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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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 story is considerably dramatic as well as depressing, however this may be why, although it is subjective,she is seen as such a beloved character in literature. Her story

Antigone can almost be called a hero except she doesn’t do the heroic deed gracefully. She is loud, proud, and does not care if she gets caught when she buries her brother. This causes her sister pain because her sister did not want Antigone to be caught or killed. Another way Antigone hurt her sister is when she refuses any help. All she wants to do is to help but Antigone blows up in her face and tells her that she would never want to be helped by her sister. Again, when Antigone is caught, her sister tries to take the blame because se cares for Antigone. Antigone hates the idea of sharing the responsibility or even death with her sister because she is full of selfish pride. She wants to be

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.

Antigone is a major character and a key contributor to the tension throughout the conflict and impacts the play’s conclusion, influencing the audience perspective with her personality and actions. In the beginning of Sophocles’ play, Antigone is perceived as an outcast who is not to be associated with and was rejected among the people in the land of Thebes. Although Antigone exhibits good personality and morals, her past is crucial to the development of the play and impacts her portrayal to the people of Thebes. As her father, Oedipus, abandons the land of Thebes, it causes the people to despise Antigone and her entire family. The rejection of Antigone family is further intensified by the war between Eteocles and Polynices, passing down the history of destruction and negative perception to Antigone. However, through her actions, she is able to reclaim respect from the people of Thebes and from the audience as well. The first action Antigone takes to dispose of this negativism is by providing her brother a proper burial. Antigone’s strong sense of duty presents an inkling of hope in the people of Thebes and the audience that she might change the fate of the kingdom of Thebes. Furthermore, her steadfast determination exhibits her stance with her own belief as well as against Creon’s law. Although she knows wholeheartedly that her actions might result in her death, she is willing to risk her consequences and openly pursue her conscience and morals. With this courage and determination, Antigone perfectly fits the person Martin Luther King describes in his quote that “an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” Since Antigone breaks the law in obedience to her conscience, while accepting her penalty, she impersonates a character that expresses the highest respect for the law. Thus, the readers maintain a high respect for Antigone and her morals throughout the play. Furthermore, Antigone uses her control over her own death to further differentiate the power between Creon and herself. At this time Antigone's

In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone is traditionally seen as the tragic heroine of the classic play. Antigone loses everything eminent and substantial in her life to a cataclysmic degree and seeks her own death in the end of the story. In Martha Nussbaum’s essay, Nussbaum questions the conventional status of Antigone as the tragic hero and claims the true hero to be Creon, the story’s antagonist. With her persuading inquest to this classic tragedy, Creon is evidently the tragic hero of Sophocles’ Antigone because he experiences great pride in his own downfall from political power due to his inherently good dedication to human law rather than divine law.

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.