Theme Of Love In Antigone

Finally on page 774, Antigone is still determined to give her loving brother, Polyneices, a proper burial when she says, “…as for me, I will bury the brother I love.” In this incident, Antigone is headstrong about giving her brother what he deserves, despite the fact that Ismene told her to obey the law. Antigone is acting as if she were a rebellious teenager because she is contradicting political laws to perform acts that would seem moral to her for the sake of Polyneices. Like the discussion Antigone had with her sister, she will remain being headstrong to whoever confronts her.

The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and insists on the sacredness of family and a symbolic burial for her brother. Whereas Antigone sees no validity in a law that disregards the duty family members owe one another, Creon's point of view is exactly opposite. He has no use for anyone who places private ties above the common good, as he proclaims firmly to the Chorus and the audience as he revels in his victory over Polynices. He sees Polynices as an enemy to

Like Creon, Antigone also never falters in standing up for what she believes in. Although Creon fights for stubborn pride, Antigone is trying to promote what is right and shows her higher reverence for God’s law rather than for Creon’s laws. In the eyes of the townspeople, Chorus, Choragos, and Haimon, Antigone is sacrificing herself to give her brother Polyneices the rightful honors due to the dead. Many side with this brave, honorable girl because she would rather suffer persecution and even death rather than give into Creon’s illogical demands. In the play, the chorus says about her, “You have made your choice, Your death is the doing of your conscious hand”. Antigone knew of the consequences before she acted and in doing so she chose her fate. At the time, she pleaded her sister Ismene to help her bury Polyneices but was rejected. Despite being alone in trying to rebel and perhaps she may have been afraid, Antigone goes out of her way and puts her life on the line to bring her brother respect.

This shows Antigone trying to get at her sister's heart by reminding her that the corpse that lays on the field beyond the city is the corpse that belonged to her own brother. Antigone is disgusted that Ismene keeps saying no because her love for Polyneices is crushed by her fear of Creon. Finally antigone accepts the fact that Ismene will not join her in buring their brother so she decides to make her feel guilty by saying, “That must be your excuse, I suppose. But as for me, I will bury the brother I love. ”(Sophocles, 192).

Admittedly, Antigone is putting her sister, Ismene, at risk by telling her about her plan to bury her brother, Polyneices. However, Antigone thinks about the eternal life of her brother. Antigone says, “I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down / with him in death, and I shall be as dear / To him as he to me” (56-58). Antigone challenges Ismene’s feelings to their brother’s eternal peace.

Her core value of commitment of her loyalty to family is an important value for her to have. She believes that family comes first. “But I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that crime is holy.” “But as for me I will bury the brother I love.” “But I will bury him, and if I must die, I say that crime is holy.” This proves that Antigone is loyal to her family because, no matter the consequence she is determined to bury her brother. This is because to her, her brother deserves to be honored. Antigone puts her family before the law. “But as for me I will bury the brother I love.” This proves that Antigone has a

Throughout the whole play, Antigone was willing to die if that meant putting Polyneices’ soul to peace. “... I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down him in death” (Sophocles, scene 1, lines 55-57). Family meant way more to her than some rules a newly king made. She put her brother’s well being before her own, knowing that it was the right thing to do. Ismene also portrayed family importance.

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

Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. There are many examples of love in the story. One way that love is shown is between Antigone and Polyneices. Antigone was a loving sister to her brother , Polyneices , she showed this in many ways. Her brother was killed and the King of Thebes , Creon , demanded that he shall not be buried or even mounted.

Not only is Antigone courageous and highly motivated by her morals by standing up for her political and religious beliefs, she also protects her personal ones when she buries her brother. Antigone places family above her own life, and she refuses to let a man stand in her way of maintaining her ideals. She buries Polynices out of her own loyalty to her brother even after her sister, Ismene, refuses. Antigone is cruel to her for not taking part in illegally burying their brother. Instead of being caring and considerate, she becomes irate and at the end of their conversation says, "Go away Ismene: I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too, for your hateful words," Antigone's flaw was her headstrong behavior and her stubbornness, which ultimately brought about her downfall and the downfall of those around her. Her persistence of course, is what forces Antigone to rashly take matters in to her own hands. Creon then decides to take Antigone's life "Away with her at once, and close her up in her rock-vaulted tomb. Leave her and let her die". To everyone's surprise Antigone does not run from her death sentence suggesting a great trait of braveness, which the chorus recognizes before her exodus from life. The notion that a person has no say in the affairs of their loved ones and the fact that those laws were defied deserves

