...“Antigone” is a play about struggle and passion. To fully understand the play, the previous plays needs to be understood. Antigone and her sister, Ismene, are the daughters of Oedipus, from the play “Oedipus Rex”. Eteocles takes control of Thebes and his brother Polynices raises an army to attack the city; both are killed in the battle. This is where the story of Antigone comes into play. Creon, Oedipus’s brother in law and uncle (Oedipus married his mother) is now King of Thebes. He issues a decree for Eteocles to be buried but for Polynices to be left where he was killed and not to be buried. He honors Eteocles for defending the city, but leaves Polynices body lying out for the people to see and the dogs to eat. However, as part of Polynices family, it is Antigone’s duty and obligation to bury her brothers, and she does so against the orders of the King. Under Creon’s decree, this places the death penalty upon the stubborn young girl. Creon becomes increasingly stubborn as well, eventually showing hubris, which means immense disrespect and excessive pride, this being his hamartia. He imprisons her alive in a tomb, not knowing that his son, Haemon, who is in love with her, follows them to the...
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...In the Greek play, Antigone Creon, the uncle of Antigone is the more tragic character because everything he does produces his outcome to be worse. Nothing he does in the whole play benefits the gods or the people. Even though Creon is devoted to obey the rules, Antigone is the most committed to a moral standard because she buries her brother and does not deny the accusation of the crime. In the Greek culture, spreading dirt on a deceased’s body would allow their soul to travel to the underworld. She believed that everyone’s soul should be allowed to ascend to the underworld and would break Creon’s rules to do so. Creon acts independently of other characters the most because he does not listen to anyone’s wisdom to curve his final decision away from killing Antigone for burying her brother. Many people warn him, including his own son and only until the end of the play, he realizes they were right. Creon has more choice in the decisions he makes because there are a handful of things he could done to show the people of Thebes to not go against his ruling. For example, he could have just put her in jail for a certain time period, so...
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...dishonour and despair in the great story. Antigone's words and actions contrasted with Creon to the point of conflict. These conflicting motivations caused the characteristics of anger ,revenge and despair to be highlighted within Creon's character. In the end these conflicting motivations develop Creon as a tragic hero by his weakness of his quick temper and misjudgment The character interactions advance the plot and theme by causing major plot turns in the beginning and character developments in Haemon Creon and Antigone. Antigone's actions and words conflicted with Creon's character when she chose to go bury her brother Polyneices against Creon's words. In the text we see Evidence of this when she says “will you help these hands take up Polyneices corpse and bury it?” this goes against the major point of when Creon said “for him the proclamation in the state declares he’ll have no no burial mound,no funeral rites and no lament” This goes against Creon's main declaration in the beginning of the story....
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...well established theme in Antigone is the right of the individual to reject society's infringement on her freedom to perform a personal obligation,[14] obvious in Antigone's refusal to let Creon dictate what she is allowed to do with her family members. She says to Ismene about Creon's edict, "He has no right to keep me from my own."[15] Related to this theme is the question whether Antigone's will to bury her brother is based on rational thought or instinct, a debate whose contributors include greats like Goethe.[14] [edit] Natural law and contemporary legal institutions In Antigone, Sophocles asks the question, which law is greater: the gods' or man's. Sophocles votes for the law of the gods. He does this in order to save Athens from the moral destruction which seems imminent. Sophocles wants to warn his countrymen about hubris, or arrogance, because he knows this will be their downfall. In Antigone, the hubris of Creon is revealed. [edit] Civil disobedience The contrasting views of Creon and Antigone with regard to laws higher than those of state inform their different conclusions about civil disobedience. Creon demands obedience to the law above all else, right or wrong. He says that "there is nothing worse than disobedience to authority" (An. 671). Antigone responds with the idea that state law is not absolute, and that it can be broken in civil disobedience in extreme cases, such as honoring the gods, whose rule and authority outweigh Creon's. [edit] Citizenship The...
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...The True Tragic Hero of Antigone Since early Greek and Roman times, authors havecreated stories following the life of a tragic hero. Tragic heroes, though they are noble, have a hamartia, or a fatal flaw that causes their inevitable downfall. Sophocles utilizes the role of tragic hero to develop the theme of pride in Anitigone. The protagonist of the play is repeatedly misconceived because Sophocles develops the roles of multiple characters into ones that could be interpreted as a tragic hero. Creon is a member of the royal family of Thebes who becomes king. In assuming this role of immense power and responsibility, he faces misfortunes that lead him to tragedy. The often-misunderstood Creon is the true tragic hero in Sophocles’ play...
