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Analysis of king oedipus by sophocles
Analysis of king oedipus by sophocles
Tragedy of antigone
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Title: Antigone
Author: Sophocles
Setting: The play takes place in Thebes and starts at dawn following the night Polyneices and Eteocles (Antigone's brothers) fight for the thrown Oedipus (their father) held. Polyneices fights against his own country, the city of Thebes, and his brother fights defending it. They kill each other in the battle and Creon (their uncle and the king of Thebes) decided to leave Polyneices on the field to rot because he defied his own country, and anyone who tried to interfere with his edict would be dealt harsh consequences, even death. "Let him lie unwept, unburied, a toothsome morsel for the birds of heaven, and whoso touches him shall perish by the cruel death of stoning." Antigone decided to give her brother a proper burial and was prepared to face Creon's harsh consequences because she felt it was worth keeping her loyalties to her brother, Polyneices. A good portion of the scenes took place at Creon's palace.
Time period: Sophocles wrote Antigone in 441 B.C.
Author background: Sophocles borrowed some of Aeschylus ideas in his Seven Against Thebes for Antigone. Antigone was actually the earliest of the plays Sophocles devoted to the Theban cycle of myths. Sophocles was around his fifties when he wrote it and used three tragedies to tell a single storyOedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.
Main Characters:
Antigone Daughter of Oedipus and sister of Polyneices, Eteocles, and Ismene. She is determined to give her brother the proper burial he deserves. Ismene opposes the idea, but Antigone is not swayed, or even thinks twice of reconsidering. She is a martyr, willing to die for her dead brother's sake, "A death martyrdom can render blest". When Creon leaves her in the tomb to die she feels self-pity. Nonetheless, she is a tragic heroine.
Ismene- She believes in listening to Creon even though his actions are wrong. She tries to talk Antigone out of her plan but she can not, but in the end she tries to take part in the crime placed upon her sister Antigone, but Antigone rebukes her. "But now that your poor ship is buffeted, I'm not ashamed to sail the voyage at your side", Ismene said that to Antigone when they faced Creon. She loved her sister, she was the only immediate family she had left. Though she was weak to defy Creon in the beginning to bury her brother with Antigone, she proved her loyalty to the family by trying to regain it in the end.
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices.
Sophocles. Antigone. Taken from Abcarian and Koltz, "Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience." St. Martins Press. 1998.
In the play Antigone, created by Sophocles Antigone is a foil to Creon because their personalities contrast. This makes Creon a Tragic Hero because he thinks that he is a god but in reality he is a mortal upsetting the god's and he will eventually meet his demise. At the start of the play the reader is introduced to a character named Creon, who is the king of Thebes, the previous king, Eteocles, was killed by his brother Polyneices. There is a law arranged by Creon, so nobody could bury the body of Polyneices but Antigone, the sister of both Eteocles and Polyneices, wants to bury her brother and is willing to risk her life to bury him. She eventually gets caught and is sentenced to death by Creon.
Oedipus accidentally killed his father and married his mother. Because of that act, Oedipus ended up cursing his family and died a horrible death. After his death, his sons inherited his kingdom and in a power struggle ended up killing each other. One of the sons, Polynices attacked the city to try and claim power from his brother. But since both of the brothers died and the city was not taken Polynices was labeled as a traitor whereas the other brother who died defending the city was celebrated as a hero. Creon decreed at the beginning of the play Antigone that no one was to bury the body of traitorous Polynices. Antigone felt that it was here responsibility to bury the body because he was still a member of her family. This led to a huge argument with Creon who felt he shouldn’t be crossed because he was the leader of the state. Eventually both Creon and Antigone are destroyed by the gods (and by each other) through their own actions.
Antigone, in Greek legend, was the daughter of Oedipus. When her brothers Eteocles and Polynices killed one another, Creon, king of Thebes, forbade the rebel Polynices’ burial. Antigone disobeyed him, performed the rites, and was condemned to death for what she had done.
At first she tries to convince her sister Ismene to join her in her plans, but Ismene refuses, she is not willing to give up her life at all, when Antigone is not only risking her life but also her marriage with Haemon. When Antigone meets Creon she proves her strength and spiritual power. Some say she is not a saint but a martyr. She combats Creon with insolence towards the civil authority, following always the laws of heaven.
Antigone is a strong willed character who is not afraid to defend her beliefs. After learning that Creon has denied Polyneices of a proper burial she uses her free will to decide that she must lay her brother to rest, as she strongly believes he should be honored like the other fallen soldiers. Unable to
To begin with, an in depth analysis and understanding of Creon's intents and actions must be established in order to evaluate the reactions of Antigone and Ismene. The central conflict of Antigone derives from Polyneices' betrayal to the city of Thebes. As the ruler, Creon naturally feels compelled to exert his authority by refusing Polyneices a proper burial "for the birds that see him, for their feast's delight" (162). The grotesque imagery evoked not only illustrates Creon's endeavor to discourage further rebellion, but also portrays a personal defense to protect his pride; this need to reassert his pride significantly heightens with Antigone's involvement. From Creon's perspective, leniency represents vulnerability within a leader "if he does not reach for the best counsel for [Thebes], but through some fear, keeps his tongue under lock and key"(167). Throughout the play, the symbol of "tongue" frequently recurs, illustrating how society cond...
