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Comparing Poems 'If We Must Die And Invictus'

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To yield is grievous, but the obstinate soul That fights with Fate, is smitten grievously.-Creon Antigone goes against the King's law in order to honor her brother and do what she believes is right. Knowing that death is unavoidable if she chooses to go down that path doesn't bother because she believes that living a morley dishonorable life is worse than living no life at all. Antigone wants to be in charge of her own life and wants to be the controller of her own fate. Between the two poems “If We Must Die” by Claude Mckay and ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley the poem that best represents Antigone character is ‘Invictus’. “If We Must Die”by Claude Mckay places emphasis on a meaningful death and never giving up even when the odds aren't in your favor. McKay lectures,“Like men we'll face murderous cowardly pack pressed to the wall dying but fighting back,” McKay,13-14) " the speaker knows that the odds are not in his favor yet he continues to give it his all. To McKay, the honor of knowing that you put in everything you had right up until the last minute is very important. McKay like Antigone do what they think is right and don't worry about what the end result might be.McKay announces “ the monsters we defy shall be constrained to honor us though dead”( McKay 7-8). McKay refers to his enemies as ‘monsters’ who he defies and this can signify many things such as (in Antigone) the government. Having your enemy acknowledge your wisdom and courage even …show more content…

In conclusion,although both poems have concepts and themes that represent Antigone,“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley is a superior choice.This poem portrays a better representation of Antigone's character than “If We Must Die” By Claude Mckay.“Invictus’” theme of being undefeated,even when faced with a severe test matches best with the theme of Antigone's spirit over “If We Must Die”’s theme of

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883 Words | 4 Pages

"There is nothing shameful in burying my brother (Plato,72). Antigone's morals are still unable to see her tragic flaw. With Antigone’s death it is viewed by her insolence toward Creon, but by her failure to reason with her emotional values. Antigone impels Creon by defying his order which causes the fate of her life. Instead of obeying to Creon’s verdict this overcomes her

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1104 Words | 5 Pages

She has a heroic and courageous personality. Throughout her quest to bury Polyneices, Antigone encounters many hindrances along the way. The death of her father Oedipus led to her greatest disputant being given power, her Uncle Creon. He would show her no mercy for breaking his laws, until it is too late. Even when her sister Ismene states “Our own death would be if we should go against Creon And do what he has forbidden!

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681 Words | 3 Pages

Antigone is a tragedy play written by Sophocles. In the story, Antigone, a young woman, had requested permission from Creon, the king at the time, to have a proper burial for her brother, Polyneices; even though he was a traitor and the law forbids mourning for him. Creon had denied Antigone's request for the burial of her brother, however, Antigone had still carried out the burial. Unfortunately, she had been caught in her act, by the king’s guard, and brought before Creon.

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623 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, Antigone proclaims, “These laws —I was not about to break them, not out of fear of some man's wounded pride, and face the retribution of the gods.” Here, Antigone shows that she is more fearful of divine judgment than of Creon’s punishment. This is significant as it shows that Antigone would much rather face death than eternal punishment by the gods. Finally, Antigone demonstrates

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837 Words | 4 Pages

She is so obedient to Creon she even goes as far as to claim the laws set in place are for “public good.” This can be linked to how during the experiments mentioned in The Perils of Obedience the testers would sometimes do everything asked of them, no questions. This is similar with Antigone. Even if she does know in her heart that it’s wrong, she lets what is happening happen. That is where Antigone can be connected to The Perils of

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1321 Words | 6 Pages

Antigone died a tragic death, and she can be seen as an inspirational hero for women, however she does not display the characteristics of Aristotle’s tragic hero as well as Creon. While Antigone showed pride in scene 2 by saying, “I should have praise and honor for what I have done” after burying Polyneices, Creon showed excessive pride throughout almost all of the scenes. Likewise, one of Aristotle’s requirements to be recognized as a tragic hero states that, “The character’s fate must be greater than deserved.” Antigone committed suicide, which was not the final result she wanted from burying her brother, but killing herself was a choice of her own. Her decision to kill herself shows that she was not afraid to die, however Creon was afraid to lose his family.

