The Oedipus myth was well known even in Sophocles’ day, so his audience already knew what would happen at the end of Antigone. The contrast between what the audience knows and what the characters know sets up the tension, the dramatic irony. However, Sophocles uses dramatic license and adds events that are not found in any previous account of the myth, including the quarrels between Antigone and Ismene, Antigone’s two attempts to bury Polynices, Antigone’s betrothal to Haemon, the entombment of Antigone, Tiresias’s argument with Creon, and the suicides. These added events serve to intensify the play.
Although the last play in the Oedipus trilogy, Antigone was written first. The play won for Sophocles first prize at the Dionysia festival. It is still a popular play, with many stage and screen adaptations, including Jean Anouilh’s famous stage production Antigone (pr. 1944, pb. 1946; English translation, 1946), placing the story in a World War II setting, and Amy Greenfield’s 1990 stark, interpretive dance-film version (Antigone—Rites of Passion).
The conflicts within the play, represented by the conflicts between Antigone and Creon, are powerful human struggles that are still relevant today: the state versus the individual, the state versus family, the state versus the church, the old versus the young, and man versus woman. Although the Chorus delivers the moral of obedience to the laws of the gods before all else, the moral is not a tidy conclusion. Many questions remain unanswered, many conflicts unresolved. For example, when is family more important than the state? In ancient Greece, it was the duty of women to bury family members. Leaving Polynices unburied was a violation of not only the laws of the gods but also the laws of the family. In addition, Creon was willing to put his own niece, and his son’s fiancé, to death. After a brutal civil war, however, restoring order is the responsibility of the king. When, and to what extent, do the laws of the gods and of the state override the laws of the family?
Connected to the above themes is the theme of choices and consequences. The characters in the play have free will to choose, but the consequences of their
Creon’s and Antigone’s Tragic Life The most tragic figure in the play is Antigone, and the character that suffers the most is Creon. The play Antigone by Sophocles tells a tragic story of a girl trying to bury her brother, and an arrogant and prideful king that wants absolute control. The play is intriguing and is mind blowing till the end. The ending contains multiple deaths and leaves one character all alone and wishing they were dead. Antigone was a tragic figure, because of the way she died. She was in the unenviable…
D. Hutchinson Professor K. English 110 2/15/2013 Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone introduces us to the main character Antigone. She shows many characteristics and distinctions that allow her to break the boundaries of the typical Athenian woman. Although Antigone may be a woman, she is portrayed as the brave, headstrong, and courageous woman Sophocles intended her to be. Antigone’s decision to bury polyneices shows her rejection to the state’s idealized image of the…
In our world, there are many opinions about how to run communities, countries, and various other things. Some people believe that there should be only one person, known as a king, monarch, or dictator, that has control over everything. That person would make all of the decisions which would affect everyone. Other people believe that the society should not be run by one person, and instead be run by a group of people that work together to try and do what is best for the people. There really a…
insects eating their crops. Before Carson goes any farther, she defines the word that she will use constantly; Parathion. Carson describes Parathion as “a universal killer” (27-28). Not only does Rachel Carson use Organization as a technique in her essay, but she also uses Sentence Structure and Sentence Variety. She uses simple sentences to state something important before she elaborates on it. For example, she says “There is a growing trend toward aerial applications of such deadly poisons as parathion…
Antigone Essay People of power such as kings are often forced to choose between family and law. In the play Antigone, Creon has to make such a decision. He issues the edict to outlaw the burial of his traitor nephew, Poleneices. Creon makes all of his decisions based on his pride and his he position as the king. In Antigone, Sophocles uses characterization to emphasize that “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom.” (Sophocles, 767) and that too much pride is never good. "Fate has brought…
Durning the extraordinary play Antigone by Sophocles, Sophocles demonstrates the craving of power by Creon creates suffering for others. Creon thinks he has more power than the gods. and doesn’t give a proper burial to Polyneices. Creon’s greed, craving of power, and his everlasting ego draw out suffering among others. Sophocles portrays Creon’s greed and ego by allowing Creon to ignore others’ important thoughts. For example, when Antigone gives a valid reason for trying to bury her brother…
Journal 3 Antigone goes against Creon because she does not want to see her brother rot in the desert. She believes that he should be buried, and considering he is family, how could she bare to know that he is going through such “pain?” She happens to not even care about whether Creon will execute her or not, because she believes that if she dies, she will be dying in honor. That she will be proud of her actions, because she decided to do the right thing. She figures that, she’d rather die now…
Sophocles’ Antigone Creon is a prideful and ruthless king who rules over his territory with an iron fist. He became king when Antigone’s grandfather Oedipus left the throne to her two brothers Eteocles and Polyneices, who ended up dying when fighting over it. Antigone is the fiancé of Creon’s youngest son Haimon, and for the most part a good citizen of Thebes. Creon buried Eteocles because he fought for Thebes and left Polyneices to rot in the desert for betraying the city. Antigone wished to…
JT and Jordan Argument 3 Block 2 Antigone Is Justified Antigone was courageous and willing to die for her cause. She thinks burying her brother was the right thing to do. When she approaches her sister Ismene for help to bury Polyneices, she speaks fearlessly about her willingness to die for her cause, “But if I must bury him, and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy, I shall lie down with him in death and I shall be as dear to him as he to me” (1.2.57-60). She disobeyed Creon and buried…
Antigone Final In Ancient Greek theatre, we see examples of characters possessing excessive, engrossing pride that is often coupled with blatant arrogance, not regularly but most of the time. Hubris is constituted by a display of these aspects. Characters in plays are usually seen as those with Hubris, particularly the Tragic Hero. These characters in the story, usually royalty, suffer from a Tragic Flaw which is ultimately responsible for their descent unto their inevitably untimely death. Hubris…