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Oedipus The King Summary

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King Oedipus has died, leaving his two sons Eteocles and Polyneices to the Kingdom of Thebes. Not being able to choose between the two, Oedipus orders that his sons take turns being the ruler. After a while, Eteocles does not want to step down causing the two brothers to fight over the title. They go to war and both end up dead. Their uncle Creon then becomes the king. He gives a proper funeral to Eteocles but wants the body of Polyneices to rot. Oedipus’s daughter, Antigone meets her sister at Ismene at the gates palace in Thebes. Despite her uncle’s orders, Antigone feels it is her duty to bury her brother’s body and asks her sister to assist her. Ismene refuses, arguing that they “are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men,
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1132 Words | 5 Pages

Polyneices and Eteocles both die tragically in battle. Creon believes that Eteocles died noblely and therefore deserves a proper burial, but Polyneices died a “traitor” and doesn’t deserve a burial at all. Antigone rightfully believes this to be absurd, she thinks both of her brothers deserve a proper burial. This leads Antigone to make the brave decision to bury her brother against Creon’s will. Antigone then urges Ismene to help her and that it is the right thing to do, but Ismene insists that it is wrong to go against Creon.

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Polynices and Eteocles fought for control of the kingdom and died by each other's hand in war. On their travels, Antigone's father had died and she returned to find her brothers dead. Her uncle, Creon, had taken the throne and because he favored Eteocles gave him a proper burial while leaving Polynices' body out to rot. She respected her brother and she went out to bury her brother. She was caught and sentenced to death.

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714 Words | 3 Pages

Boom! It shocked her, her own brother has died why “why would this happen to me, she repeated to herself. Antigone begins with the two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices, who are fighting for the kingship of Thebes. Both men die in the battle. Their successor, Creon, decides that King Eteocles will be buried, but Polyneices, because he was leading a foreign army, will be left on the field of battle.

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686 Words | 3 Pages

Antigone is the strong-willed and stubborn daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. Her argument is in opposition to her uncle, King Creon. Antigone is propelled by grief to unlawfully bury her brother. She argues that "I shall suffer nothing so great as to stop me dying with honor" (96-97). In her view, she believes that not burying her brother, dishonors both herself and her brother.

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267 Words | 2 Pages

On the outskirts of Thebes, Ismene, daughter of Oedipus whom was the king of Thebes, has just heard the decree that she and Ismene’s sister, Antigone, cannot bury their brother, Polyneices, by the law of King Creon.

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308 Words | 2 Pages

After the brothers are both killed in battle, Creon gives Eteocles a proper burial but bans Polyneices’ burial because Creon found him to be a traitor (Shmoop). Sister of Eteocles and Polyneices, Antigone, returns to Thebes and gives Polyneices a proper burial even though it is illegal. Creon pride held him back and decided to

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269 Words | 2 Pages

In Thebes, three family members, including Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydice, all commit suicide due to the loss of each other, starting when Antigone gets situated into a cave as a result of her defying actions. After Polynices and Eteocales die in a battle, and Creon becomes king, his demanding rules only allow Eteocales to be buried because Polynices is considered a traitor. Antigone, their sister, wants to burry Polynices but Creon decrees it illegal, so for the love of her brother, Antigone must risk her life and break the law to create justice. Antigone continues with her quest to burry her brother, although her sister, Ismene, refuses to help because of the danger involved. Antigone sneaks out onto the field where Polynices dead body is

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863 Words | 4 Pages

Antigone, who feels the same love for both her brothers, decides to bury her Polyneices, even though Creon will put anyone to death that tries to. She tries to get Ismene involved, but she refuses to break Creon’s law. Antigone gets caught in the burying of her brother and Creon sends her to

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836 Words | 4 Pages

In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, the two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polyneices die fighting for the position of King. Their uncle, Creon, then turns to take the throne. Creon rules that Eteocles has a proper burial and since Polynices was fighting on the opposing side, he considered him a traitor, so he left him unburied. Antigone and Ismene, Oedipus’s daughters, grieved the loss of their brothers. Antigone then turns out to be uncooperative with Creon’s ruling.

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438 Words | 2 Pages

The tragic hero of the play Antigone is Creon. He made many fatal errors in the beginning of his reign that influenced the rest of his life. At the beginning of the play Antigone’s brothers Eteocles and Polyneices fight to the death and end up killing each other. Creon, the king of Thebes and Antigone’s uncle, orders Eteocles to be buried with honor while Polyneices is to rot in an empty field. Creon then states that anyone caught trying to bury him will be stoned to death in the center square.

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92 Words | 1 Pages

Antigone is the subject of a story in which she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polynices. Oedipus 's sons, Eteocles and Polynices, had shared the rule jointly until they quarrelled, and Eteocles expelled his brother. In Sophocles ' account, the two brothers agreed to alternate rule each year, but Eteocles decided not to share power with his brother after his tenure expired. Polynices left the kingdom, gathered an army and attacked the city of Thebes in a conflict called the Seven Against Thebes. Both brothers were killed in the

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1786 Words | 8 Pages

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

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1377 Words | 6 Pages

Essay Outline INTRODUCTION 1. Opening Sentence: A prophecy, usually told by a god or spirit, can foretell your future destiny. If you were given the opportunity to know yours given the precautions that it could positively or negatively influence your life, would you ask for it or just let it slip? 2.

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759 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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1224 Words | 5 Pages

Oedipus the King is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who kills his father and marries his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would murder him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, had a son, he exposed the baby by first pinning his ankles together. The infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife was then brought up as their very own.

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