Drama Theories Of Antigone

Creon is a man who has just become the king of Thebes and has a flaw of having too much pride. He can’t control the power of being over other people and he lets the power go to his head. “ I now possess the throne and all its powers. No, he must be left unburied, his corpse carrion for the birds and dogs

Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, the king that married his own mother, Locaste and unwittingly killed his father, Laios. When he learned what he had done, he blinded himself and left Thebes, voluntarily went into self-style exile and died over there. Antigone and Ismene are siblings, the only surviving children of Oedipus. The other two brothers Polyneices and Eteocles quarreled and killed each other in a battle when Polyneices returned to assault Thebes, then Creon, Antigone uncle became the king of Thebes being the only heir in line to the throne. Creon ordered Polyneices be left to rot unburied on the battle field as a traitor but Antigone could not see reason to let her brothers body rot unburied. Antigone

Antigone is the sister of Eteocles and Polyneices. Both Eteocles and Polyneices agree to jointly rule Thebes as mutual kings. After one year, Polynices distrusts his brother, resulting in Polyneices fleeing from Thebes, only to later return with an army. In the battle, both sides are massacred. Eteocles and Polyneices kill one another, consequently giving their power up as king to in Creon, Antigone’s uncle. As acting king, Creon orders that, “Eteocles who died as a man should die, fighting for his country, is to be buried with full military honors, with all the ceremony that is usual when the greatest heros die” (Sophocles, line 160). As for Polyneices, Creon passes a law for Polyneices to be left unburied, to rot for every citizen to witness. Antigone viewed this law as immoral and unjust, for one brother to be buried with military honor and not the other. Antigone, expressing her love for Polynices, rises against Creon's higher authority command

Getting caught burying her brother led to Antigone being brought in to face Kreon, the establisher of the immoral decree,

This quote shows how the king will not let anyone bury him. Why would anyone but his family bury him and Antigone and her sister are the only ones left in the family so no one else will do it. So if Antigone doesn't do it her brother won't get buried.

Antigone, on the other hand, as having the virtue of the ancients is the more natural of the two sisters and Antigone’s strength can be interpreted as part of her very nature and being while Ismene is conflicted by being forced to be a part of a world that was unnatural in the fact that the very essence of being was being taken away with the establishment of laws that went against personal conviction. “When asked to make a choice between state and family, Antigone put religion and family first” (Winterer, 2001). The reader can clearly see that there is much dualism in Antigone as a work of art and that state versus family, new versus old, morality versus law are themes in the piece, but they are artistically played out in the relationships that are portrayed in the piece. Specifically since the struggle that Antigone faces as the archetypal heroine is surrounded by the love and duty to her brother, it should not be surprising that Antigone’s relationship to her sister is any less significant or important.

Heros today can come from all different walks of life. They can be wealthy, poor, strong, or weak, but that was not always the case. Before the modern definition of a hero was introduced, which is someone who displays bravery and courage, there were every strict rules on who could be a hero. Sophocles was a Greek tragedy writer, who wrote Antigone. In this play, a girl named Antigone buries her brother Polyneices.

Antigone gets engaged even though what she decide could effect that person, but he not just anyone he Creon's son. She tries get her sister to help her bury their bother cause it being loyal to their family. The sister says she can not go against the state cause that who she is that her way of being. She doing it to honor her bother cause his death even though she knows their be punishment for it. So a the person who watching to make sure no one buries him sees that he in fact has been buried.

The Burial at Thebes (Antigone) Analysis It is a tale as old as time, or rather, it is a tale as old as 441 B.C. Travelling all the way back to the era dominated by the ancient Greeks, Sophocles’ The Burial at Thebes touches on different aspects of the human condition that still resonate with audiences today. Although many playwrights compose plays solely for entertainment, Sophocles constructed this play with the intentions of teaching us a few valuable lessons. However, there is one particular message that Antigone does an excellent job at illustrating: the rewards- and consequences- of familial loyalty.

Creon learned valuable lessons of morality, moderation, piety, reverence, wisdom, and humility. Throughout all Greek dramas, myths, and even architecture, the idea of moderation has always been the front-runner in lessons. Creon, a rather overconfident king, wants his authority and power in the polis to not be challenged. New to the job, he makes his first judgment against the body of Polynices, instructing that his body is not to be buried and left for the dogs, threatening death by public stoning if one dared to disobey him. After making his decree, he boldly stated, "No man shall bury, none should wail for him;...His body

Creon fears that the predictions of the prophet and the priest will come true and the gods will punish him if he does not free Antigone and bury Polyneices.

Antigone says, “I will do my part,-and thine, if thou wilt not,-to a brother. False to him will I never be found,” as well as that it is wrong for her brother to have been left above ground, “unwept, unsepulchred, a welcome store for the birds, as they espy him, to feast on at will.” In Greek times, these customs of burial were even more important than they are today, because of beliefs about luck, religion, and what would happen to the spirit or the family if the body was left unburied. This is why it was used as a punishment by Creon, and was so hurtful to Antigone that she was willing to risk her life to undo it. Ismene explains to Antigone the reasons that she will not take part in such a proceeding. Herein lies another example of the tragedy aspect of this play, as Ismene reminds Antigone of how her father, mother, and both her brothers had already died. Anyway, Ismene said she wouldn’t go with Antigone to bury her brother, and initially tries to talk Antigone out of it, but then simply wishes her luck and promises she won’t tell anyone. In the next scene, Creon explains, “Polynices,-who came back from exile, and sought to consume utterly with fire the city of his fathers and the shrines of his fathers' gods,-sought to taste of kindred blood, and to lead the remnant into slavery,” and that is why no one can grace him

Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, a model tragic figure. Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that foresaw him killing his father and marrying his mother, leading to disaster for his family. When she realized that she married her son, his wife, Jocasta, killed herself. As a start to her tragic life, “Antigone suffered a double blow, being born of the incestuous union of Oedipus and Jocasta, and being deprived of a mother who committed suicide on discovering the true identity of her husband/son” (84). Oedipus then blinded himself and left the city of Thebes. Following his disappearance, his sons, Eteocles and Polyneices both died in battle fighting over the Throne of

Antigone, daughter and sister of Oedipus, believes to live a fated life. When her brother Polyneices is denied a burial by the King of Thebes, Creon, Antigone gets in trouble for following the laws of the gods. Her choices get her sent away and eventually lead to her death. In Sophocles play, Antigone, the characters show clashes between divine law and civil law, with the divine law having a bigger impact in the play.

Plot Summary: The story takes place in Victorian Era London. Creon is a rich earl who is feared by many. His nephews, Eteocles and Polyneices, engaged in a duel over who would be viable to inherit his fortune (which belonged to their father before Creon). Both were killed. Because Polyneices started the conflict, Creon decided that he was disgraced and ordered that he be given no funeral or proper burial. But one of Polyneices’s sisters, Antigone, decided that Creon’s ruling was unfair and went behind his back to try and organise a funeral for him.