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Review of the tragedy plot in antigone
Review of the tragedy plot in antigone
Antigone both heroic and admirable essay
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Antigone: The Conflict of Hubris, Fate, and The gods
Sophocles, Antigone is a classic example of the role of the gods in the life of a Grecian. It is a story of the precedent set by the gods, versus the will and actions of the characters of Antigone. Creon deceives himself into believing that he is upholding the laws set by the gods. While he would like to think of himself as being above the gods, even he can not deny their power. The humans were to revere the gods above all else, despite any obstacles that tried to displace them. Creon lies to himself to convince himself that he is not violating the laws of the gods. At first, Creon is able to ignore the edicts of the gods, because his beliefs lie shallowly within the boundaries of his mind, whereas Antigone’s reverence for the gods pierces the depths of her heart.
In Antigone Creon falls victim to the tragic flaw of hubris, eventually leading the destruction of his house. Polynices and Etiocles were the rightful heirs to the thrown; however they were killed by mutual fratricide, a dishonorable way to kill and be killed. Creon’s only legitimate claim for the thrown of the house of Thebes would have been through Edipus; however, Edipus’ only claim to the thrown was the riddle of the sphinx. By Greek law this would not have transferred down to Creon, thus making his stake to the thrown an insecure one. Do to this, Creon has a plaguing fear of anarchy in his city. He wants to be a strong ruler, with no one questioning his authority, or challenging his power. This desire comes from a root of instability and illegitimacy. Creon’s first element of pride is to have a chorus that is loyal to him. If Creon could not even prove the legitimacy of his line to h...
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... discusses the conflict between the will of the god’s versus the will of man, and what right Polynices even had to being buried. According to Greek culture, Creon had ever right to make a decree stating that Polynices need not be buried within city limits; however, he was going too far in his decree of no burial at all. The Irony is that in the end he ignores religion again, to have Polynices buried with the city limits, where the god’s would have wanted him outside of the city.
There are many more elements of Grecian law and religion that this article discusses, and because of that this will definitely be a very helpful source. I can see many of the points that I was looking to make, backed up within this article. This article was an extremely helpful find.
Works Cited
Sophocles. Antigone Dover Thrift Editions New York: Dover Publications, INC. 1993
Creon's insecurity blinds his ability to direct order in his country properly. After Antigone buried Polyneices Creon felt he needed to take a strong stand or people would think he would always be lenient toward criminals. However, to achieve this Creon felt he needed to take drastic action against Antigone. He once even said to his son, Haimon, who was about to marry Antigone, "The woman dies. I suppose she'll plead family ties. Well, let her. If I permit my own family to rebel, how shall I earn the world's obedience?" (19) This quote shows that Creon feels that to prove himself to the country he needs to earn the "world's obedience".
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In addition, Creon disregards what had historically been the best counsel for the city, the blind prophet Tiresias. Despite Tiresias’ warnings that his “high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes,” will “strike [him] down with the pains [he] perfected,” Creon’s stubborn commitment to the laws of state turns to be his error. Eventually convinced by Tiresias’ warnings, Creon resolves to release Antigone from her isolated tomb. Regrettably, he’s too late and the consequences of his insolence for the divine laws were far worse than if he had “[L]ay[ed] [my] pride bare to the blows of ruin” (1220). Creon’s undoing can be viewed as an allegory of the calamities that ensue when the laws of man pursue to challenge the ancient laws of gods.
Many great rulers have been tempted by the authority of absolute power. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the Theban king, will do anything in order to earn this absolute power. Creon’s prideful attitude, disregard of the authority of the gods, and failure to listen cause him to fail as a statesman, demonstrating the nature of kingship in Sophocles’s Antigone.
The notion of honor and justice is prevalent throughout all types of literature. In Greek culture, honor is essential for creating a solid foundation within a society and family. Honor will follow you until the day you perish, and beyond. The honor for men in Greece is spiritual in that loved ones show respect to the deceased by giving them a proper burial. Nevertheless, when a man acts upon betrayal of the city, that man looses the privilege to die in such honor. This is evident in the life of Antigone when her two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, both die at each other’s hands at war when deciding the ruler of Thebes. Polyneices cannot have a proper burial, because the new king, Antigone’s uncle, Creon created a law that decrees that anyone who tries to give Polyneices a proper burial will have a dire consequence: death. In Sophocles’ Antigone, the quest that Antigone endures to stay true to her pure intentions of honoring Polyneices by giving him a proper burial is in juxtaposition with the fact that her defiance towards Creon is not only to do with Polyneices, but also to show appeasement to the gods.
