Sophocles Antigone

“But one must neglect nothing that the gods demand” (1349-1350). Sophocles’ Antigone takes place in a trying time for the city of Thebes, when Oedipus, their king, and most of the royal family have died, and Creon has just been appointed the new king. Throughout the play, Creon tries on his power as the new ruler, and seems to believe that the gods will not be angry with some of his choices as king, even though they directly violate the divine law. However, in Antigone, when there is a conflict between the divine law and the state law, the divine law always prevails. Antigone continuously follows the divine law, and although she ends up dead, she does not face Creon’s pain of losing everyone he loves and all his people turning against him.

The story “Antigone” has a epic and tragic hero like every other story does; and what this will be about is, who represents a epic hero and why they do. In the story, the person who best represents a epic hero is Antigone; and the reason for that is, she shows exceptional amounts of compassion. Through the story, she wants for her brother to get the burial he deserves and goes through many obstacles and suffering the consequences for helping him.

Antigone is one of the two central characters of the play, along with Creon. Like Creon, she too has a claim to being the tragic hero of Antigone. Her first qualifying aspect is being introduced as a good, upstanding person. She is kind-hearted and caring, especially for her family as she was willing to defy her uncle’s royal edict forbidding the burial of her fallen brother Polyneices. She is also a person of high-esteem and stature. As the daughter of the late King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta, as well as the current King Creon’s niece, Antigone is well known throughout Thebes. She is also slated to marry Haemon, Creon’s son. Thus, she is essentially seen as a princess and is adored by the Theban people. The next qualifying aspect is her relatability

To begin, Antigone demonstrates her head-strong and determined behaviour throughout the play; through her actions and many dialogues, Antigone proves to be inflexible and unshakable at times. In addition, A World Enclosed outlines that the hero in the tragedy is not admirable or heroic at all, but rather, they have a destructive flaw to their character that sparks tragedy to unfold. By the same token, Antigone's determination and stubbornness, and arguably many more flaws, ignite tragedy in this story as well. This is demonstrated when Antigone is

Sophocles brings to life the characters of Antigone and Creon, developing for each, a sense of responsibility and a set of morals, which clash dramatically with the opposite character’s. By pitting these two characters against one another, Sophocles not only successfully contrasts the ethical views of each, but also cleverly exposes the true face of humanity. Antigone is placed as both lead character and heroine of the play, as she holds a domestic, reasoned and more acceptable stance; any audience would name her as heroine. A.E. Haigh, author of ‘An analysis of the play by Sophocles – The Tragic Drama of the Greeks’ clearly states that Antigone lives a more familial motivated lifestyle, saying, “Antigone, however, seems to have been of a more domestic type.”1 Antigone’s resilient, and somewhat egotistical, feeling of responsibility toward family is what drives her to

Antigone’s character is one that is dynamic and interesting as she displayed several strong personal characteristics and being steadfast in her convictions. She had a strong and powerful leaning towards the dark world and the dead. She proved to be primarily loyal to the divinities and the gods instead of the mortality of man. She was very open and expressive towards her love for the dead which is evidenced by her harsh language to her sister and the king, making her an unforgettable character. When his brother Polynices died, Antigone blamed Ismene her sister for failing to fighting law to give their brother a decent and rightful burial.

In a democracy, people choose representatives to lead and govern them. However, these representatives might take unpopular steps. In such instances the people may show their disapproval of a policy and vent their grievances through acts of civil disobedience. Henry Thoreau said, “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” It is both the right and responsibility of a person to fight an unjust law, and civil disobedience allows one to convey his thoughts and ideas in a passive, nonviolent way. In Sophocles’ Antigone, written in 442 B.C., we find one of the earliest examples of civil disobedience. The play emphasizes the right of the individual to reject his government’s infringement on his freedom to

The main characters in Sophocles’ drama, Antigone, are Antigone herself, the play’s tragic heroine and Antigone’s uncle and King of Thebes, Creon. Both characters are ruled by powerful motivations and beliefs; however, they differ from one character to the next.

Antigone’s major theme focuses on a strong individual suffering against the will of fate. In Antigone, Sopochles portrays that Antigone is the protagonist who believes in being morally right rather than following the law of the state lead by the antagonist, King of Thebes, Creon. The two individualities and personalities of the characters made the play even more interesting because they both have different beliefs, stands and they are both on different levels of

Throughout history people have fought for what they believed in, so much that they grow to be legends. These historical figures are not unlike figures found in mythology with such tales as Sophocles’ Antigone.They do what they believe is beneficial or right despite the adversity they will meet. Sometimes their fight results in their death. This is true not only of Antigone, but also of Abraham Lincoln. While Abraham Lincoln may not be considered a tragic hero he is similar to Antigone because both were fulfilling a divine order.

The play “Antigone” is riddled with themes meant to connect or teach a lesson to the audience. Although the play itself may be dated, past and present issues can connect through these universal themes. The underlying idea of rebellion against one’s government is present throughout the story through the actions of Antigone, Ismene, and Haemon. Antigone’s rebellion is evident in the very first scene of Antigone, and it foreshadows her actions later throughout the play. This theme is becoming the central point of Antigone’s characterization.

The tragedy “Antigone” by Sophocles illustrates the self destruction of a tragic hero. In this tragedy, Antigone the daughter of Oedipus is faced with the hardships of learning that her two brothers have been killed and only one can receive a proper burial. Despite the Kings order to leave one unburied Antigone decides to give her brother a proper burial and is then dealt the consequences of disobeying the King. The tragic hero of “Antigone” is Antigone because of her pride and defiance.

In the play Antigone, Sophocles creates the complex character of Antigone, who does what is morally right and tries to be the hero but messes itu p with hubris, hatefulness, and selfishness. She causes her sister, boyfriend, and Creon to suffer which adds to the tragedy that good deeds don’t always make the best heroes.

Antigone is a Greek tragedy by Sophocles. ONE OF THE three surviving tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Euripides, and one of the great dramatists of world literature, Sophocles spanned in his long life (497-406 B.C.) the cultural flowering of Athens in the fifth century(Segal 1). Antigone is named after the daughter of King Oedipus of Thebes, a young woman who stood against the king’s decision and believed in the gods’ law. There are many arguments regarding who is the real protagonist and antagonist in this play. The protagonist is generally regarded as the good guy and antagonist is the bad guy. Antigone is a protagonist as she is the title character in the

Sophocles is truly a literary genius. Time and time again in his plays he is able to use the groundwork of a plot to convey true meaning in powerful messages and lessons. This ability to embed deeper meaning between the lines of a simple story is what turns his seemingly basic plays to a masterful works of craft, so profound that they’re still studied today. A prime example of this master at work is in his play, Antigone. This tragedy takes place in the aftermath of Oedipus’ disastrous rule in Thebes, and follows his successor Creon as he struggles to take over his new role as king. While the play follows a classic tragic structure full of pride and suffering, the true genius of it lies in the conflict between the tragic hero, Creon, and his niece Antigone.