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...In Sophocles’ play Antigone; Creon and Antigone have different thoughts towards the burial of Polyneices. Throughout the play you notice that Creon leans towards the “law of man” while Antigone leans towards the “law of the gods.” Creon is the new head of state and lawmaker in Thebes; he believes that everyone should obey to man-made laws, “law of man.” Creon’s laws simply are standard (have no emotion), they protect the culture, and provide stability to the culture. Antigone obeys a different set of laws called "law of the gods." Law of the gods has standards for right and wrong. They are also more universal, not just people of Thebes apply to them; all people of the gods do. Antigone believes that the law of the gods tells people to give...
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...Original Rivalry: Conflict in Antigone Antigone is a dramatic piece of literature written by Sophocles and translated by Robert Fagles to portray, but not limited to, one major conflict. The major conflict portrayed is Antigone against the state but as the story unfolds another conflict begins to become apparent. This conflict is the never-ending conflict of men against women. These conflicts quickly become apparent as the story begins. The conflicts become apparent as the drama’s main “villain,” Creon, is making it his priority to keep his control over Antigone and the state. In doing this he is also trying to retain his dominance over the female kind. After the death of her brothers, Antigone deliberately violates Creon’s law by burying her brother who was viewed as a traitor. Not only is she breaking state laws but also breaking the barriers of women in this time period. Women in this time period were required to be obedient, loyal, and viewed as feeble. However, Antigone shows acts of courage, which was unheard of for women of this era. When her sister, Ismene, worries for Antigone, she pledges that the king “has no right to keep me from my own” (58-59). Another prime example of the secondary conflict being expressed is when Ismene responds, “Remember we are women” (74). This reiterates their attitude towards how they are seen in the era they live in. She continues with, “we’re not born to contend with men” (75). Ismene, contrary to Antigone, serves as a comparison and represents...
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...As the two stubborn protagonists, Antigone and Creon, demonstrate qualities of tragic heroes, the play is correctly named Antigone due to her heroin characteristics to overcome the law in order to obey the gods. Antigone buries her brother regardless of the consequences. She does this action alone and will not let anyone in her way. Creon is the tragic hero, but due to his rottenness, Antigone is seen more likable for putting her family before law. In this story, Creon is the tragic hero. The whole play revolves around him and his doings. Many events happened because of his hunger for domination. He has gotten brothers, Polynieces and Eteocles, to go against each other and start a war in which they both killed each other. When Creon became king, he set a law against burying Polynieces’s body since he viewed him as a traitor. Out of love, Antigone buried her beloved brother and was caught in the act defending herself saying, “I do. I deny nothing” (Sophocles 698). When she was presented to Creon for her wrongdoing, she did not deny her actions nor showed any regret. Creon could not believe his own blood relative would disobey him. Due to disbelief, he punishes Antigone by immediately imprisoning her in the cave. Antigone’s character is more controversial and admirable than Creon’s. Both of their actions were out of emotion. However, Antigone acts based upon love and tradition that every person has the right to be buried correctly and respectfully. Regardless of this tradition...
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...to Sophia earlier this week, the setting of the mob came to mind for my new interpretation of Antigone. Let your mind imagine that it is the year of 1925, and the mob is in full swing on the streets of New York City. This setting works in the fact that it is a family business, and death and scandals are common. Creon is a huge name for the mafia, notoriously known around many cities in the US. Order is mainly kept under control by Creon’s demands, however on one rainy night, Eteocles and Polynices get into a fatal argument over advancement in the family business. Being the new king of the mafia with may men below him, Creon is respected, but mainly feared. The fear of Creon would add another layer of emotion the audience could feel watching the play, as they witness his crazy amount of power in which he exerts. Family is a centralized concept for Italians and this is shown in Antigone’s determined fight to bury her brother, Polynices. In this show, the audience would more then likely have a strong sense of support for Antigone, being that she is simply a girl that is willing to stand up against something as strong as the mafia, out of the love she has for her brother. Costumes would be sophisticated, dark colored suits to match the New York City mafia feel. Pinstripe suits and vest shirts would be worn by the high ranked mafia men with fedora hats on at all times. Antigone and Ismene would be wearing very expensive clothing and there would be a main use of reds, blacks...
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...Throughout Sophocles’ Antigone, a distinction is made between Creon and Antigone that defines an understanding of who the tragic hero is. While it is seemingly established that Antigone is, for her suffering fate and her will to do what is right in the face of grave consequences. However, upon considering the details of the story, and the definition of a “tragic hero” as defined by Aristotle, it seems that, while Antigone may be considered the hero or martyr of the story, Creon is the true Tragic Hero. Creon represents the characteristics of a morally sound man who is nonetheless subject to error. His fate is evidently greater than the error committed, and in spite of his pride, he comes to the realization that the curse of his fate was brought by his actions. These defining traits establish Creon’s significance as the tragic hero of “Antigone”. One of the most compelling factors to prove that Creon is a tragic hero as opposed to Antigone is his depiction as a noble, or “good” person, in the context of his fate. As described in Poetics, “Concerning "character" there are four points to aim at. The first and most important is that the character should be good. The play will show character if… the...
