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Fate In Antigone

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The Fate of Antigone

Leaders from all over the world have one job, protect their country and it's countries people. But, back in the times of Greek gods and goddess, this wasn't the case. Leaders were corrupt and only cared about themselves. These characteristics were proven in the play Antigone by Sophocles. Antigone is a play written in 441 BC, during the times of the Greek gods and goddess. This play highlights the characteristics of leaders during this time period. To convey his message Sophocles uses literary elements that readers look for in pieces of literature today like irony, setting and characterization. He uses these in order to create a masterful play that if these elements were not present in the play, it may not have been …show more content…

The reason for that is the fact that this takes place in the times of the greek gods and goddess, a time period where anything and everything was about the gods. He uses setting to help the characterization of the characters in the play. The setting of this play allow Sophocles to paint a picture of a palace or kingdom that King Creon can flourish in. Sophocles uses the setting to “...make things clear for {the reader}.” (2:1 501). Not only does he use the setting to create a picture for us to understand who King Creon really is, but he also uses the setting to create a perfect twist and shock in the play. It isn't a coincidence that his son and Antigone kill themselves after their disputes with the king at the palace. Sophocles does this to allow us to understand the setting and society that this play takes place in. In that society, the throne is everything and during those time periods, that Sophocles exploited, supreme rulers would do anything to keep their crown, so when Antigone and King Creon’s son “...killed {themselves} by each other’s sword.” (1:1 42) , this not only furthers the characterization of the King but capitalizes on the time period that the play sets in. If the play were to have been set in a futuristic or modern world, the deaths would not have as big of an impact because the throne is not a family affair. However, because it is set in a time period where kings and …show more content…

The first character that he does an excellent job of characterizing is Ismene, the sister of Antigone. In the beginning, she is afraid of standing with her sister, and Sophocles reveals this by creating a sort of distance between the sisters and on how they feel on the matter of burying their brothers. However, what the reader soon is shown is her bravery, when her sister is accused of disobeying the king’s rule, she stands up for her sister and even offers to die for her. This creates an intended, made by Sophocles, stand still in the play that creates tension between the king and the sister. Which leads to the characterization of King Creon. Sophocles creates the king to be this tyrant-like ruler of the land, who does not care what others think or do, and instead does what he wants to do, but again Sophocles throws a curveball at us and in the end has the King seem very pensive, and thoughtful towards the deaths of Antigone and his son. In the beginning, his interaction with the other characters is very one-sided in the sense that he feels that he is better than everyone and that nobody shall “...defy the law.”. (1:1 356). Anybody that does will pay. So when he is interrogating Antigone and her sister, Ismene, he makes them feel powerless, but Sophocles uses the

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