Antigone By Sophocles: Plot Analysis

In 441 B.C. Sophocles wrote a sequel to his play Oedipus and called it Antigone. This story focuses on Oedipus’s daughter, Antigone. The city of Thebes is under seize by Polynices. His brother Eteocles is fighting against him. Both of the brothers are killed because of their father’s curse. Creon, their uncle, is now the king of Thebes. Creon orders that Eteocles be buried with full honors for defending the city while Polynices is to be left unburied. He then declares that anyone who attempts to restore honor to Polynices’ body will be killed. However, Antigone plots to bury her brother’s body and reveals this plan to her sister, Ismene. Creon then finds out that his niece, Antigone, attempted to bury the body by herself. Antigone tells Creon

She knows from the start that burying her brother is punishable by death. Even when her sister Ismene will not help her, Antigone goes anyways. Antigone says to her sister “He is my brother and-deny it as you will- your brother too. No one will convict me for a traitor.” She refuses to betray her family no matter what the cost may be to her. She will not betray her own blood. This is ironic though because by burying the body she is still betraying her family because Creon is her uncle. She tells her sister that Creon has no right to keep her from the body and that even if she dies burying him that she will die in glory. Her death will be glorious because she did what was right by her family and by the gods. She holds the divine law of the gods highest in her mind even when she knows that denying the civil law will only bring more tragedy to the city of Thebes. Antigone’s loyalty to her family drives the story and the tragedy that takes place. Without Antigone’s desire to bring honor to her brother then there would not be a family feud with

Antigone is so driven to bury her brother than she is not concerned about if anyone will help her. Antigone asked Ismene to help bury the body and when Ismene refuses Antigone says, “I won’t insist, no, even if you should have a change of heart, I’d never welcome you in the labor, not with me. So, do as you like, whatever suits you best- I’ll bury him myself.” Ismene is able to act and understand the consequences of helping Antigone and refuses. However, Antigone knows that consequences and goes about burying the body anyways without her sisters help. Antigone does this because it is what she feels as the right thing to do regardless of anyone else’s opinion. Her desire to be independent is what lands her in trouble with Creon. While the rest of the city is too afraid to be punished, Antigone attempts to bury the body anyways. Even in the end, when she believes that she is going to be left to die, she chooses to create her own death instead of suffering the death others want for her. She refuses to accept and do what others want. She does her own, independent things regardless of the consequences or the effect on other