Sophocles Greek Tragedy, Antigone Essay

Full of drama and tragedy, Antigone can be used to relate to current conflicts. One such conflict is that between Haemon and his father Creon. Haemon looks up to Creon with honor and pride, but as conflict arises, that relation is disassociated and new feelings grow. The first conversation between them is what initiates the downfall of their bond. While it seems that Creon is the most important person in Haemon’s life, Antigone is in fact the one that has won Haemon over.

and the law is only here to benefit him and to control the people. It

Love and bravery for her family is a key factor for her determination to give her brother a proper burial. She shows immense loyalty and will power as she fights for her family name. Her endurance is extraordinary as she declares "Naturally! Since Zeus never promulgated such a law, nor will you find that Justice, Mistress of the world below, publishes such laws on humankind. I never thought your mortal edicts had such force they nullified the laws of heaven..." (Sophocles 38). Antigone responds to Creon’s speech and disagrees with his proclamation denying Polynices a funeral. Polynices, hated by the entire country, is being deprived of an appropriate burial service and Antigone is determined to honor her brother correctly (Rose 219). The courage she displays is crucial factor in her character development. The devotion towards helping her brother is

After Teiresias left, Creon has a sudden change of heart and realizes that it would be in his best interest to let Antigone live. Upon arriving at the vault where Antigone is held Creon finds that she has hanged himself. Haimon is mourning at her feet, he then lunged at Creon and missed. Desperate he drove the sword into himself. Back at the castle Eurydice has heard the news and also commits suicide. It isn’t long

It was soon discovered what Antigone had done. Creon her to be executed and was imprisoned in a cave. Her fiancé, Haemon, son of Creon, begged his father to let her go. He finally agreed but he was too late, Antigone had hanged herself. Haemon was devastated that his love was dead, so he committed suicide. At the news, Creon's wife and Haemon’s mother, queen Eurydice, commits suicide fulfilling Creon’s fate of being responsible for his family’s death. Antigone lines 1335-1336 “From suffering that has been/ Decreed no man will ever find escape”.

Antigone is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. Tragedy is defined as an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress. The story begins with a death and ends with a death, and Sophocles does an excellent job employing many different types of ways to include fear and pity and this brings the tragedy alive. Especially with the fear of death when is abundantly rampant throughout the entire play. Although, written around 442 BC, it is just as well applied now as it was then.

She was committed to honoring her family and that is why she felt Polyneices deserved proper burial rites along with Eteocles. She took the idea to bury him to Ismene. Since it was against the law, she did not agree. Antigone responds to her by saying “That must be your excuse, I suppose. But as for me, I will bury the brother I love” (65). She argues that Creon is not enough to stand in her way (35) and Polyneices has the right to be buried being that he fought as bravely as Eteocles. So, Antigone took it upon herself to bury Polyneices. A sentry brings the news to Creon and soon Antigone follows. When taken to Creon, she fights that he is disobeying the laws of heaven. She argues, “Your edict, King, was strong, but all your strength is weakness itself against the immortal unrecorded laws of God" (360-363). She stressed to Creon that even though he holds a powerful position of authority, divine law will always come before civil law. Along with her upholding of the laws of heaven, Antigone expresses how her love for a brother is stronger than any other. She gives one last plea: she would not have defied Creon if the unburied body were her husband’s or her child’s. Both of those could be replaced, but a sibling whose parents are dead is suitable to accept such punishment. She would rather die with honor than live with the guilt of her brother’s soul left to wander the earth. With Polyneices left unburied, she feels she would have

Leading up to the point of her death, Antigone resisted Kreon’s (the king) decision to leave her brother, Polyneices to die in the open with his remains picked upon by stray animals. According to Kreon, Polyneices was a traitor to the city after being defeated by his brother (who was also killed in a duel) in a war over the throne. Kreon used the law as his

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

Family, an important theme of life, gets expressed throughout many ways in society. Family may take precedence over many things, including authority and the law. Within the tragic play, Antigone, the author Sophocles presents situations where the characters have to choose between their family and the law. The characters must choose what is more important to them, their family or obeying the laws of Thebes. Throughout the play, Sophocles presents a strong theme of family values and the importance of it through the actions of Antigone, Creon and Haimon.

After Haimon discovered that his father sentenced Antigone to death he approached him, at first he softened him up by saying, “I am your son, father. You are my guide. You make things clear for me, and I obey you. No marriage means more to me than your continuing wisdom. ”(Sophocles, 216).

Now when the guards discovered that someone buried the body of Polyneices, the head sentry went to tell the king, whereupon Creon became enthralled with anger. He told the sentry that he judged him to be a bribed soldier and that he could not return unless he found the person who had buried the body or told of whom it was that had bribed him. After this the horrified sentry and his men brushed off the sacred burial dust from the body and kept watch from a distance to see if the rebel would return to bury the body. Sure enough, during a sandstorm Antigone was seen burying the body that she had cared for so well before. The guards grabbed her and she showed no fear. She did not try to evade her pursuers and she was brought before the king. The king first asked her if she had heard his proclamation concerning the burial of her brother. She blatantly told him that could not have helped hearing it. If she had denied hearing it, she may have escaped death, but she did not want to escape it, and she felt that she had done nothing wrong. She believed that her death would be of no importance, but that the death of her brother would

This story is marked by tragedy after tragedy; Antigone and Ismene are presented with a father, that dare to killed his father to married his own mother. Two brother that followed the similar example, and consequently killed each other to for throne to have power. We don’t know what age they were when her parents died, but by inference we can argue that they were young. Although, Antigone and Ismene experience some life-hard moments together, their view on certain situation are shaped differently throughout the play. Antigone, see the situation with her brother Polynieces as outrageous offense to her and her family values, especially after being an active member of leadership in the city of Thebes. Antigone, experiences had made her a stronger than other women, she doesn’t fear man, and is

Antigone was dejected with Creon’s ruling and decided to bury Polynices herself. She tried to enlist Ismene to help her, but Ismene was to afraid. Antigone furiously continued with the plan on her own. A sentry discovered Antigone and brought her to Creon. Ismene was also brought to Creon and confessed that she had helped Antigone with the burial rites of Polynices. Antigone stopped Ismene and told her not to

Even though Antigone has familial love toward her brother, she expresses sympathy toward him. Antigone does this by telling her sister that Creon “Promotes one of them and shames the other” by denying his burial rights (22). In this part of her speech, Antigone chooses her words carefully to describe the situation to her sister and express the sympathy she has for Polyneices, especially when she uses the phrase “shames the other” and “miserable corpse” (22-26). Antigone is sympathetic of her brother Polyneices because he is not given a proper burial and is left to the “vultures, unwept, unburied” like he is forgotten (29). It is also intriguing to see how Antigone’s sympathetic response to the lack of her brother’s burial is actually the familial love she has for him. Because she loves and considers him a part of her family, she is emotionally sorrowful for the way he has been treated.