December 28, 2024
A nice little read of something I read at school. Nice to show Tea some Irish colloquialisms and explore some good grief
July 16, 2019
The cover very honestly calls this a "version" of Antigone, not a translation. Heaney follows the play exactly, with every speech in the original matched by a speech in his version, but first he figures out the gist of the speech, and then he puts it into vigorous, brief, clear verse. Here's an example from a speech by the chorus, first Elizabeth Wyckoff's translation, then Heaney's version:
Fortunate they whose lives have no taste of pain.
For those whose house is shaken by the gods
escape no kind of doom. It extends to all the kin
like the wave that comes when the winds of Thrace
run over the dark of the sea.
The black sand of the bottom is brought from the depth;
the beaten capes sound back with a hollow cry.
Ancient the sorrow of Labdacus' house, I know.
Dead men's grief comes back, and falls on grief.
No generation can free the next.
Whoever has been spared the worst is lucky.
When the high gods shake a house
That family is going to feel the blow
Generation after generation.
It starts like an undulation underwater,
A surge that hauls black sand up off the bottom,
Then turns itself into a tidal current
Lashing the shingle and shaking the promontories.
I see the sorrows of this ancient house
Break on the inmates and keep breaking on them
Like foaming wave on wave across a strand.
They stagger to their feet and struggle on
But the gods do not relent, the living fall
Where the dead fell in their day
Generation after generation.
Fortunate they whose lives have no taste of pain.
For those whose house is shaken by the gods
escape no kind of doom. It extends to all the kin
like the wave that comes when the winds of Thrace
run over the dark of the sea.
The black sand of the bottom is brought from the depth;
the beaten capes sound back with a hollow cry.
Ancient the sorrow of Labdacus' house, I know.
Dead men's grief comes back, and falls on grief.
No generation can free the next.
Whoever has been spared the worst is lucky.
When the high gods shake a house
That family is going to feel the blow
Generation after generation.
It starts like an undulation underwater,
A surge that hauls black sand up off the bottom,
Then turns itself into a tidal current
Lashing the shingle and shaking the promontories.
I see the sorrows of this ancient house
Break on the inmates and keep breaking on them
Like foaming wave on wave across a strand.
They stagger to their feet and struggle on
But the gods do not relent, the living fall
Where the dead fell in their day
Generation after generation.
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