Section: Literary Terms Date:

Heading: Antigone Literary Terms

1.  Allusion: a reference to a specific person, place, historical event, or work of art

2.  Amphitheater: (from the Greek “amphi” meaning around and “theatron” meaning theater) a round or oval building with an open space (arena) surrounded by rising rows of seats (during ancient Greek times, the stage was not enclosed in a building)

3.  Antistrophe: the part of the ode chanted as the chorus moves across the stage from left to right

4.  Choragos: the leader of the chorus

5.  Chorus: in ancient Greek drama, group whose singing, dancing, and narration supplement the main action. Originally the Chorus chanted its words to the accompaniment of a flute. The chorus represents the elders of the community (Thebes in Antigone).

6.  Dramatic Foils: characters who have contrasting or opposite qualities

7.  Dramatic Irony: when the audience knows something that a character does not

8.  Epode: the final stanza of an ode, following the strophe and antistrophe

9.  Exodos: the final, or exit, scene

10.  Hubris: excessive pride

11.  Monologue: a long speech by a single character

12.  Ode: a lyric poem typically addressed to some person or thing and characterized by lofty feeling and dignified style. In ancient Greek drama, each scene is followed by an ode. These odes served both to separate one scene from the next, since there were no curtains, and also to provide the chorus’s response to the preceding scene.

13.  Orchestra: the space in the front of the stage where the chorus performed

14.  Paean: a hymn in praise of a god—in this case Dionysos, in whose honor the Greeks performed their praise

15.  Prologue: an introduction to a poem, play, etc., especially lines spoken by an actor before a play begins

16.  Parodos: the first ode, or choral song, in a Greek tragedy, chanted by the chorus as it enters the area in front of the stage.

17.  Situational Irony: when a situation or event turns out differently than expected

18.  Soliloquy: a long speech by one character as though alone on stage; the character reveals his/her thoughts and/or feelings

19.  Strophe: the part of the ode that the chorus chants as it moves from right to left across the stage

20.  Thespian: an actor or actress

21.  Tragedy: a play, novel, or other narrative that depicts serious, important events in which the main character comes to an unhappy end. Tragedies often end with death, separation, or alienation.

22.  Tragic Hero: a character, usually of high status, who is brought down due to a character weakness (a tragic flaw) or by forces beyond the hero’s control (fate)

23.  Verbal Irony: when a character says something but means the opposite of what he/she says

Conflicts: Identify one example from Antigone for each of the following conflicts.

Man versus Woman

Age versus Youth

Society versus Individual

The Living versus the Dead

Human Beings versus the Gods