ipl-logo

Comparing Oedipus The King And Antigone

552 Words3 Pages

In Oedipus the King and Antigone paradoxes contribute to Aristotle’s idea of tragedy arousing pity and fear in order to accomplish catharsis by developing deeper characters, creating higher stakes in the plot and playing with the audiences emotions. When Oedipus finds that he missed the truth all along and finds the prophecy true, he pierces out his eyes developing a paradox describing his character with deeper meaning, “The pain of the spikes where I had sight, The flooding pain of memory, never to be gouged out. . . Are you faithful even yet, you alone? Are you still standing near me, will you stay here, patient, to care for the blind?”(Oedipus. Exodos. 94-102). Blind to the truth, Oedipus possesses the physical ability to see through the duration of the play highlighting his ignorant characteristics and excessive pride after his physical blinding and discovering truth. Through Oedipus’ actions the audience feels pity for Oedipus, but at the same time fear of the unknown which releases during catharsis when Oedipus …show more content…

Who is the man here, she or I, if this crime goes unpunished? Sister’s child or more than sisters child, or closer yet to blood—she and her sister win bitter death for this!”(Antigone. Scene 2. 80-86). As a ruler, Kreon appears fair-minded however acts abusively with his power, filled with anger, raising the stakes in the play’s plot. Kreon’s paradox in personality introduces spontaneity as well as unforeseen possibilities for all characters to experience building up fear and later a greater release during the catharsis. Similar to how Kreon’s anger filled views add suspense in the plot for the audience and build towards catharsis Antigone’s paradoxical actions stimulate pity supporting Aristotle’s

Show More
Related
373 Words | 2 Pages

In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the dichotomy between power and weakness in Kreon’s character is crucial to the play’s meaning because it expresses his inner struggle, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Kreon decides to decree death on Antigone, his son’s fiance, which takes everything from him despite his trying to prevent that very thing. Because Kreon has a stubborn personality and allegiance to his power, he chooses not to go back on his word and reverse his mistake. His perspective on the importance of maintaining power clouded his judgment and made him believe that he was protecting his throne when, in reality, he was ensuring its demise. Ismene, Antigone’s sister, pleads with Kreon to reverse his wrongdoings and save his family and her own.

Read More
833 Words | 4 Pages

Both Kreon and Antigone are stuck in their ways and refuse to listen to each other’s arguments. These disagreements reach their climax when several characters kill themselves because of Kreon’s stubbornness. Throughout this play, obstinacy leads several characters to their ruin through their single-mindedness and their lack of respect for the opinions of others. Antigone demonstrates her own stubbornness when she explains to Ismene

Read More
241 Words | 1 Pages

These three conflicts are very closely related, but this crude set of pairings helps to untangle some of the central issues of the play. Antigone and her values line up with the first entity in each pair, while Creon and his values line up with the second. Antigone continues to be a subversive and powerful play, and the inspiration for generations of rebels and dissidents. In the 20th century, a version of Antigone rewritten during the Second World War became one of the most powerful texts of resistance against the Nazis. The conflict between the individual and the power of the state was as pressing for Greek audiences as it is to modern ones.

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

But now in a reversed position, Oedipus is a man that is physically blind but in truth is not. All things considered, Oedipus was in denial and was blinded from truth. As he came closer to the truth he finds himself praying that the prophecy will not come true. His earnestness causes a panic within him that leads him to abuse his power into changing his destiny. But as a result, all thing must come to an end especially Oedipus’s physical sight.

Read More
1276 Words | 6 Pages

Antigone is introduced as,”tense, sallow, willful girl whose family would never take her seriously and who is about to rise up alone against Creon, her uncle, the king”(3). through describing Antigone as “tense, sallow” Anouilh uses imagery to suggest that Antigone is a character who does not engage socially, prioritizing her personal interests. The mention of her rising up “alone”, against “her uncle, the king” is also used to expose her personal priorities, as through mentioning alone, it is again suggested that she would prioritize her goal over other people, while mentioning Creon’s status as a family and a ruler, it is expressed that she is willing to rebel against power and family, for only her own goals. Her methodology of self-prioritization is further reinforced through suggesting that her family would, “never treat her seriously”,

Read More
1236 Words | 5 Pages

In both The Last Days of Socrates and Antigone, the protagonists and antagonists act with determination to achieve what they believe is just. Both parties inflict harm to others or even to themselves, but this does not discourage them because they claim it is for a greater cause. Many of the characters in both works have just and righteous intentions, but they allow emotions cloud their judgment. If more time had been taken to think clearly and impartially, much of the strife that happened could have been avoided. Socrates, Antigone, and Creon made their decisions with the ideal goal of justice in mind, but they allowed emotion to corrupt the good intent behind their actions.

Read More
1256 Words | 6 Pages

In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles writes a remarkable story about ignorance. Ignorance can break relationships and the most obvious one, lead to a downfall. He uses abstract ideas, such as character foils and irony to heighten the enjoyment for the audience. Not only does he use these to improve the literacy of the story, but also to further extend Oedipus’s ignorance, which eventually leads to Oedipus’s downfall and influences the experience on the audience’s catharsis and overall enjoyment of the play.

Read More
472 Words | 2 Pages

In the end, Kreon lets his pride get in the way and it causes the death of everyone he loves. Kreon does not do the right thing to begin with and he should have let Antigone do what she thought was right. If he did and didn't let his pride and power as king get in the way, then he wouldn't have to live with such misery and guilt. The main thematic idea of the play is pride will destroy yourself

Read More
977 Words | 4 Pages

The play highlights the consequences once again of unbridled pride and power abuse, depicting the destruction that can take place when people value their own pride and authority above everything else. Antigone is a perfect example of how pride and the thirst for power intertwine and

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

Antigone, despite being depicted throughout most of the play as brave and unfaltering, is shown broken down and crying in the tomb, betraying her own personality. Kreon at the end is shown gravely mourning for his dead wife and son, despite that he was never shown throughout most of the play as having any sort of

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Antigone is a story about social and family relations that serves as an example to the reader of how emotions can overpower reason. Sticking to one thought process even when circumstances change can be dangerous, especially when dealing with life threatening situations. In the case of Antigone, the stressful relations and lack of logic used by the characters are used as a lesson to the audience showing what can happen when emotions get out of hand. There are two scenes in the story which best exemplify this.

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

Tiresias reveals that Oedipus has been blind to the truth his whole life and when he finally does find the truth, he loses his physical vision. Due to the truth, Oedipus blinds himself. In this case, those who are blind ultimately do have a higher vision- the truth. The theme of sight versus blindness in Sophocles’ work Oedipus the King is portrayed through

Read More
577 Words | 3 Pages

Oedipus was a tragic hero he was seen as a great man and was king,but he fell to misfortune because of his disability to see past his pride and anger which led to his demise. By not being able to see past his pride and anger Oedipus was not able to to avoid his prophetic destiny. He was blinded by his pride and anger so much that it became his tragic flaw ultimately leading him to his

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

In addition, I will explore how she suffered severe consequences to do what was right. Secondly, I will analyze Kreon’s view on the law and how he was a bad leader in a bad situation. Finally, I will compare and contrast Kreon’s and Antigone’s conception of the law and defend Antigone. Antigone and the Law The major theme in the play, Antigone, is the two contrasts between divine and human law.

Read More
796 Words | 4 Pages

Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.

Read More

More about Comparing Oedipus The King And Antigone

Related Topics

Open Document