Scene 1

1. Creon reveals that loyalty is important to him during his opening speech. He praises those who respect the monarch, no matter what circumstances. He criticizes Thebans like his nephew, Polyneices, who challenge the authority of the rulers. He says that loyalty in friendships is a very important thing to him. By giving Etoeocles an honorable death, he is loyal to him and his services.
2. Creon made the decree that Polyneices couldn’t be buried. He is to get a dishonorable death, and will put in the town and is left for birds to eat his remains. If anyone would try to bury him, they will be stoned to death. I think the Choragus goes doesn’t oppose Creon’s degree just because Creon is a powerful guy, and he intimidates him.
3. The interactions between the Sentry and Creon suggest that Creon is a strict leader. Creon won’t accept that someone has buried Polyneices, and is quick to blame. He is also a man of little tolerance because even as the Sentry tries to explain, his babbling annoys him. The dramatic irony I sense each time Creon refers to the “man” who has buried Polyneices is that the person who has actually buried Polyneices is a woman, but Creon is unaware.
4. The suggestion that the gods have buried Polyneices enrages Creon because he thinks he knows how the gods work and think. He is so sure of himself that he rejects the question quickly. However, in Greek mythology, anything’s possible, so it was a reasonable question. This implies that Creon is a bit full of himself.
5. I think Creon will be even more enraged when he discovers that it was a girl that buried Polyneices. He will feel tricked, and dumbfounded that such a thing could happen. I think he will be so mad that he will kill Antigone in a very harsh way. They won’t be able to resolve their conflicting values because they each have such strong opinions and stubbornness.
6. The ode basically says that man is great, but death can overcome that greatness. This foreshadows Antigone’s fate. In line 22, it says that the laws are broken, so there is no value of a city that breaks such a law. Breaking the law of family is viewed as something that goes against the nature of society. This leads to anarchy. This opinion is pertinent to our attitudes about law today because no matter what your story is, the situation, or what citizen, every person has to keep the laws, or there are consequences.

Scene 2

1. If I were casting this play, I would choose Rupert Grint to portray the Sentry. Rupert has certain innocence in his character, and doesn’t want to get in trouble. You can easily tell he doesn’t like conflict, as the Sentry doesn’t want to be punished for a crime he didn’t do. I’d rate this character’s behavior with a plus because they show strong characterization when the Sentry babbles and can’t spit out the bad news to Creon.
2. Lines 35-49 describe the unseen scene of Antigone burying her brother’s body. He uses the experience as a metaphor. He likens Antigone finding Polyneices’ body exposed again to a mother bird finding her chicks taken from the nest. He talks about her devotion to the burial process, and that Antigone doesn’t look to create conflict or make his job any harder. This scene creates sympathy for Antigone.
3. Antigone is determined to respect the god-given laws about the dead. She also is ready to face death, if it means that she could bury her brother. She thinks that by standing up for something that is right, she won’t suffer, and that death is a friend. Creon is determined to enact and enforce his own manmade laws. He considers a dead enemy as much an enemy