Antigone Analysis

686 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction and thesis for antigone

Obedience to Whom?
In Antigone, written by Sophocles, the protagonist, Antigone, and the antagonist, King Creon put their obedience to opposing laws. Throughout the drama, there is a struggle between the gods’ laws vs. man's law. Antigone believes in the gods’ law. She says, “I know I please where I must please the most” (Sophocles 487). King Creon says to his son, Haemon, “Anarchy – show me a greater crime in all the earth” (Sophocles 502). King Creon believes that man’s laws hold a higher priority than the law of the gods (Sophocles 502). There is tension between Antigone and King Creon because of their opposing opinions.
Throughout the drama Antigone, King Creon and Antigone had conflict between one another regarding the issue of how her two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, were going to be buried. Both brothers agreed to rule together when their dad passed away. Eteocles and Polyneices were supposed to take turns ruling, starting with Eteocles. However, Eteocles exiled Polyneices under his rule. Both brothers battle each other and both were killed in battle. (Sophocles 481)
King Creon thought Polyneices was a traitor, so he believed that Eteocles should be the only brother to be honored. King Creon believed Eteocles was fighting courageously to protect his city. King Creon took it in his own hands to decide the fate of the two brothers’ burial without even considering the law of the gods. Some of the citizens chant in the chorus, “Zeus hates . . . the mighty boasts of men” (Sophocles 488). According to that line King Creon is doing something the god Zeus hates.
After King Creon has made his chose on how the burial of Eteocles and Polyneices were to be handled, Antigone opposed it. Antigone strongly thought that Polyneices...

... middle of paper ...

...nored and buried properly. Antigone feels that all the other citizens have a similar belief, but are scared to get in trouble, so they keep quiet.
Her own sister, Ismene, does not want to violate the laws (Sophocles 487). Antigone says to her sister, “I have longer to please the dead than please the living here. . . Do as you like, dishonor the laws the gods hold in honor” (Sophocles 487). Even knowing that she is going to have to stand on her own, she knew she would be dead longer than she would be alive, so she chose to stand up for what she believes in (Sophocles 487). Antigone actions were out of love. She tells Ismene, “I’ll suffer nothing as great as death without glory” (Sophocles 488).

Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone. Literature and the Writing Process. Backpack Ed. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan and Susan X. Day. Illinois: Longman-Pearson, 2011. 484-519. print.

Show More
Related

  • Antigone Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antigone is the niece of a king and goes against her uncle’s command when he says that Polyneices isn’t allowed to have a soldier’s burial and his body must be left in the desert to rot. Antigone decides to bury him anyway because she values god’s law of burial over her uncle’s rule. Antigone tells her sister “Ismene, I am going to bury him. Will you come?... He is my brother. And he is your brother, too… Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way” (Sophocles 694). Antigone values her brother over her uncle & she believes in god’s law over Creon’s decision. King values equality and common law. He dictates “It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the

    Read More

  • charant Character Changes in Sophocles' Antigone

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "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." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience In Antigone By Martin Luther King

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play, Antigone, two brothers are killed in battle. One of them, Polyneices, is considered to be a rebel by the new ruler of Thebes, Creon. The corrupt and prideful king, Creon, created an edict that states that nobody could bury Polynices’s body because he was a traitor to Thebes and his family and denies the sanctification and burial of Polyneices's body because of his rebellion and intends to leave him to become the meal of wild animals. Polyneices's sister, Antigone, defies Creon by giving her brother a proper burial, no matter the consequences. Both King and Antigone sought to do what they thought was the right thing to do, even if it was against the law. Though King and Antigone are two completely different people from two completely different times, they were actually quite similar in that they both were minorities at a disadvantage, and lacking power and credibility among those in control. King and Antigone both fought for injustice and what they believed in, however, not necessarily in the same

    Read More

  • moralant Free Antigone Essays: Do the Right Thing

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    The gods' laws come before mortal laws in Antigone's point-of-view, which is how I believe also. In death, you will answer to your god and no man will have control of your fate in the world that lies hereafter. Therefore by obeying the gods, hopefully, will result in a happy afterlife, which are what most people strive for in ancient times and now. If man does not honor you for noble efforts, your gods' will. Antigone's act was honorable. She stood up to the highest of powers so she could honor her brother, knowing the consequence would be death. Most likely she figured there is only a certain amount man can do to you, so she might as well stand up for not only her family and beliefs, but her gods as well (lines 377-389).

    Read More

  • Antigone

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    He wants them to think that his laws should be followed before any other personal, moral, or religious belief. This is where the conflict of character occurs between Antigone and Creon. Antigone knows that the sacred laws held by heaven are far more important... ... middle of paper ... ... y exist within the two viewpoints, making a conclusion that much more difficult.

    Read More

  • Antigone – Strong and Powerful or Spoiled and Stubborn?

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Of the tragic figures in Antigone, Creon is the most obviously evil because his motives are self-serving and his fate the worst. As the play begins, we learn that Antigone has defied Creon's royal decree by performing sacred burial rites for her exiled brother, Polyneices. Polyneices has been declared an enemy of the state by Creon. The sentence for anyone attempting to bury him is death by stoning.

