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It has long been known that sight was a crucial component of the fifth-century Athenian theatre. And while that is true, it can also be argued that aurality, the ability to hear and be heard, is an equally important aspect of Athenian drama. This dissertation strives to reclaim a place for hearing in studies on tragedy generally and on Sophokles in particular. Adopting terms from radio theory and media theory, I suggest that Athens was both an acoustic space and an aural community. In the course of an examination of four tragedies, I engage with the following question: how do the characters in these plays hear? Analyzing each play in turn, I show how hearing can occur physically, socially, publically and politically respectively. For Elektra, hearing is a physical and psychic blow; for Philoktetes, hearing is how he connects with the world around him and how he tries to reconnect with people; for Deianeira, hearing is a dangerous phenomenon capable over overturing her own predictions and capable of causing her to lose control of the final shape of her aural reputation; for Oidipous, hearing is an expression of his political status and ultimately a cause of his fall from power. The results of this study show that, in each case, the act of hearing is an invasive process in which the sonant object, mobile and semi-autonomous, can intrude upon new spaces, stage and body alike. This dissertation contributes to a growing body of literature on aurality in tragedy and enhances our understanding of the interconnections between hearing, society, politics, and the individual.

The study of old age in the humanities has developed significantly in the last few decades, but there is still much scope for progress. This thesis, therefore, seeks to contribute to the growing academic discourse in this area by considering ageing as it is represented in ancient Greek theatre. At the same time, it seeks to take its place within Classical Studies by developing new readings of the plays. To develop a context for its analysis, this study begins with consideration of the contemporary demographics, social position, and stage portrayal of old age, and following this dedicates a chapter to each of the four surviving fifth century dramatists. In Aiskhylos’ Agamemnon, old age emerges as a crucial element in choral self-identity, and an important component of the authority that they display. Following this, the thesis considers the chorus of Euripides’ Herakles, in particular its use of metadramatic language, and the impact this has on plot-development and the representation of their age. The next chapter, on Oidipous Koloneus, shifts to consideration of the protagonist. The old age of Oidipous emerges as a powerful driver of his mental and spiritual power, and forms a striking background to the exploration of his character. The final chapter of the thesis examines how mechanisms of renewal that old men undergo in Aristophanes’ comedies (Knights, Akharnians, Peace, Wasps, Birds) differ across the dramas, and the impact this difference has on their interpretations. Such reassessments of ancient dramatic texts through the lens of old age can provide significant insight into the complexity of old men’s characterisations and of their involvement in the dramas. At the same time (from a gerontological perspective), this thesis’ analysis contributes to the developing discussion of the history of ageing, and highlights the differences between the ancient and modern worlds in this respect.

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Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 6 décembre 2023) / Cette étude propose l'analyse de la représentation de l'interdiction de l'inhumation par ordre de pouvoirs autoritaires et, plus précisément, dans la pièce d'Antigone de Sophocle et les adaptations d'Anouilh et de Brecht, et dans le roman de Dorfman. À l'aide des réflexions issues des théories de Hegel, de Freud et d'Agamben, l'objectif est de montrer les similitudes et les transformations de l'intrigue initiale et d'interroger comment le personnage d'Antigone est réapproprié et devenu pluriel par les événements historico-politiques dans les adaptations modernes. De manière plus générale, ce mémoire s'intéresse à l'interdiction des funérailles par les États et met en lumière les perspectives philosophiques et psychologiques liées à la rébellion d'Antigone dans quatre textes littéraires ayant le même thème dans un contexte social différent. Notre recherche est divisée en trois chapitres. La première porte sur le concept de théâtre politique et par une analyse de la pièce Antigone et de la situation politique de la Grèce antique, au travers d'une critique de la théorie d'Hegel sur Antigone. Le deuxième s'intéresse à la réévaluation de la Seconde Guerre mondiale basée sur le concept de traumatisme et sa théorisation par Freud, en vue d'une analyse des deux pièces Antigone d'Anouilh et de Brecht et de leurs opinions différentes sur l'adaptation de la pièce Antigone dans le contexte de la guerre. Le troisième se penche sur les diverses adaptations d'Antigone à notre époque en fonction de la situation politique spécifique de cette époque. Et à la fin, il y a une analyse du roman Les Veuves de Dorfman, selon la théorie philosophique et politique d'Agamben sur les crises résultant de gouvernements totalitaires. Comment le théâtre et la littérature peuvent-ils être les porte-parole des moments critiques d'une société et comment un texte ancien peut-il être entendu par l'adaptation de telle sorte qu'il parle de nos vies ? / This study proposes the analysis of the representation of the prohibition of burial going by the totalitarian powers to the theater and the literature, more precisely in the play of Antigone by Sophocles and the adaptations of Anouilh, Brecht and Dorfman. Using reflections from the philosophical theories of Hegel, Freud and Agamben and theories of adaptation, the objective is to demonstrate the similarities and transformations of this play and to question how the character of Antigone is reproduced and made plural by historical and political events in literary adaptations. More generally, this thesis focuses on the prohibition of funerals by the states and highlights the philosophical-psychological perspectives linked to the rebellion of Antigone in four literary texts having the same theme in a context of different social. The thesis consists of research divided into three chapters. The first deals with the concept of political theater and it is an analysis of the play Antigone and the political situation in ancient Greece, and it is a critique of Hegel's theory of Antigone. The second deals with the description of the Second World War based on the concept of trauma and Freud's theory on this subject, and it is an analysis of the two plays Antigone by Anouilh and Brecht and their differing opinions on the adaptation of the play Antigone in Atmosphere War. The third looks at the various adaptations of Antigone to our time depending on the specific political situation of that time. And at the end, there is an analysis of Dorfman's novel The Widows according to Agamben's philosophical-political theory of the resulting crises of our time in totalitarian governments. How can theater and literature be the mouthpieces of a society's critical moments and how can an ancient text be audited through adaptation in such a way that it speaks to our lives?

