Comparing Invictus And If We Must Die

In Antigone, a tragedy written by Sophocles, a determined sister must bury her brother, but with the challenges of corrupt king, this daring act may be her last. The two poems, Invictus and If We Must Die, have a similar, but different concepts like Antigone. Invictus captures that throughout a journey, someone should never give up pride. Comparing to Invictus, in If We Must Die, a person should find the most honorable way to die, if death approaches. If We Must Die represents Antigone the best because in both selections they’re finding honor through their deaths.

A main factor to determine which poem best portrays Antigone is theme. Antigone demonstrates the theme of determination to represent the right, no matter the consequence. Invictus

also depicts the theme of no matter the circumstance, there is no reason to give up. Supporting this theme are the lines “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments with the scroll, I am the master of my fate” (Henley, 13-15) from Invictus. This is similar to Antigone, but doesn’t show the entire theme Sophocles was trying to create, only a portion of it. Furthermore, If We Must Die weighs the theme of if death must occur, find the most honorable way to approach it, showing the overall message of Antigone, and could also be used as Antigone’s theme. Differentiating Invictus and If We Must Die’s themes, If We Must Die captures the comprehensive theme of Antigone.
Another way to decide a best representation of Antigone is brief summary of each poem. Invictus is the journey of a man, who goes through hell, but refuses to give up his pride. Again, this only finds a small representation of Antigone because she may not want to give up pride, but that is not her main goal. If We Must Die consists of a man dictating that if they must die, they’ll die a noble death. This compares to Antigone greatest because when Antigone states, “But I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy. I shall lie down with him in death…” (Sophocles, 3) she is basically saying that if she dies, she will die holy. Although Invictus can represent Antigone in some way, If We Must Die captures Antigone better as a whole through paraphrasing.
In conclusion, Antigone is overall delineated better by If We Must Die. Through many aspects, If We Must Die finds the whole message, unlike Invictus which only find a piece of the story. If We Must Die compares better to Antigone because it relates to her whole journey purpose of burying her brother, and if death must accompany this, then let it be a noble death. Although different, each piece finds a way to represent a good way to go about a terrible circumstance.