Antigone Essay

Antigone is a play written by Sophocles and is about a young girl named Antigone who struggles with written laws of her city, Thebes. Her uncle is King Creon and sentences her to death because she decided to bury her brother, Polynices, after it was declared that he deserved no burial. Antigone's sister, Ismene, was too afraid to go along with her. Antigone's fiancé, (who is also

As the tragedy concludes, the chorus issues its final words: "Pray for no more at all. For what is destined for us, men mortal, there is no escape," demonstrating how justice remains impartial to the prejudice of men; those who make imprudent judgments will ultimately suffer from the consequences of their actions. In Sophocles' Antigone, these prejudices notably surface in the form of paternalism as demonstrated through Creon's government, highlighting the importance of gender roles throughout the play. Therefore, analyzing the motif of gender roles and its effect on the definition of justice through the perspectives of Ismene, Antigone, and Creon enables the audience to understand how Sophocles' macroscopic analogy to humanity's

Haemon shows his love to Antigone by revolting his father 's authority and committing suicide. Haemon is the son of Creon and Eurydice and is engaged to Antigone. He always respects and obeys Creon, taking Creon for a model. However, the decree of killing Antigone causes his violent controversy with his father because he is afraid of losing his fiancé—Antigone. Haemon defends the moral behavior of Antigone and reasons with Creon to change

Sophocles at first depicts Creon as a ruler who values his authority and city more than anything, but he gradually becomes more despotic. With his role as king so recently acquired, Creon must first establish his position as superior to other citizens. He does so by declaring that “the ship of state is safe”(180) and “the gods who rocked her... have righted her once more”(180-182). Creon is attempting to prove that he deserves the position of authority because the gods that the citizens value so much have granted him the divine right to rule the state. By using the metaphor of the state as a ship, Sophocles shows that citizens are either in or out of the ship that Creon leads; they are either with or against his rule. He is also saying that there is a specific reason that the ship was stabilized when he gained power because he is destined to be in this position. To strengthen the citizens’ respect for him, Creon announces that it is

A tragic hero is a character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw, which combined with fate, results into a tragedy. The tragic hero must fall from good luck and well being to misery and misfortune. The tragic hero causes a sense of pity through the tragic downfall that weakens the character. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone follows her own beliefs by giving her brother a proper burial, even if she has to break the law of King Creon. Because of her innocent actions, Antigone is punished unjustly and unfairly. Through her risky and unselfish actions, ability to follow her own beliefs, and perseverance Antigone is the tragic hero of this play.

Arrogance stimulates looking down upon others and down grading them giving themselves a high confidence and self esteem, others look down at these people for numerous reasons. Creon was not happy that Antigone buried her brother, and while he feels he is doing his responsibility, Teresias (a blind god) is telling him otherwise. Teresias tells Creon that the city is sick because of him. Stubbornness and pride get in the way of how Creon acts as Teresias gives him advice to not kick the dead. The blind prophet has always provided accurate information, yet Creon never brought him in before. The chorus gives him advice and Creon actually took some responsibility saying it was a mistake when things got out of hands after Haemon (his son) and Antigone kill themselves in the cave. It took a lot for Creon to finally realize that things got out of hands and unfortunately arrogance can get in the way of things and blind people from what is in front of them.

Even though Antigone exhibits a blamable pride and a hunger for glory, her disobedience is less serious than those of Creon. It is evident that Antigone’s actions are driven by a love for her brother, and a desire to please the gods. While Creon’s actions are

Many people try to warn him and beg him to reconsider. First, Haemon tries to appeal to his father’s sense of reason when he says, “The gods have given men the gift of reason, greatest of all things that we call our own…do not feel your word, and yours alone, must be correct” (line 625). Creon, because of his pride, becomes furious with his young son for trying to teach him wisdom, and says, “One thing is certain: You are going to pay for taunting and insulting me” (line 709). Next, Tiresias comes to warn him that he “stands upon the brink of ruin” (line 918). But Creon refuses to heed his warning and accuses Tiresias of profiteering. Finally, after Tiresias’s doomful prophecy, the Chorus tries to change the King’s mind. At first Creon resists the advisement of the chorus by stating “To yield is bitter. But to resist and bring a curse on my pride is no less bitter” (line

Even if he believes he is right and his son should obey him, he doesn’t show an ounce of sympathy for Haemon, who loves Antigone. Creon details his thoughts on the importance of the rule of law over other loyalties, and his belief that to allow any anarchy or, seemingly, freedom would threaten the state. Creon’s method of executing Antigone is interesting. By entombing a living person, Antigone, and denying burial to a dead person, Polynices, Creon’s laws seem to go against common sense, tradition, and nature itself. Creon does not keep a cool head, as a wise leader should, or look for a way to compromise. He is as stubborn as Antigone, as if this were a street fight, he feels he could never back down.

Around 442 BC in the city of Athens, Greece, Sophocles wrote the greatly admired tragedy, Antigone. Antigone includes many themes such as Freedom, Protection of Personal Dignity, Obedience to Civil Law, Protection of Community/Nation, Loyalty/Obligation to Family, and Observance of Religious Law. Many of the Greek tragedies that have been written include a tragic hero that has his/her tragic flaw. In Antigone there are two main characters; Creon, the tyrant king of Thebes, and Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. One of these main characters must be chosen to be the tragic hero in the story. Creon and Antigone are almost polar opposites when it comes to views of society, but their attitudes are almost identical.

Haemon's words, actions, and ideas contrast with Creon’s character by posing his argument in support of antigone, and Creon refuses to listen to his side. Creon’s refusal to listen to his own son’s reasoned argument demonstrates how unreasonable Creon is being in contrast to his son’s reasonableness. When Haemon poses his argument in support of Antigone, Creon stubbornly

Haemon’s tone suddenly turns to pathos when he makes the comment, “the city mourns for this young girl” and “She with her own dear brother lying in his blood – She couldn’t bear to leave him dead, unburied, food for the wild dogs or wheeling vultures.” The pathos reveals the sympathy that the whole town has for Antigone. He

In the play Antigone by Sophocles Haemon acts as a foil character to Creon. In the play Antigone tries to bury her brother even though she knows that it was against the rules. In the play it shows that Antigone would do anything for her brother. After a while Creon found out that Antigone had buried her brother’s body and so Creon wanted to punish her since it was against the rules. Creon's punishment for Antigone was by locking her in a cage in which then she committed suicide and killed herself. Creon is a king but also a relative of Antigone. Creon is a very powerful man but also has very strict rules and he believes everyone should follow them. Haemon acts as a foil character to Creon by trying to make him a good person where everyone can

Haemon is a character that conflicts directly with King Creon and contributes to King Creon becoming a tragic hero. King Creon is Haemon’s father and Antigone is his fiancee. In an emotional conversation with his father, Haemon defends the proper essence of Antigone's actions while cautioning his father that the people of Thebes agree with her dedication to bury Polyneices. He and his father part in anger, as he simply asks his father to do what's right for Thebes, and his father firmly pursues the path of the outermost struggle. Haemon's love to Antigone is clear; at her death, he is so tormented that he tries to kill his father and then kills himself.

Sophocles’ play, Antigone, presents conflicts such as Antigone vs. Creon and Antigone vs. Ismene. However, there is an overlooked conflict between Creon and his son, Haemon. This father-son conflict stems from the view that a son should be submissive to his father. However, Haemon does not abide his role of being submissive to his father and tries to entangle himself with his father role, which indirectly results in his death. As well through analysis of Creon’s and Haemon’s relationship gives an insight to their fates; and furthermore, sheds light on the underlying issue between democracy and dictatorship in the Greek society.