Conflict of law, presents the initial disturbance within Thebes. Creon, King of Thebes, refuses to bury the body of Polynices, for in his eyes Polynices is 'his country's enemy' Antigone pg.131. Thus, despite breaking the laws of the gods, Creon holds his power higher than that of God and heavens and enforces his law. As the story follows, Sophocles expands on the ignorance presented by Creon and Antigone, and it is also found that it is impossible to defeat an ignorant man, or woman in argument. It is this ignorance, that establishes the notion of the sin and punishment that both Creon and Antigone face due to their stubbornness and self will.
In the story “Antigone”, Sophocles shows that Creon’s attitude is very angry, making everyone sees him as a tyrant more than as a king. His regard for the laws of the town causes him to abandon most viewpoints, like the laws of the gods, or the rights of the people. He believes that his subjects should obey the laws he has set in place, even if moral or religious beliefs contradict his laws and beliefs. Creon’s idea of a good leader is one who maintains order through violence and fear. More over his arrogant, power-seeking personality prevented him from seeking out advice or listening to his own people.
In the following paper, I plan to discuss the source of conflict between the title characters of Antigone and Creon in Sophocles’ “Antigone”. I also plan to discuss how each character justifies his or her actions and what arguments they give for their justifications. I will also write about the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments. The final points I try to make are about who Sophocles thinks is right and who I think is right.
The play “Antigone” is a tragedy by Sophocles. One main theme of the play is Religion vs. the state. This theme is seen throughout the play. Antigone is the supporter of religion and following the laws of the gods and the king of Thebes, Creon, is the state. In the play Creon has made it against the law to bury Antigone’s brother, something that goes against the laws of the gods, this is the cause of most conflict in the story. This struggle helps to develop the tragic form by giving the reader parts of the form through different characters.
Imagine having to bury your own children. How awful would that be? The Middle Ages were a brutal time that included the bubonic plague, many wars and other horrible things. This period is considered to be one of religion and the Catholic Church, but this was overshadowed by chaos and confusion. Although the Middle Ages is often known as the age of faith, a more appropriate title for the time period would be The Dark Ages because of the black death, wars and the collapse of government.
Within popular discourse, the historical period of the Middle Ages is synonymous with the term “Dark Ages”: how did this particular equation come about? The immediate connotations of the Dark Ages are clearly negative: they suggest oppression, ignorance and a period of motionless in human development. The reason behind this description of the Middle Ages is arguably the result of a contrast to the subsequent periods of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment: the Renaissance itself signals a “new birth”, whereas the Enlightenment clearly evokes images of a new insight and vision wielded by humanity. Accordingly, the negative values ascribed to the Middle Ages are the result of this historical period’s difference to the Renaissance. Such an account, namely, judges the Middle Ages from an entirely different world-view.
The Tragic Play Antigone by Sophocles has a Conflict between religious morals and loyalty to the state and its laws. This struggle is displayed through the characters Antigone and Creon. Antigone’s life meets a tragic end in the play, but her death makes her a martyr leading to the citizens to follow her view of religion.
Impressionism is very pretty and complicated. It was from 1860 to 1910. Monet is the perfect Impressionist. Impressionism had its basic tenants. Their subject matter was the middle upper class, the city, and leisurely activities. They painted on en plein air which means they painted outdoors. They painted in snow, rain, storm, just in order to record directly the effects of light and atmosphere. They painted with strokes and touches of pure color by using a great deal of white and rarely black. They recorded the shifting play of light on the surface of objects and the effect light has on the eye without concern for the physicality of the object being painted. They were influenced by Japanese art and photography. One of Monet’s works is titled Water Lilies. The medium of this work is oil on canvas. Monet is an impressionist. He puts up pure color just describe the water. He said, when you go out paint, the impression of the scene not the exact scene.
People in the Dark Ages were engulfed in the shadow of greatness of their predecessors, which 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon called “barbarism and religion,” (History). Life in Europe during the Dark Ages were quite simple, as there was no efforts in unifying Europe, and the Catholic church was the only real body of power in Europe at this time. European societies were governed by feudalism, in which the king gives land to the nobles, while peasants worked on the land to live there in return. Little is actually known about this era, in that nothing significant was recorded, announcing it a “dark’ era. There was little to nothing significant about this time period in Europe, other than strong Catholic authority. A shift begins during this time period
Sophocles’ Antigone is a text rich with layers of meaning. In this essay, I intend to uncover some of these layers in order to assert the extent to which Antigone is responsible for her tragic end. I will argue that the protagonist is responsible for her own actions – actions that by her own choice result in her death. The catalyst for said death, however, is the result of other characters and events. I will focus particularly on the edict of Creon and his role in the tragedy, as it is the juxtaposition of their beliefs, which results in both of their tragic endings. Throughout the essay I will analyse scholarly works on the subject, as well as the events in the text itself, in order to weigh the ultimate accountability of Antigone.