Antigone Research Paper

Lee, Kathy, Research Paper

The Life of Sophocles

A well-educated man once said, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil, the only crime is pride,” quoted in the play Antigone written by the famous Sophocles. (Antigone 1). Born into a wealthy family in 496-406 B.C at Colonus, Sophocles emerged as one of the most eminent playwrights of the Athenian society who expressed talent in music and dance at a young age which not only impacted his writing, but also Greek theater. He was well-educated in numerous subjects and associated with the government by conducting society that impacted his writing, and wrote hundreds of plays that still live on that made him one of the most sensational playwrights in Athens. At a young age,

His most famous tragedies were Oedipus the King and Antigone. Although, his tragedies entertained people, they also deep meaning that depicted political power and philosophical matters within society. An example in one of his tragedies that shows how it reflects society was in his play, Antigone. In Antigone, he uncovers the conflict between divine and state law because he wanted to reflect how they affected Athenian society (Sophocles Facts 9). Another example was in his other play, Oedipus the King. The main character in Oedipus the King starts out to be a hero but in the end, comes out to be a fearful tyrant (Oedipus the King 5). The theme in this play was to show how being too self-confident can lead to one’s self to not succeed which reflected philosophical matters. Sophocles also made altars in Greek theaters that have never been done before. For example, he increased the characters on stage from two to three. Another example was how he changed the capacity of the chorus from twelve to fifteen people. Sophocles’ plays have still been read and changed the way of