Antigone #1

TIMELINE (I'm not sure if this all happened within 48 hours, probably not, but I'm doing this for my own understanding)

1)Haemon Proposes
2) Eteocles and Polynieces duke it out, both of them die
3) Creon issues his proclamation
4) Antigone sneaks out to see Haemon.... or bury her brother?
5) Nurse finds an empty bed

Annouilh uses Chorus, a rather interesting character, to explain the events that lead up to the play actually getting underway. Chorus speaks in a less formal way than the other characters in the play do.  I think this is a way of connecting with the audience that one normally wouldn't get if they were just seeing the characters aside from Chorus.  The way Chorus speaks is almost comparable to the style we saw in The Stranger.  It is kind-of-sort-of dry (but a lot more captivating than Meursault's narrations- I really love how Chorus speaks) and very factual.  He tells simply what happened, but the way he does it makes it very interesting.  I can't get over how much I love reading Chorus' lines.  He has an almost sarcastic, cynical voice that I can relate to because I'm a teenager.  He does get a little bit philosophical at one point when he's talking about Antigone in his very first lines.  It would make sense that he would reserve some special kind of speech for her, since she is the tragic hero of the play.  He speaks about Creon like he doesn't think he should be king.  The way Creon "rolled up his sleeves" and stepped up to the thrown makes it sound like that Creon had no desire to be king, but took the job because he had to.  Chorus makes Haemon's motivations unclear as far as proposing to Antigone goes.    He makes it sound like Haemon has it all backwards and that Ismene was the one he should have gone for.