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Enter Antigone and Ismene from the Palace

Decent Essays

Antigone
Enter ANTIGONE and Ismene from the palace.

ANTIGONE:
Ismene, my dear sister through common blood, do you know of any evil from Oedipus
Zeus will not perform on us who still live?
For I have seen nothing—nothing painful, nothing mad or shameful or dishonorable—(5) that is not among your or my sorrows.
And now what do they say? The general has just put an edict over the whole city.
Have you heard it? Or have you avoided learning how our friends suffer the fate of foes?(10)

ISMENE:
No word of friends, Antigone, either sweet or painful, has come to me since we two sisters were robbed of our two brothers, both dying the same day by doubled hand.
But since the army of the Argives departed last night, I 've seen …show more content…

I will hate you the more if you don 't tell these things to everyone.

ISMENE:
You have a hot heart for chilling matters.

ANTIGONE:
But I know I 'll please those I should please most.

ISMENE:
If you can—you want the impossible.(90)

ANTIGONE:
Well, then, I shall stop whenever my strength fails.

ISMENE:
You should not start an impossible quest.

ANTIGONE:
If you say this, you will be hateful to me, and the dead will hate you always–justly.
But let me and my foolish plans suffer(95) this terrible thing, for I shall succumb to nothing so awful as a shameful death.

ISMENE:
Then go, if this seems best to you, but know that your friends truly love you, however foolish.

Exit ANTIGONE off stage, ISMENE into the palace, after which the CHORUS marches onto the stage.

CHORUS:
Str. 1
Ray of the sun,(100) fairest light of all those shining on seven-gated Thebes, at last you appeared,
O eyes of golden day, coming over the streams of Dirce,(105) you sent away the white-shielded warrior from Argos, running from here, with your piercing bridle.
He set forth against our land because of the contentious claims of Polynices,(110) like a sharply crying eagle flying into our land, covered with a wing white as snow, descending with many shields and crested with horse-hair.(115)
Ant. 1
He perched on the roof, gaping wide with bloody spears around our seven gates, but then he went away, before his jaws were filled with our

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