Antigone

The Greek Tragedy’s way of dealing with violence is to not show it onstage, yet imply what has happened after the fact or through dialogue. This technique was clearly utilized in the play Antigone. Haemon’s death nor his mother’s were shown onstage, but the messenger reports back the news, informing the audience of what happened. By using this technique, the audience is able to know the events that took place, but with less of an emotional impact. If the deaths had been shown on stage, the audience may have been more engaged seeing the pain and agony the characters endured. I also think by not showing the violence on stage, it almost allows for a small amount of leeway for Creon. After hearing the news, Creon declares his sorrow and his guilt. He continues to claim how sorry he was and how now that his wife and son are gone he has nothing. This almost allows the audience to be more sympathetic towards him because he now “realizes” his wrong-doings. I think that if the audience had seen the torment his family went through and the actual physical violence they willingly placed upon themselves, Creon would receive no sympathy.
I prefer the way modern television portrays violence directly on stage. I think being able to visualize not only the physical act of violence, but the emotions leading up to and the resulting emotions afterwards helps the audience to process the events in a different way. By not directly showing violence, it allows for the scenes to be open for interpretation for the audience, however I think the director (play or movie) has a certain intention by creating the circumstances within the scenes. For example, in the movie Boondock Saints, one of the main characters, a friend of the two brothers Rocco is murdered. The events leading up to the scene leaves the audience in anticipation and because the two brothers were present for the murder, you could see the emotional impact the act of violence had on them. The brothers were absolutely crushed and if the audience had not seen their reactions and the murderer’s reaction that scene, I don’t think the scene would have been as influential. As I read the play Antigone, after reading of the murders, although I felt sorrow for the situation, I think I would have felt more involved if I had seen how the characters were affected directly in the moment.