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1241 Words | 5 Pages

In Sophocles’s play Antigone, the throne of the city of Thebes has fallen into the hands of Creon, Antigone’s uncle, after the sudden and tragic death of Eteocles and Polynices. Under his rule, a new law forbidding anyone from burying Polyneices causes Antigone to decide between staying loyal to her country or to her family. In the play Antigone, the most real tragic hero that prevails is Creon because he embodies all the characteristics that a tragic hero must have while Antigone lacks some important characteristics. To begin, Creon conveys goodness because he chooses to punish Antigone for her crimes to keep Thebes as safe and orderly as possible.

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1501 Words | 7 Pages

In the classic play by Sophocles, Antigone is a tragic story of the bold Antigone who defied her uncle, King Creonʻs, edict by burying her brother, Polyneices, who died attacking the city of Thebes, trying to take the power away from their brother, Eteocles, who refused to share the throne with Polyneices. Even though Antigone knew that going against Creon and burying her brother would not end well for her, she still choose to risk her life to do what is right. After being caught breaking the law, Antigone is appointed to be locked away, isolated in a cave until she dies, but she hangs herself at the end. At the same time, things for Creon are not looking good, as everyone around him seems to be against him in his decision for punishing Antigone. Everyone Creon cares about kills themselves from a curse that is put on Creon for not following the Godsʻ laws.

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1762 Words | 8 Pages

Totalitarian governments have consistently been searching for a method to obtain absolute power. It took Stalin years to find a system powerful enough to keep the people repressed until his downfall of the USSR. Hitler’s ideas were strong enough to maintain power for roughly ten years before he became to greedy. The required manner achieve power, to the extent of absolute control, is known to the party. The awareness of what needs to be done is the single distinguisher from past totalitarian governments that the party holds.

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809 Words | 4 Pages

The play, Antigone, is a tragedy written by the Greek poet Sophocles. A common theme among tragedies is that they have a tragic hero, and Antigone is no different. The tragic hero of this poem is Creon, the King of Thebes. Creon is faced with the difficult task of punishing his niece, Antigone. She has broken one of his laws stating that no one is to give proper burial rites to Polyneices, Antigone’s brother, because he tried to overthrow Creon.

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729 Words | 3 Pages

Antigone Expository Essay Glory; it was the only the thing that mattered in Ancient Greece. To receive honor from the gods is the only thing for many greeks. In the play, Antigone, written by Sophocles, the protagonist, Antigone, encounters many conflicts. One major conflict is with King Creon over the honoring of her brother.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

DP1: Within this Narrative, Antigone frequently uses the emotional values of others to convince them of what she believes to be right. The first illustration of this phenomenon is when Antigone compares her willingness to face death as the result of giving her brother an honorable burial, to her sister Ismene 's unwillingness in doing the same. The main character feels as though it is her personal and moral obligation to retrieve the afterlife that’s been taken from her brother. Therefore, she does not agree in abiding by Creon 's man-made legislation and makes it her mission to concede to the laws of the gods.

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1353 Words | 6 Pages

Antigone’s actions are motivated by her allegiance to her family, moral conscience, and religion amid Creon’s political injustice and tyranny. Antigone’s actions motivate her to demand Ismene to prove whether she is “a true sister or a traitor to your family” (26-27). Antigone maintains loyalty to her brother despite his actions which threatened Thebes. Her inability to bear the thought of her brother’s corpse being picked apart by animals and not being honored with proper funeral rites forces her to act. Antigone’s fierce allegiance to her family is laid bare as she is willing to sacrifice her life to honor her brother and defy the law in an act that she believes is morally just.

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691 Words | 3 Pages

Another way this quote can relate to the book is Antigone goes through great sacrifice in order to bury her brother. For instance, if she gets caught Creon will punish he for the crime. During a conversation with her sister Ismene, Antigone says “I never did a nobler thing than bury my brother Polyneices”(Sophocles 32). This quote means that despite the fact that she can be punished, Antigone is still proud of what she did. Creon had threatened to bury Antigone to death but she did not let that stop her

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1141 Words | 5 Pages

The fact that Antigone was stubborn and wanted to bury her brother no matter the cost teaches us this lesson. It can also be seen in Creon’s unwillingness to give in to Antigone no because he didn’t want to be looked at in a certain way. Instead, he lost everything that he had and was left at the end of the play in great pain and alone. The story Antigone was a classic Greek tragedy, a continuation of the immense tragedy that has already befallen the house of Oedipus. “Tragedy has a satisfying, redemptive ending because the events in tragedy are arranged so well that we would not have the play end any other way, we accept the conclusion” Antigone does indeed satisfy that requirement as a tragic play.

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