Introduction to Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire

Kamila Shamsie's novel 'Home Fire' is a modern-day rewriting of Sophocles' play 'Antigone'. Whilst 'Antigone' has been adapted time and time again, this study guide aims to examine how the key elements of the ancient play have been adapted by Shamsie in 'Home Fire'. The original ancient Greek version of the play is set against a Civil War in Thebes. Antigone's two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, lead the opposing sides, with both being killed in battle. The new ruler of Thebes, King Creon, declares that Eteocles' body will be honoured and Polynices' remains put to public shame. The rebel brother's corpse will not be sanctified by holy rites and will lie unburied on the battlefield, prey for carrion animals, a punishment considered particularly harsh and cruel by the ancient Greeks. Yet a defiant Antigone breaks the declared law and buries Polynices in the name of tradition and familial honour.