A Critical Analysis of Antigone by Sophocles Sophocles’ background influenced him to write the drama, Antigone. One important influence on the drama was the author’s education and career. According to Roger D. Dawe’s “Sophocles (497/496 B.C. – 406/405 B.C.),” Sophocles lived through the majority of the fifth century. He earned a musical education, and studied critically the Greek mythology in such areas as how society viewed women, and what the acceptable “views of the gods were” (351-52). All seven
SUBJECT Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the King's order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the King's orders. In the beginning, the author introduced Antigone and her
great consequences such as persecution, abuse, exile and even death. Antigone deals with this turmoil because she tries to perform the noble act of loyalty to her brother, Polyneices, as well as her loyalty to her family. Polyneices was slain by his own brother, Eteocles, in a battle where both were killed by each other’s sword. King Creon sentenced Polyneices to be left dead and Eteocles to be given an honorable burial. Antigone is faced with the decision to let her brother, Polyneices, lay dead
Antigone When reading anything it is usually to the benefit of the reader if the author leaves the ending of the story at the end. So when I started to read Antigone and figured out right away that she would die I wondered what purpose it served to read the rest of the play. Had I not finished the play, however, I would not have ever known how Antigone was to die. Nor would I have know if Ismene would also die or if Polyneices would ever get a proper burial. Needless to say I finished the play
of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over. Antigone, written by the Athenian
One commentator has argued in "Antigone" that Antigone's "view of what is right is as twisted as that of Creon." Although I do not believe that either Antigone's or Creon's view is "twisted," I do believe that their fate is a direct result of their extreme pride and stubbornness. In "Antigone," Sophocles examines the conflict between the requirements of human and divine law that is centered on the burial of Polynices, Antigone's brother and Creon's nephew. On the issue of the burial, their views
Antigone, a story of broken family ties and conflicting motivations, can be twisted to tell two entirely different stories, and this is what happed when Anouilh rewrote Sophocles' classic. While both Sophocles and Anouilh told the story of Antigone, through subtle changes in the style of the drama, each author was able to produce a product that told a significantly different and intimate tale conducive to their personal or political situation at that time. Structure is one of the various components
Antigone “Make these excuses, I will heap/ The earth over my brother’s body” (63). Although no one would help her, Antigone took a stand against injustice and honored her brother by burying him, even though Creon said this act would be punishable by death if anyone committed this act of insubordination. Especially in the age that Antigone lived in, it was considered foolish to simply go against a man’s orders, let alone the Kings. Not to mention that Antigone was related to the King, making the
Antigone Antigone, by Sophocles, is a story about the struggle between Antigone, who represents the laws of the gods and Creon, who represents the laws of the state. The play takes place circa 442 B.C. in the city-state of Thebes. The story revolves around the burial of Polyneices. Polyneices led an army against his brother, Etocles, the King of Thebes. They killed each other in battle and the new king, Creon, made a decree that only Etocles was to be buried because Polyneices was his rival. Antigone
imprudent judgments will ultimately suffer from the consequences of their actions. In Sophocles' Antigone, these prejudices notably surface in the form of paternalism as demonstrated through Creon's government, highlighting the importance of gender roles throughout the play. Therefore, analyzing the motif of gender roles and its effect on the definition of justice through the perspectives of Ismene, Antigone, and Creon enables the audience to understand how Sophocles' macroscopic analogy to humanity's
God established eternal unwritten law; its existence is not limited to today and yesterday but permanent. And no one knows what time it appeared. We all knew this from Antigone. We don’t have to deny the human cost as a democracy and justice. It is a huge consumption. Typically, this cost caused injustice obviously. Firstly, Antigone adhered to bury her brother's corpse, follow the blood ethical belief that the relatives of the deceased must be buried, and must not be exposed corpse wilderness. Creon
Antigone & Ismene The personalities of the two sisters; Antigone and Ismene, are as different from one another as night and day. Antigone acts as a free spirit, a defiant individual, while Ismene is content to recognize her limitations as a woman in a male dominated society. In the Greek tragedy "Antigone", by Sophocles; Antigone learns that King Creon has refused to give a proper burial for the slain Polyneices, brother of Ismene and Antigone. Infuriated by this injustice, Antigone
Sophocles’ tragic drama, Antigone, presents to the reader a full range of characters: static and dynamic, flat and round; they are portrayed mostly through the showing technique. In “Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone,” Charles Paul Segal takes the stand that there are two protagonists in the drama (which conflicts with this reader’s interpretation): This is not to say that there are not conceptual issues involved in the characters of Creon and Antigone. But the issues are
ANTIGONE HISTORY OF GREEK THEATRE 25 hundred years ago, two thousand years before Shakespeare, western theatre was born in Athens Greece. Between 600 and 200bc the ancient Athenians created a theatre culture whose form, technique and terminology have lasted to millennia and they created plays that are still considered amongst the greate3st works of world drama. By 600bc Greece was divided into two states. The most prominent city state was Athens where at least 150,000 people live. It
The personalities of the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, are as different from one another as night and day. Antigone acts as a free spirit, a defiant individual, while Ismene is content to recognize her limitations as a woman in a male dominated society. In the Greek tragedy”Antigone", by Sophocles, Antigone learns that King Creon has refused to give a proper burial for the slain Polyneices, brother of Ismene and Antigone. Infuriated by this, Antigone shares the tragic news with Ismene. From
has a flaw that assists in his or her downfall. Antigone is a Greek tragic piece written by Sophocles. In the theatrical production the use of power and morality versus law is evident. The promotion to the conflict was that Creon created a law in which enabled Polynieces, Antigone’s brother, to be buried in the proper way. As it is the way of the gods Antigone found it fit to bury her brother causing her to disobey the law of Thebes. Both Antigone and Creon, the main characters, could represent a
but a solution that is the easiest to make. The classic play Antigone is a perfect example of this. Antigone is classic tragedy at its finest. A simple civilized and humane right of burying a loved one is turned into a great loss. Creon’s inapt decision to hold his power and sentence Antigone to death causes him to lose the people he loves most. The “justice” of the play is simply Creon’s punishment for his cruelty to Antigone. When Antigone learns that no one is to bury her brother, she immediately
Despite its age, Antigone by Greek playwright Sophocles is still relevant to many issues plaguing modern society to this day. Over the course of Antigone, both the actions and the inactions show parallels to modern life, some of which can be troubling, others are perfectly acceptable. By examining Sophocles’ tale, readers will handily notice the timeless nature of Antigone, and how it is connected to modern life. Antigone takes place shortly after a war which claimed the lives of the two sons of
Biography: Antigone Antigone is a very stubborn character who stands up for what she believes in. she has a strong personality and will not take nonsense from anyone. Her insistence on her desire beyond the limits of reason make her appear ugly and abject. She is particularly arrogant towards her sister (Ismene) who possesses feminine qualities, and is the object of all men’s desires. Antigone is very envious towards her sister, however she will never show nor admit it. This is because Antigone has a
Throughout his play Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates the value of reason through the various arguments in the script. Reason is displayed in two main characters, Creon and Antigone. Antigone uses her belief in divine laws to argue that her actions of burying her brother are justified. While on the other hand, Creon uses his reason to try to get the support of the people through persuasion. Both characters are proven to present valid arguments through the different support system that each one of