Studied for a course, but surprisingly enjoyable. Thought-provoking and an easy version to read. It makes me want to re-read Kamila Shamsie's "Home Fire" now I am more familiar with the story. ( )

Seamus Heaney's translation is outstanding! ( )

Aargh.

Seamus Heaney is a great poet and a great translator - I love his Beowulf - and this is a well done and moving translation of the Sophocles original. Except for one thing; Heaney goes overboard in making sure his readers understand that Creon is supposed to be George W. Bush, and Antigone a war protester. Just in case you don't get it from the play's text, he explains it in his introduction.

In one of those interesting examples of connectivity among various books with seemingly unrelated topics, The Blank Slank mentions Antigone as the one work of literature that discusses every possible area of human conflict - young versus old, men versus women, lovers versus kin, humans versus the divine, state versus family, and living versus dead. ( )

This is an enjoyable translation of the Greek tragedy, *Antigone*. King Creon learns of the deaths of two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, the sons of Oedipus. Both died in the battle that ended with the salvation of Thebes, but Polyneices is deemed a traitor and, unlike the hero Eteocles, he is denied a proper burial. Further, Creon decrees that any who undertake to bury Polyneices shall be in violation of his law and subject to grave punishment. Antigone cannot fathom allowing one of her brothers to lie exposed to the elements and wild animals; she determines to bury Polyneices despite King Creon's dictate. This she does and is locked in a cave in the hills to suffer a slow death. This being Greek tragedy, Creon's own son, who happens to be Antigone's fiancé, rushes to her rescue. Too late, for Antigone has taken her own life. Overwhelmed with grief, Haemon follows suit, leaving Creon desolate and depraved. There is more but suffice it to say that this is modernized Greek tragedy at its best. Heaney retains the tone, the rhythm, and the structure of the original while rendering the story accessible for the 21st century reader. ( )

I recently read the Fagles' translation of Sophocles' Antigone and had thought that this would make a nice companion piece. I had thought based on the title that this was an adaptation of the play but it turned out to be a fairly straight-forward translation. Heaney brings his own poetic gifts to the translation and I would recommend this 'version' to anyone interested in reading this play.

Here is an example of Heaney's translation, in a passage at the beginning of the play (Antigone is talking to her sister Ismene):

This is law and order
In the land of good King Creon.
This is his edict for you
And for me, Ismene, for me!
And he's coming to announce it.
"I'll flush 'em out," he says.
"Whoever isn't for us
Is against us in this case.
Whoever breaks this law,
I'll have them stoned to death."

In the afterword, Heaney discusses his doubts about creating a new translation and how, in 2003, he saw the Bush administration reenacting much of the play's situation in its tactics & arguments for the war on Iraq. In these days of Donald Trump's unexpectedly (at least to me) successful candidacy, rereading this play might be a good idea for many Americans! ( )