Description

Book Synopsis

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.

Sophocles'' play, first staged in the fifth century B.C., 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 trag

The Burial at Thebes

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    A Paperback / softback by Seamus Heaney, Sophocles

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      Book details

      Publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
      Published 1 November 2005
      ISBN-13 9780374530075
      978-0374530075
      ISBN-10 0374530076

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      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.

      Sophocles'' play, first staged in the fifth century B.C., 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 trag

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