Journal #11: Antigone

At the beginning of the play, the chorus was present merely to give non-biased background information on the situation and the characters.  Now that it is later on in the play, the chorus is making more in depth comments on the elements of the play.  The chorus reveals that the tragedy has begun, and there is no chance of stopping it.  "The rest is automatic.  You don't need to lift a finger.  The machine is in perfect order; it has been oiled ever since time began, and it runs without friction" (Anouilh 23).  This quote explains that the moment in the plot has happened that starts a process of bad things that can never be reversed.  More importantly, however, the chorus gives an opinion on the lives of humans.  It says that "the machine [...] has been oiled since time began," meaning that it is natural for humans to trap themselves into these tragic situations of which there will never be an escape.  Therefore, due to this reality, there is no point in hiding the fate of the characters.  We all know that they are going to die, so there is no use for making it a surprise.  "In a tragedy, nothing is in doubt and every one's destiny is known.  That makes for tranquility" (Anouilh 24).  In knowing the fate of the characters before they die, we feel a calmness when we watch it finally unfold.  The purpose of the chorus telling this to the audience may be to inform the audience of what a tragedy is trying to portray.  The audience who watched Anouilh's version may not have been as educated on tragedies, so Anouilh might have added that part in order to help them understand the point of revealing the character's fate before it literally happened on the stage.  Whether Anouilh added this or not can only be validated if this section was compared with the original text, which I have not done.