Antigone Summary

Antigone is a play written by Sophocles, between approximately 496 – 406 B.C. The play begins after the siege of Thebes by Polynices; Polynices and his brother, Eteocles, are killed by their father, Oedipus. Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, that Creon has ordered for Eteocles to be buried with honors, but Polynices will be left to rot; Antigone and Ismene plan to bury Polynices, but before they are able to do so, Creon hears of their plan and declares that both of the women will be put to death. Creon’s son and Antigone’s lover, Haemon, confronts his father to advise him to reconsider the decision of killing Ismene and Antigone; eventually, Creon replaces his pronouncement and says that Ismene will be freed and Antigone will be sealed in

a tomb to die of starvation. Tiresias, a blind prophet, warns Creon that the gods disapprove of his actions and will chastise him with the death of his own son; this causes him to change his declaration again and decide to bury Polynices and free Antigone. Unfortunately, this change of heart is too late because Antigone has already hanged herself and Haemon commits suicide as well. Upon receiving this news, Eurydice, Haemon’s mother, also kills herself. Creon claims responsibility for all of the tragedies that have occurred and prays for a quick death.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher, said that Antigone represents the tragic collision of right against right, with both sides equally justified. On one end of the spectrum is Creon, exemplifies the law as it represents justice. On the other end of the spectrum, Antigone presents her idea of justice as outdoing the law.
Creon is the powerful male character who suffers from the encumbrances of the law. He shows that he must and will strongly uphold the law by saying, “To protect my royal rights? Protect your rights,” when he and Haemon are arguing over the decisions that have been made. Even though he may have no desire to sentence his own niece to death, he knows that he must because he refuses to be the anti-hero in her disaster. However, he views the issue from a different perspective once he realized that his entire family is dead and he is all alone in his palace.
Antigone is the female protagonist of the play. The only thing that Antigone desires to do is bury her brother, Polynices, even if she has to die for doing so. She speaks up for what she believes by challenging the system. “So, do as you like, whatever suits you best – I will bury him myself. And even if I die in the act, that death will be a glory,” she says to Ismene as they are discussing burying Polynices theirs selves.
I agree with Hegel in saying that Antigone represents the tragic collision of right against right. I believe that Creon was right for trying to uphold the law and keep things fair, but I also think that Antigone was right for standing up for what she believed was right. I think that an equally-yoked system is necessary because you need firm laws, but at the same time, you should always stand up for what you believe and never let anyone run you over or tell you what to believe.