The tragic play “Antigone” written by Sophocles, follows after the war between Thebes and Argos. In the war, the two sons of Oedipus, Eteokles and Polynices fought for the throne; however, as a result, both sons die. Due to the brotherly feud, Eteokles and Polynices uncle, Creon becomes the king of Thebes. The new king Creon then passes on a law to not bury Polyneices the exile who rebelled against Thebes, but honor Eteokles who defended the country. He then stated, if the body were to be buried by someone, the burier must be executed.
The burial of Polyneices is viewed nobly, yet Antigone is not faultless in that act. One of Antigone’s largest mistakes is that she burns bridges with those that care about her. Pleading with Antigone, Ismene laments “why would I care to live when you are gone?” (548). Antigone dismisses this heartfelt plea by deferring Ismene to Creon, thus isolating herself from her only kin.
Antigone Essay In the play Antigone, written by sophocles in 441 BC, two main characters, Antigone and Creon, must decide who is right and who is not. There are many arguments as to why Antigone is right and why Creon is right but there are a bit more logical reasons to why Antigone is right. Out of most the arguments there are three very important and persuasive ones. These are only some of the reasons why Antigone is right and Creon is a fool.
INTRODUCTION: Open your argument to the audience and give them reason to listen on. I. Hook (Opening Statement): Get your audience’s attention! Consider a quote from the story. Are there any circumstances in which the law should be ignored?
Antigone has two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, of which a fatal fight occurs. This disastrous altercation leaves both of her brothers dead. Creon rules that only Eteocles is to be offered a proper burial while
In the play, Antigone, daughter of Oedipus learns about the death of her two brothers (Eteocles and Polynices).Creon, the new king of Thebes passed a decree to the city on the burial of the two brothers. In the decree, Creon declares that Eteocles body should be buried with honor and fame for his courage of saving the city from the enemy. Whiles Polynices body is left unburied and rotting for beasts to feed on because he came to destroy the city and enslave the people. Antigone defies Creon 's decree, buries Polynices body and gets caught. Creon imprisons her
She would willingly accept her punishment for her actions because she would die honoring her brother and giving him a traditional
Determination In the play, Antigone, different characters demonstrated the difference between being determined and being stubborn. For example have you ever been determined to do something for the cause of good or even been stubborn. In this story characters there are some characters that were the same way, The first person that I have to bring up is Antigone.
In the play "Antigone" by Sophocles, Antigone rightfully decides to bury her brother, Polynices, but when the king, Creon, finds out, she does not repent for her actions. She is a woman that stands for what she thinks is right, which in this case is that Creon is wrong for condemning the burial of her brother. She shows braveness with her actions because not all people have the courage to risk their own lives so that their brother can rest in peace. For instance, Ismene states "What? You 'd bury him – when a law forbids the city?"
When people defend what they believe in or who they love that is sacrifice. In order to be certain that her two brothers she loved had a proper burial and that their souls could rest, Antigone sacrificed her life. Regardless of the potential outcome; even if that means that she was going to have to challenge her uncle (King Creon), she plans on pursuing her quest. Polynices and Eteocles killed each other in battle for control over Thebes, leaving the city to the new King, Creon Jocasta’s brother and Antigone’s uncle. Because of the actions that Polynices took during the war, Creon labels him a traitor and halts any burial process, leaving his body for the animals (222-234).
The story of Antigone presented us with characters from both extremes of the stubbornness scale. Antigone’s main motivation was her love/loyalty to her family and her value of god’s law over man kind’s law. King Creon decided that law and order was the best thing the country needed after the aftermath of the civil war Antigone’s brother started. He saw it as his job to bring the community happiness because the citizens needed a strong and firm leader. To him, the law is more important than anything else, including family and religious law.
Would you follow a law if it serves no purpose to you or others? or if you felt that it was wrong to a certain group or ethnicity? Many people know the story Antigone by Sophocles, a kingdom set in ruins as two brothers end up killing each other over a land given to them by their father. As said in lines 165-175 Creon states “Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or the least prayer for him; he shall lie on the plain, unburied.” Being as how both brothers fought fighting for their beliefs they should both get a proper military honored burial as believed by their sister Antigone.
The drama Antigone places the culture of Greece on display by showcasing the many values that this culture held in reverence, including remaining loyal to family, honoring the dead, and honoring the gods. In Sophocles’ renowned drama entitled Antigone, one of the main values that Antigone chooses to honor is loyalty to family, even when that means that she has to forgo loyalty to her city and community. Even though her uncle the king, Kreon, forbade anyone to bury Polyneikes’ body because he had been on the opposing side in the battle, Antigone felt a duty to her brother to bury him. When speaking with her sister, Antigone says that Kreon’s command “…threatens our loved ones / as if they were our enemies” (Antigone 14-15).
In Antigone, there was two brothers who shared being the King and one of the brothers, Polynices, wanted to start a war with the kingdom because he wanted to be the main ruler. Polynices and his brother Eteocles fight and they both end up killing each other. Their Uncle Creon, who takes position as King when they are both killed, decides that only Eteocles will have a proper burial and Polynices will be left to rot. Antigone, Polynices and Eteocles sister, thinks that Creon’s decision is unfair and takes upon herself to give Polynices a proper burial. When their other sister Ismene finds out, she is stuck between helping her sister bury their brother and following Creon’s demands.
What “tragic ideas” do we see expressed in Sophocles’ drama? Answer with reference to the play Antigone. ‘Tragedy is the representation of a serious and complete set of events, having a certain size, with embellished language used distinctly in the various parts of the play, the representation being accomplished by people performing and not by narration, and through pity and fear achieving the catharsis of such emotion’- Aristotle, Poetics, Chapter 6. The play “Antigone” by Sophocles displays many qualities that make it a great tragedy.