In the play Antigone, the four choral stasima play an important role in establishing the theme of the play and helping the audience relate to and comprehend the struggle of characters. One shared theme between the stasima is the influence of the gods on human affairs. The first stasimon speaks about following human laws but also honoring divine law by swearing on the gods. If the human laws conflict with the laws of the gods, there is no justice. The second stasimon also speaks of following laws especially those of the gods. The stasimon gives an example of the dangers of disobeying the laws of the gods. The household of Labdakos is cursed because he disobeyed the laws of the gods. The stasimon closes with a tribute to the god Zeus praising his incredible power. In the third stasimon, the power of Zeus is also described as full of mystery and unavoidable. Dionysus is also described punishing the child of Dryas for disobeying him. The …show more content…
The first stasimon hints that in the play, there will be conflict due to disobeying the laws of the government and gods. Another instance of foreshadowing is in the second stasimon where the chorus sings of disaster befalling a family because of the evil actions of one man. Another purpose of the choral stasima is to provide context for the actions in the play. This is done by relating events and stories outside of the play to the action in the play. For example, in the third stasima, the chorus sings about Danae, a woman imprisoned in a chamber and of the child of Dryas who was imprisoned in rocks for disrespecting Dionysus. These situations are parallel to the situation of Antigone because all are of noble birth, and are all trapped in some manner. The purpose of the final choral stasimon is to help wrap up the play and to reinforce the idea that the gods have a significant influence in the