    Read More

  • Antigone Unjust Analysis

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    In terms of Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon only makes the law against burying Polyneices to protect his own position atop the throne. His decree was meant to make an example of Polyneices and frighten his subjects into submission amidst a chaotic and unstable time. Tiresias, a blind prophet, sees this and when he confronts Creon on his decisions in running the kingdom, he says, “The generation of kings has always loves brass” (Sophocles 233). Those in power have trouble perceiving what is really important. In his kingdom’s time of strife, solidifying his own rule was not an issue of value. Creon should have tried to help those who were struggling in their time of need. Instead, he looked out for his REGAL POSITION and made poorly thought out laws, eventually leading to tragedy throughout his kingdom. Haimon, Creon’s son, realizes his father is not looking out for the kingdom and confronts him, saying, “you are not in a position to know everything that people say or do...But I, at any rate, can listen” (Sophocles 218). While Creon rests atop his throne, looking at his kingdom from above, deciding what is best for everyone within, Haimon lives with the population. In some ways he sees more than his father in terms of the wishes of the people. Creon, blinded by his power, can neither see what is good for his people nor the reasons behind his son’s

    Read More

  • Plato's Apology of Socrates and Crito

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Creon as King of Thebes feels that although he is related to Polyneices he must rule with only the state in mind. Creon says to the people publicly, 'Polyneices, I say, shall have no burial';(Antigone 197) This shows the citizens that he has only the state in mind and will also help him to bring the people together so that they will respect him and back his authority.

    Read More

  • Nomos vs. Physis in Sophocles’Antigone and the Modern World

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    Using Creon and Antigone, Sophocles illustrates the way that nomos and physis support their opposing viewpoints. When Antigone's two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill each other in battle, Creon, her uncle, succeeds to the throne. Once in power, he makes a law that no one can bury Polyneices because he was un-loyal to his native land. If anyone defied his new law by burying him, then the perpetrator would be killed and left unburied. However, Antigone felt that both of her brothers should have a proper burial, and disobeyed Creon's law by burying Polynneices knowing she would have to suffer the consequences. When brought before Creon, she defended her actions through phys...

    Read More

  • The Source of Conflict between Antigone and Creon in Sophocles' Antigone

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main source of conflict between Antigone and Creon is the issue of the burial of Antigone’s dead brother. Both of her brothers were killed in battle, however one brother fought against their home city and was considered a traitor. Creon issued a law that whoever tries to bury this man will be put to death. Antigone is very upset because her one brother is graced with all the rites of a hero while the other is disgraced.

    Read More

  • Civic Responsibility vs. Religious Duty in Antigone

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Polyneices was to be untouched because after ruling Thebes side by side with his brother Etocles, the two brothers fought in war for the thrown. Polyneices gather his own army and fought against his own city. After that he was deemed the title of a traitor and Creon announced his rule about Polyneices, Antigone was caught burying her brother and denied nothing because she believed traitor or not he was still a soldier for Thebes and he was her own blood so she could not sit around and let this happen to her brother.

    Read More

  • Antigone: Divine Law Vs. Human Law

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is the Crux of the theme, the conflict between the law of King Creon, and the law of the gods. In fact, according to Greek belief, Creon would have been ordained by the gods to be king, and thus, should not his law be their law as well? This is the hurdle that Antigone has to face; should she abide by the law of Creon and leave her brother to rot, under penalty of death? Or should she disregard Creon's edict, follow the law of the gods and bury her brother? Creon is a brother to Jocasta, and thus next in line to become king after Etocles is killed in battle. The king is believed to be the chosen of the gods and to rule in their stead. Why then would the king attempt to punish Polyneices after death and so blatantly violate the rules of the gods? However, Creon is the king, and the penalty for disobeying this law of his is very real and very brutal, death.

    Read More

  • The Danger of Love: Antigone by Sophocles

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the play, Antigone is upset about a decree Creon, the king, made (190). The decree states that her brother, Polyneices, was not allowed to be buried, because Creon believes that Polyneices was a “traitor who made war on his country” (211). Antigone has a very strong love for her brother and the gods, therefore she believes Polyneices deserves a proper burial according to the laws of the gods (192). Antigone says to Ismene that she [Antigone] will go against Creon’s decree-which states that if anyone buries Polyneices they will be killed (190). Antigone is extremely angry with Creon for creating the decree, to the point where she decides to make a big deal about the burial, instead of lying low and doing it in secret (192). Antigone even tells Ismene to “Tell everyone!” that she [Antigone] buried Polyneices when everyone finds out, and not keep it a secret-although Ismene doesn’t listen (193). Antigone’s decision not to do the bur...

    Read More

  • Antigone

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antigone’s belief is on that supports the Gods and the laws of heaven. Her reasoning is set by her belief that if someone is not given a proper burial, that in turn they would not be accepted into heaven. Antigone is a very religious person and acceptance of her brother by the Gods was very significant to her. She felt that, “It is the martial law our good Creon lays down for you and me—yes me, I tell you.“(lines 37-38) Creon’s order was personal to Antigone; his edict invaded her family life as well as the principles of the Gods. In her eyes, Creon betrayed the Gods by not allowing her to properly bury her brother Polynices. She believed that the burial was a religious ceremony, and Creon did not have the authority to deny Polynices that right.

    Read More

  • Antigone Vs. Socrates

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Antigone, her brother Polynices, turned against his own city by attacking his own brother just so he could become king. On this day, both brothers died. One, Eteocles, was given funeral honors, but the other, Polynices, was not. This decision was made by Creon, Antigone’s uncle and the current King of Thebes. Creon said “He is to have no grave, no burial, no mourning from anyone; it is forbidden.'; (Pg. 432; l. 165) He also announced that anyone who should attempt to bury him would be put to death. After hearing this decision, Antigone said that Creon couldn’t do that and that the Gods would want Polynices to have a proper burial, therefore Antigone promised to her sister Ismene that she would be the one to defy Creon and bury her brother; and she didn’t care if the whole city knew of her plans. After being caught in the act, she was taken to the palace and when asked by Creon why she did it. Knowing the punishment that would come from it, she replied by saying that she didn’t think Creon had the power to overrule the u...

    Read More

More about Antigone Analysis

Open Document