Microlecture Response

I thought that the first microlecture on the contexts and performance history for Antigone had some really interesting points about how the play was performed.  The play was performed in Athens, but the actual setting for the play was Thebes.  This was strategically done because these two cities were rivalry cities, so it made it easier to depict a threatening type of picture.  I would love to learn more about why these two cities had a rivalry.  I think it is intriguing that plays can strategically pick where it is performed which is something that is more difficult to be done with other literary pieces like novels.  I also thought it was interesting to learn about the Sanctuary of Dionysus and how the plays there were performed in a much different way than they are today.  There were festivals that were funded by the state, and the theater was open to the sky.  The event included plays that caused the audience to think about how the play relates to themselves and society in real life.  The plays encouraged people to think about their perceptions and maybe change their perceptions.  I wonder why plays stopped being performed in this way, and I think that watching plays that provoke thoughts about society can be helpful in improving problems in the world.  Additionally, I really liked how we got to use the timeline to see just how long ago the play was written and performed compared to Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire.  I think it is amazing that these two pieces were written in such a large gap of years.