Antigone Essay

Submitted By JessicaWanner1
Words: 575
Pages: 3
Open Document
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
Show More

Related Documents: Antigone Essay

Antigone Argumentative Essay

Argumentative Essay Often times in society people are faced with decisions which society believes is right but can be objected by others, whether that be opinion based or due to limitations of some sort or regulations. Others views of limitational ideas should not have an effect on someones end factor. In order to prevent such a thing, is when you must take a stand against it. No matter what the matter may be you should always take a stand against something when one does not agree with it. Even…

Words 679 - Pages 3

Antigone Comparative Essay

Antigone & Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Comparative Essay In both Antigone and the Sermon Martin Luther King Jr. the theme of conformity versus nonconformity is explored through the actions of Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Over the course of the sermon and the story multiple topics are introduced in context of conformity versus nonconformity. While Antiogne demonstrated nonconformity through disobeying the law, Dr. King embodies nonconformity through a sermon/speech. The first point of comparison…

Words 350 - Pages 2

Antigone Essay

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…

Words 327 - Pages 2

Antigone: Capital Punishment and Antigone Essay

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…

Words 812 - Pages 4

Antigone Essay

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…

Words 496 - Pages 2

Antigone and Her Rashness Essay

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…

Words 874 - Pages 4

Antigone Essay

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…

Words 356 - Pages 2

Essay on Oedipus and Play Antigone

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…

Words 404 - Pages 2

Creon Vs Antigone Essay

Duty vs. Earthly Pride The discussion that I found most exciting during our class lectures was over Sophocles’ Antigone. The question that was mentioned in class was if Antigone or Creon was correct on whether Polynices should receive a burial. In class, Nicholas sided with the intention of Antigone because he believed that it was completely necessary for Polynices to be buried by Antigone due to familial duty to honor her brother, as well as divine law where the gods demand proper burial rights for…

Words 856 - Pages 4

Antigone Essat Essay

thing that can destroy some ones life or sometimes be seen as a mere nothing. Antigone is a brave, determined, risk-taking, and passionate girl growing up in the city of Thebes. She would never let law stop her from doing what is right. She knew she was going to severely punished by King Creon, but that did not disrupt her mission. She buried her so-called ‘traitor’ of a brother because she loved him. In the play Antigone, Sophocles uses Antigone’s hubris to show how it can lead to the character’s…

Words 822 - Pages 4