"Exclusion in Sophocles" dass Exklusion als Motiv sich durch alle erhaltenen Sophoklesstücke zieht nebst einiger der längeren Fragmente. Auffällig ist die Vielfalt des Motivs, welches sich auf einen Ausschluss aus der Familie (Elektra), der Stadt (Ödipus-Dramen), der Armee (Philoktet), der Gemeinschaft der Menschen (Tereus) und noch vieles Weitere bezieht. Diese Arbeit sammelt, ordnet und analysiert sophokleische Exklusionsszenarien. Insbesondere wird der Gebrauch von Tropologien des Un/Menschlichen in der extrinsischen Charakterisierung der tragischen Protagonisten herausgestellt sowie damit verbundene Metaphern des Pathologischen, Monströsen, Bestialen und sog. Primitiven als Marker und Auslöser von strukturellen Exklusionen. Dabei wird das Exklusionsmotiv nicht als vollendete Tatsache erfasst, sondern als dynamischer und sich teilweise über ganze Plots hinweg erstreckender Prozess, als Narrativ eines ehemals gut Eingegliederten und von der Gemeinschaft nach und nach Exkludierten. Gleichwohl diese Entwicklung vom tragischen Protagonisten in eloquenten und selbstdarstellerischen Reden vehement kritisiert wird, erwächst im Bereich der Metaphern und rhetorischen Bildsprache der Gemeinschaft eine regelrechte Ausradierung und Neuzuweisung seiner Identität. Durch eine vergleichende Gegenüberstellung beider Standpunkte stellt sich heraus, wie tiefgreifend die als Exkludierend handelnde Gemeinschaft in das Vorantschreiten des tragischen Geschehens involviert ist und die Dramen eben nicht nur—wie in zahlreichen Forschungsstandpunkten festgehalten—die Manci des Exkludierten Protagonisten als moralische Fabel vorführen. / Social exclusion as a literary theme is common to all of Sophocles' fully extant plays as well as some of the longer fragments. The variety of settings is wide, between exclusion from the family like for example in Electra, exclusion from the city as in the case of Oedipus, from a regiment of the armed forces like in Ajax or Philoctetes, or even humankind, like with Tereus. This inquiry sets out to present, taxonomize and unpack Sophoclean discourses of exclusion and their attaining literary tropes of the pathological, the bestial, the brutish, the monstrous, and the so-called uncivilized. The aim is to demonstrate how deeply implicated the whole cast of characters and their language are in the process of a tragedy unfolding, rather than the causes of tragedy being lodged in the doings of one protagonist alone. One key point argued here is that, instead of taking 'the isolation of the tragic hero' as fait accompli, exclusion is a dynamic process that often takes up the entire plot arc of a tragedy. In the space of extrinsic characterization, it is argued that a process of rhetorical erasure and overwriting of identity takes place, where peer groups gradually dismantle a formerly well-established identity and re-assign a new and undesirable one. It is shown how the protagonists seek to resist, lament or somehow negotiate this process through long and expansive speeches of futile self-reinstatement. In the synthesis of both, it is argued that Sophocles' deployment of the theme puts a critical spotlight on the rhetorics of exclusion and its discourses of the bestial, the brutal, and especially the pathological, which embed and frame the work's overall literary, cultural and dramatic effects.