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...The play “Antigone” by Sophocles displays many qualities that make it a great tragedy. A tragedy is defined as a dramatic or literary work in which the principal character engages in a morally significant struggle ending in ruin or profound disappointment. In creating his tragedy “Antigone”, Sophocles uses many techniques to create the feelings of fear and pity in his readers. This in turn creates an excellent tragedy. In order for a play to be considered a tragedy it must achieve the purgation of fear and pity. In the play “Antigone”, Sophocles does a great job of bringing out these two emotions in a reader. At the beginning of the play there is a conversation between Antigone and her sister Ismene. During the conversation the reader learns the two girls lost their father in battle and both of their brothers at the hands of one another. Then the reader learns that one of the brothers, Polynices, has been left out to die without a proper burial. At this time the reader begins to feel pity for the two sisters. They have lost their father and their two brothers all at the same time. Later in the conversation the reader learns that Antigone has a plan to bury here brother Polynices and that she wants Ismene to help her. Ismene is scared to do this because the new king, Creon, has issued a decree that says that any person that attempts to bury the body will be sentenced to death. The fact that Antigone is going to attempt to bury the body creates fear in...
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...Abraham and Antigone: Facing Superior Orders Abraham from the Bible and Antigone from Sophocle’s tragedy Antigone share a very similar dilemma: both characters receive higher orders that would hurt their family members. Abraham receives the command from God to kill his only son as a sacrifice while Antigone is under the state’s decree that forbids her brother the honor of burial. Under the comparable situation, the two characters exhibit different responses: one decides to kill his son under command without hesitation, but the other is willing to defy the law for the sake of her brother. Abraham’s unquestioning attitude towards God’s inhumane order is startling and throws the credibility of his character into question. On the other hand, Antigone’s insistence of respect for her family, regardless of the city’s laws, makes her appear to be a more believable and relatable person. However, Antigone’s motivations to bury her brother also stems from her obedience towards the laws of her gods. Abraham and Antigone thus share the same absolute obedience towards divine authority, but Antigone’s will to also fight for her family’s dignity and honor differentiates her from Abraham as a more believable character. Abraham’s character seems unbelievable because he is willing to kill his own son without questioning and hesitation solely because God asks him to. In Genesis chapter 22, God commands Abraham to take Isaac, Abraham’s only son, to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice...
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...his stance and followed every law that he put forth. Being a role model for all citizens and show no weakness. Antigone was determined to bury her brother Polyneices even though she knew that it was against the community and law. This made Creon infuriated because Polyneices was supposed to be eaten alive. He wasn’t going to let Antigone get away with what she has done; she must be punished. She was sent away to a small dark prison with a scares amount of food. Haemon, his son, loved Antigone and was supposed to marry her. He tried to stop...
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...Colton James Spurlock Mrs. Young Composition 2 10/1/2013 Concepts of Free Will: A Look at the Principles of Stance Applied to Antigone Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal opposite reaction. When decisions are made solely based off of free will and neglect external pressures the reactions and repercussions are of extreme magnitude. Stace’s external forces of free will are thrust upon Antigone most severely during her quarrel with Creon and during her death from her own hand; Ismene also has similar external forces thrust upon her, when she is questioned by Creon regarding her involvement with her sister’s affairs, yet responds in a different manner than Antigone. Antigone’s free will choice, made against the external force of human law when she defies Creon. The decision to bury Pholynices was made with complete disregard to the laws of the land. When Creon, questions Antigone, he first asks if “she was aware of the public notice?” The legal authority which put in place the regulations that inhibited Antigone’s actions first want to make sure that understood the law. Creon wanted to verify that Antigone’s actions were that of utter defiance. Antigone answers that her actions were in fact done in complete defiance, “…how could I not it’s public knowledge.”[Antigone] Antigone’s answer to Creon’s chance for penance, show’s that her decision was hers, and hers alone; made in complete disregard to Stace’s principal of the external...
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...known as logic and emotion, are two of the major forces in the world today. Sophocles, the ancient greek philosopher, believed that reason should hold a larger importance over passion in choices, despite following emotions being the norm, and today the same belief still holds. In Antigone, Sophocles cleverly weaves his view of logic holding greater importance over passion. The two main characters, Antigone and Creon, destroy their own lives because of their decisions affected by emotion and their...
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