Justice is a word we hear today all the time. Left and right we hear of judges and citizens demanding justice. Is justice always the right way? It seems that justice is not always the correct solution to a problem, but a solution that is the easiest to make. The classic play Antigone is a perfect example of this. Antigone is classic tragedy at its finest. A simple civilized and humane right of burying a loved one is turned into a great loss. Creon’s inapt decision to hold his power and sentence Antigone to death causes him to lose the people he loves most. The “justice” of the play is simply Creon’s punishment for his cruelty to Antigone.
Creon and Antigone, main characters in the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles share some of the same characteristics that make up a tragic hero, but to varying degrees. Antigone, daughter of her mother/grandmother, Jocasta, and father, Oedipus is head strong, proud, and stubborn. She had three siblings, Ismene her sister, and two brothers Eteocles and Polyneices who found there deaths at the end of each others sword in battle over which would become king of Thebes. Antigone's pride fullness and loyalty is revealed when Polyneices is denied proper burial by her uncle and king Creon. The two buttheads in the political for Creon and personal for Antigone situation and bring about the downfall of the royal family.
Although both sisters have lost their brothers, Antigone is the only one who will go against her king to do what she knows is right. When Antigone asks her sister if she will help her bury their brother Polyneices, Ismene responds with, “We are only women; we cannot fight with men, Antigone! The law is strong; we must give into the law…” (Ismene 774). Naturally, Ismene should be afraid for herself, as well for the safety of her sister because what Antigone is asking of her will mostly likely cause them both to be killed. However, she should be braver like Antigone, and realize that she must do what is morally right for their family, and give her brother the proper burial that he deserves. Afterward, when Antigone has already been captured, Ismene then comes forth to try and share the punishment that has been given to Antigone, but Antigone tells King Creon that she has done nothing. In addition, when Creon asks Ismene if she had anything to do with the crime, and Antigone denies it, Ismene then replies, “But now I know what you meant; and I am here to join you, to take my share of punishment” (Ismene 785). Although now Ismene feels like she needs to stand up to the King and do what is right for her
In Sophocles' Greek tragedy, Antigone, two characters undergo character changes. During the play the audience sees these two characters' attitudes change from close-minded to open-minded. It is their close-minded, stubborn attitudes, which lead to their decline in the play, and ultimately to a series of deaths. In the beginning Antigone is a close minded character who later becomes open minded. After the death of her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, Creon becomes the ruler of Thebes. He decides that Eteocles will receive a funeral with military honors because he fought for his country. However, Polyneices, who broke his exile to " spill the blood of his father and sell his own people into slavery", will have no burial. Antigone disagrees with Creon's unjust actions and says, " Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way." She vows to bury her brother so that his soul may gain the peace of the underworld. Antigone is torn between the law placed against burying her brother and her own thoughts of doing what she feels should be done for her family. Her intent is simply to give her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial so that she will follow "the laws of the gods." Antigone knows that she is in danger of being killed for her actions and she says, "I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down with him in death, and I shall be as dear to him as he to me." Her own laws, or morals, drive her to break Creon's law placed against Polyneices burial. Even after she realizes that she will have to bury Polyneices without the help of her sister, Ismene, she says: Go away, Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, For your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan: I am not afraid of the danger; if it means death, It will not be the worst of deaths-death without honor. Here Ismene is trying to reason with Antigone by saying that she cannot disobey the law because of the consequences. Antigone is close-minded when she immediately tells her to go away and refuses to listen to her. Later in the play, Antigone is sorrowful for her actions and the consequences yet she is not regretful for her crime. She says her crime is just, yet she does regret being forced to commit it.
Antigone is a play about a woman who disobeyed the King's order to not bury her brother. The play was written by the famous Greek tragedian, Sophocles, in 441 B.C. The story took place in the city of Thebes and the time period is not mentioned. The main characters introduced in the play are of Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon. The primary focus was centered on Antigone and the consequences she faces after breaking the King's orders.
The Antigone is widely thought of as the tragic heroine of the play bearing her name. She would seem to fit the part in light of the fact that she dies doing what is right. Antigone buries her brother Polynices, but Creon does not like her doing that one bit. Creon says to Antigone, "Why did you try to bury your brother? I had forbidden it. You heard my edict. It was proclaimed throughout Thebes. You read my edict. It was posted up on the city walls." (Pg. 44) Antigone buries her brother without worrying about what might happen to her. By doing this, she takes into consideration death and other consequences for burying her brother. Antigone follows what she thinks is right according to the gods. She is the supporter of her actions in the burial of Polynices.
Sophocles. "Antigone." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Knox and Mack. New York: Norton, 1995.