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Similarities Between Hamlet And Antigone

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The novels Antigone and Hamlet, are two writings that provoked ideas of overall morality within man. Antigone, written in 441 BC by the Greek Tragedian Sophocles, is a story that follows the attempts of Antigone to bury the body of her deceased brother going against the decision of her uncle and placing her relationship with her brother above human laws. This story brings up controversial questions such as religion, virtue, and justice. These controversies later connect to many of the same/different obstacles in the infamous Hamlet. Hamlet, written in 1600, by Shakespeare is a play in which Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. Given the conditions …show more content…

They both begin the path to revenge and righteousness. Antigone wants vengeance for all the criticism she got for what her father had done. Antigone felt justified in her actions based on the beliefs of her culture and society, so much so that she risked her life to do the task, welcoming death in the process. As Antigone refuses to accept the king’s word and instead chooses the law of her gods. She states “I shall be a criminal -- but a religious one” ( page 1213 lines 84-85). Antigone is not only defending her brother she also respects her god’s wishes to not leave any dead unburied. Antigone's search for justice makes her realize the importance of spiritual existence. Antigone greatly admires the gods and knows the importance of their divine law. She does not want to anger the gods and therefore follows their laws. As a result, she emphasizes who truly holds her respect. Hamlet also seeks revenge for his respected father. He refuses to stand aside with the knowledge that the death of his father will control his mind. Hamlet does not respond to injustice too kindly. He wants revenge for his father's death, wants to set things right, and helps out whoever is in charge of people receiving karma by taking things into his own hands. Hamlet wants justice for his father, old King Hamlet, by killing his murderer, his fatherś brother, and the current king of Denmark. Overall, through both literary pieces, readers acknowledge that Antigone and Hamlet want to take action toward the deaths of their loved ones. The tone used in Antigone also compares to the tone used by Hamlet as they both seem casual towards the deaths of their loved ones, but truly feel as if nobody understands

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178 Words | 1 Pages

On the other hand, Antigone may be prideful, but not like her father; instead she is more arrogant towards her actions that she thinks is just. For instance, in the illegal act of burying her brother, Antigone doesn’t show any guilt as to committing the offence, she instead tells her uncle “I should have praise and honor for what I have done. All these men here would praise me were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you.” This is a bold statement said by Antigone as she tells her uncle that he is wrong, for leaving her brother unburied and that she acted in virtue not haste for what he had done. In saying this Antigone shows that she is prideful in what she had done and that others will agree with her upon it.

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1239 Words | 5 Pages

She believed that God’s laws were higher than man’s laws so she was ‘pleasing those [she] should please most’ (Blondell, 23). While arguing with her sister, Ismene, about breaking the law, Antigone demonstrated her determination to bury her brother because she knew that it was the moral thing to do, regardless of the deadly outcome. She was willing to perform the ‘crime of piety’ (Blondell, 23) – the crime that was ‘honored by the gods’ (Blondell, 23). To her, following God’s laws was the most justified even if it meant that she had to break man’s laws, because the God’s laws were ‘not for now or yesterday, but live forever’ (Blondell, 38).

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895 Words | 4 Pages

This statement spoken by Antigone not only shows her loyalty to her brother and to her family, and despite the consequences, but none of that matters if it is right and it is holy. Therefore, Antigone’s motive for what she did was in true loyalty and compassion for her brother and

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

Firstly, the similarities between Antigone's and King’s stances were that they both thought that they were correct. The stance of Antigone when says that “It wasn't Zeus” who had told her that she could no longer bury her brother Polynieces. This idea led her to the conclusion that she was the only one that was right and that the government was wrong for dishonoring her brother. She would even go to the length of not caring if she was to die from this law which she found to be going against the law of the gods. She would prove this by saying that if she is “to die before” her time she would consider that a gain.

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1457 Words | 6 Pages

King and Antigone both defy authority to further their causes but they demonstrate differences as Antigone views

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796 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore, King believed in the power of love and forgiveness, while Antigone's beliefs were more focused on revenge and honor. King believed that love and forgiveness were the most powerful weapons against hatred and injustice, while Antigone's actions were driven by her desire for revenge and her belief in the importance of familial honor. King and Antigone’s stances differ because King was an advocate for nonviolent resistance to solve conflict while Antigone believed violence might have needed to be used to achieve her

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428 Words | 2 Pages

Antigone is driven by her sense of duty and loyalty to her family, while Creon is motivated by his desire to maintain his authority and uphold the laws of the land. As a result, they fight over the issue of burying Antigone's brother, with Antigone insisting on burying him while Creon refuses to allow it. Sophocles achieves a deeper understanding of Antigone and Creon's characters by showing us their conversations with other characters. For example, Antigone's conversation with her sister, Ismene, highlights her determination and intense sense of duty.

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614 Words | 3 Pages

In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone and Ismene are compared to each other by Antigone’s loyalty to the Gods and Ismene’s loyalty to the King, the fact that Antigone suffered more than she deserved, and rule and order of religion and law of men. This comparison of two characters illuminates the amount of power the Gods and kings have in the play. Antigone and Ismene are compared by their characteristics of loyalty and disloyalty to the Gods. Antigone is loyal to the Gods and wants to give her brother a proper burial for the Gods. Ismene wants to obey the king and doesn’t protest him, even though she thinks Polyneices should be buried because he is family.

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729 Words | 3 Pages

Hamlet, also, could not get over the death of his father. He found out when his father’s ghost came back that his brother, and Hamlet’s uncle, murdered him. He then was willing to do anything possible to get revenge on Claudius, his uncle. Both of

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905 Words | 4 Pages

Antigone’s first core value is that she believes in putting her family first. This core value influences her decision that leads to her attempting

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975 Words | 4 Pages

In conclusion, Antigone's actions are based on what she believes the gods would approve of, such as protecting

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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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707 Words | 3 Pages

Antigone had been worried about the afterlife of her brother Polyneices, if he were not properly buried, this being the main cause of her actions in defying the decree against the burial of Polyneices. In Hamlet’s view, he is worried about the destiny of his father. The ghost of Hamlet’s father tells Hamlet how he would be “Doom’d for a certain term” if Hamlet would not defy orders and then seek revenge for his father (Scene 5 line 9-13). Both Antigone and Hamlet would defy orders to seek justice in the injustice rules placed by their superiors. They also both show that they care for their loved ones and would want the best for them, dead or alive.

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1140 Words | 5 Pages

For example, she is mentally prepared to endure the punishment of going against the government in order to do what she feels is ethically right. On the other hand Antigone’s sister Ismene, feels obligated to abide by her laws. She does this so that she will stay out of any trouble that she might get herself into. The theme of Antigone and her sister Ismene have unlike views on the beliefs

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324 Words | 2 Pages

The sibling relationship between Antigone and her sister plays as a central theme in the work of Antigone by Sophocles. One of the central theme portrayed by Antigone and her younger sister is loyalty. Analyzing the text as a whole displays that Antigone’s younger sister does not know where her loyalty shouble be. In The text of Antigone it can be inferred that Antigone believed very strongly that her sister was a traitor for not wanting to help bury their brother.

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