ntigone Scene 3-5

Summary In scenes 3-5 of Antigone, many interesting events occur. The scenes begin with Creon deciding that Antigone is to be locked away until she dies. Many people are against this decision, but Creon explains to his subjects that his word is final and criminals must be punished. The people oppose this as it goes against the will of the gods, though they are too afraid to speak up. Eventually, a prophet named Tyresius shows up and tells Creon that if he doesn’t release Antigone, he will be smited by the gods. Creon then proceeds to rush over and free Antigone, however when he arrives he sees that Antigone has hung herself, and Haemon is in mourning. Haemon believes her death is the fault of his father, and attacks Creon. Haemon fails and then proceeds to take his own life out of sorrow. Heartbroken, Creon returns to the palace, to only find more bad news; his wife is now dead. Creon now tells the gods he had learned his lesson, and is ready to die as punishment. The Choragus then conveys to the audience that foolish people will not be able to find happiness in life, and the play then ends.

Vocabulary
On page 1041, line 4, the word is diviners; it means a person who uses special powers to predict future events. On page 1042, line 11, the word is subordinate; it means lower in rank or position. On page 1043, line 65, the word is indecent; it means not conforming with generally accepted standards of behavior or property. On page 1043, line 90, the word is astray; it means away from the correct path or direction. On page 1044, line 115, the word is vile; it means extremely unpleasant. On page 1045, line 125, the word is perverse; it means showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences. On page 1045, line 134, the word is endure; it means to continue to exist in the same state or condition. On page 1045, line 150, the word is piety; it means the quality of being religious or reverent. On page 1050, line 52, the word is lamentation; it means an expression of grief. On page 1050, line 53, the word is dirge; it means a slow, mournful, piece of music; a funeral hymn. On page 1050, line 80, the word is transgress; it means to violate or break a law, command, or moral code. On page 1054, line 48, the word is defile; it means foul, unclean, or impure.
Illuminator
Scene 3 to scene 5 of the story, “Antigone”, was very somber and made the reader feel sorrow. A part in the text said by the messenger that had depressed me was, “Haemon has been killed. No stranger shed his blood” (1057). I didn’t expect for Haemon, son of Creon, to die. He was a leading role in the plot and kills himself because he found out that his fiancé is dead. This event was very emotional and deep. It shows the love between the members in the family on royalty. Another quote that came very harsh to me was, “Your wife is dead-blood mother of that corpse- slaughtered with a sword- her wounds are very new, poor lady” (1057). Now Creon, the king, found out that his wife died. At this point I was shocked because a number of suicides were committed due to the loss of their blood.

Discussion Director How did Creon allow Teiresias to influence his decision on releasing Antigone? Teiresias is a prophet, which leads Creon in believing that Teiresias’ prediction would come true. Why did Haemon think his father Creon was responsible for the death of Antigone? Creon punished her harshly by leaving her in a trapped room to starve, and by that she was tortured. Why did Haemon threaten to take his life as well if Antigone was to be sentenced to death? Living without his fiancé would be as miserable as a slow and painful death. After Haemon’s death, Choragus tells Creon, “That is the truth; but you were late in learning it” (1059). Was he accusing Creon of all the deaths that had recently occurred? I think Choragus is telling Creon that he has made many