Chorus In Antigone

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

The first specification for the tragic hero is one of the few that both Antigone and Creon exhibit; both characters are between the extremes of perfect morality and pure villainy. Antigone’s moral neutrality is illustrated through her noble intentions and the unorthodox way she acts upon them. When she is confronted by Creon and demanded to give an explanation for her disobedience, Antigone says, “For me it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor did that Justice who lives with the gods below mark out such laws to hold among mankind” (Sophocles 207 ll. 450-2). Along with love and loyalty to her brother, Antigone is largely motivated by her desire for justice and appeasement of the gods. While her intentions are noble, Antigone’s actions in the

Standing for what you believe in and know what's right and wrong is important . In the play, Antigone, Sophocles demonstrates that through the conflict of the character. The play is a well-known tragic drama about the conflict between Antigone and her uncle Creon who is king of Thebes.Both character have different believes, idea and opinions regarding divine law and civil law. In Antigone the author Sophocles demonstrates the how important one's moral beliefs is, through the actions of the characters and how the beliefs impact the outcome of the play.The conflict between civil and divine law through Antigone and Creon, shows the important one's beliefs and how it impacts the outcome of the play. A reader can Identifying which law is more important in the play by looking at how the laws impact the characters and the outcome of the play. Both Antigone and Creon go at it expressing each others believes and whether one is right or wrong.Throughout the play civil law is more significant and powerful.

Throughout the main confrontation between Antigone and Creon, the chorus starts to call on a mythical perspective, how what is happening or going to happen can be related to the past issues of this family “That family is going to feel the blow, generation after generation”. The chorus here start to outline who is at fault blaming Antigone, as well as the family, initially“ A defiant spirit, The fury and backlash of overbearing words”. Then continue on to Creon “ The man obsessed is a cock of the walk in a hurry towards the worst”

Some of the times the Chorus speaks in this drama, it seems to side with Creon and the established power of Thebes. The Chorus's first speech (117–179) describes the thwarted pride of the invading enemy: The God Zeus hates bravado and bragging. Yet this encomium to the victory of Thebes through Zeus has a cunningly critical edge. The Chorus's focus on pride and the fall of the prideful comments underhandedly on the willfulness seen in Antigone and will see in Creon. In Creon's first speech, where he assumes the “Now here I am, holding all authority and the throne, in virtue of kinship with the dead” and reiterates his decree against the traitor Polynices (191-192). In lines 308-309 the Chorus says to Creon “My lord: I wonder, could this be God’s doing? This is the thought that keeps on haunting me. The Chorus is questioning Creon if it could be the doing of God who buried Polynices, Creon replies; “Stop, before your words fill even me with rage that you should be exposed as a fool, and you so old. For what you say is surely insupportable when you say the gods took forethought for this corpse” (310-313).

Creon has forgotten that the ruler is supposed to do what is best for the city and its citizens. “Creon is under the impression that he is always correct in his judgments and his beliefs,” (Graves 46). Before the sentry even explains the event that has occurred, the sentry states that he is only a messenger and has not committed the crime, Creon still accuses the sentry of receiving money to do the crime and threatens to punish him. Consequently, the Chorus suggests that the Gods may have committed the act. Creon stops this "nonsense" conversation immediately and remarks that Zeus and the Gods would not honor criminals. This shows how Creon is able to make accusations against any person and punish them without rhyme or reason, knowing in his mind that he is

Until Creon follows the simple burial rites, numerous misfortunes, including the deaths of his loved ones, will occur as a result of his actions. One may think that Creon must challenge the Gods because Antigone challenges his laws; however, fear of the Gods and guilt motivate Antigone to defy Creon. Antigone’s defiance does not lead to the deaths of others because she defies an individual who did not follow the law, while Creon’s disobedience ends in violence.

Greek tragedies Oedipus the King and Euripides’ Bacchae are both timeless stories in Greek literature. The engaging plot of both is what is most rememberable however the significance of the chorus is overlooked. The chorus can be defined simply as a group of dancers and singers that participate in dramas by singing poetically and lyrically in certain pauses of the play. The music, movements and gestures of the chorus symbolically define the mood and the themes of the play as the story line develops. The flow of Oedipus the King and Bacchae are dependent on the chorus, proving their significance.

The Ancient Greeks believed so fully not only in the existence of their Gods but in their Gods tendency to play an active role in mortal life that this belief percolated into the narratives of their art. In Antigone, the chorus personifies Death in the first stasimon and places it in opposition with man in order to foreshadow Creon’s tragic downfall.

However, the most important Aristotelian influence Durrenmatt is arguably the chorus. The chorus is the melody and song element of Aristotelian tragedies. A chorus is a group of people who are homogenized and are non-individualized that comment and react as one to the action of the play in order to help the audience follow the play. The chorus also typically comments on the moral issue in the play, for example in "The Visit" comments on the moral issue of if justice can be bought as well as provide insight into the play. Typically in Greek tragedies there would only be a few actors who would play several parts and the chorus would consist of a large number of people. In ‘The Visit” the chorus consists of the first man, the second man, the third

Eurydice, Haemon’s mother and Creon’s wife, was brought notice by a messenger that her son was dead. Eurydice retreated to the palace for the sake of mourning in private. However, the death of Haemon was to much for Eurydice to bear and she ended her own life right there in the palace.

2. The Greek chorus shared the audiences reactions to events and character, and sometimes interacted with the actors. They also functioned as spokesman for the plays community or society by giving advice, expressing opinions, asking questions, and setting the ethical framework by which events were judged.

trying to imply through his work. Sophocles and other dramatists use "the chorus" as a notable element to portray an

In section 18 of the Poetics Aristotle criticizes Euripides for not allowing "the chorus to be one of the actors and to be a part of the whole and to share in the dramatic action, . . . as in Sophocles." Aristotle may be thinking of the embolima of Euripides' later plays (satirized also by Aristophanes), but he is certainly wrong about the Medea. Its choral odes are not only all intimately related to the action but are also essential for the meaning of the play, particularly because here, as elsewhere (e.g. Hecuba), Euripides forces us reevaluate his main protagonist in midstream and uses the chorus (in part) to indicate that change.

In answering this question, I will look at the question in two ways. Firstly, I will look at the role of the chorus objectively, examining the basic role of the chorus in the play, and looking at the role of the Chorus as Sophocles would have intended the role of the Chorus to be understood. However, I will then look at how I think the Greek audience would have perceived the role of the Chorus and then how the role of the Chorus is perceived today by a 20th century and examine the key differences in the two different sets of perceptions. Finally, I will look at the importance of the role of the Chorus to a 20th century audience and a Greek audience respectively.