In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone, war functions to emphasize the strength of love. Scenes that allude to the power of love only occur because Sophocles has set the play to be after a war. Sophocles depicts a war in which brothers spill each others blood on the battlefield. Though filial love is broken between the Eteocles and Polyneices, Antigone’s love still remains for her two brothers. War highlights the shortcomings and tenacity of love through the deaths of Eteocles and Polyneices, Antigone’s perseverance and civil disobedience in the name of love, and the suicides of Haimon and his mother Eurydice. Sophocles not only alludes to the power of love, but the way in which untamed love can

The ancient Greeks somehow linked together two aspects of life that seem to be exact opposites. Love and war, as Aphrodite was the mistress of ares, the god of war. In the play “Antigone” one of a trilogy, Antigone wishes for nothing more than to bury her deceased brother: However, that is the one thing her uncle, Creon, wants the least. There is a clearly defined relationship between love and war in Antigone, and it is a rather toxic relationship. In the play, the reader observes multiple views on a spectrum. On one end is Law (war, or result from the war between the two brothers), on the other is love. Creon obviously believes in the beginning that it is every man for himself, Antigone believes that family comes before the law, and Ismene struggles between the two.

Joseph Keighley was a thirty year old father whose wife had been subjected to a terrible illness. He loved her so much that he would perform any task she wished for him to do for her. however as time passes, she had passed away and his devoted heart for her rendered him to not be with any woman other than his wife. Love, a powerful word and action is often described to be something in which you devote your feelings and emotion to something or someone with full intent, however Love in Antigone, a tragic play, written by Sophocles reciprocates this idea in a completely new way. A theme that Sophocles writes throughout Antigone could possibly be the idea of loyalty to the city versus family, and he often grazes upon the origin on many of the themes, providing sufficient amount of details that could be used to support them. However, a possible main occuring theme of Antigone is that Love is unconquerable. This theme surfaces in many ways throughout the play, specifically, in the idea of Love overpowering every aspect that the Greeks and Athenians believed to be impenetrable.

In both plays, Antigone and The Symposium the theme of love is apparent, but not always through the same lens. Through the dynamism of characters Antigone and Socrates we can see the differences and similarities in the understandings of love and connect the two. In Antigone’s case, her character is very dynamic and has a very interesting role by showing very distinct personality traits and someone who holds strong to their convictions. Antigone proves to be very religious and has a strong “connection” to the “dead” which shows her love comes for god before any other mortal and she is very connected spiritually. In the Symposium, we see a character in Socrates a very powerful and intellectual man suffer with social norms as Athenian social institution does not allow homosexual tendencies and in Socrates case having sexual intercorse with teenage boys. Both characters show their love in devious ways and both are very rebellious. This “side” of Antigone is seen throughout the poem, but most directly when she continously doesn’t abide by the decrees that were set by her uncle and king. Her response in a rebellious role proves to show different colors then most women at the time and in the play that we encounter. As the play continues it becomes obvious to Creon that she is an enemy but family so it is a confusing situation. When Creon has enough he states, “While I’m alive, no women is going to lord over me”. However,

The devotion of Antigone to the gods attempts to justify breaking laws but cloaks her drive to bury her brother Polyneices. At the start of the argument, Antigone uses her morals as support, expressing “Has not Kreon honored only one of our two brothers with a tomb, and dishonored the other?” (Antigone Line 21). Antigone’s argument appears driven by love for her family, and the desire for her brothers to be treated equally with burial rights. For Ismene, this argument and passion from Antigone displays Ismene as one who lacks concern for Polyneices rights. This perspective flips when Ismene defends her silence about the burial by proclaiming “So I for one shall beg those underneath the earth to pardon me, since I am overpowered by force; I shall obey those who are in authority (Antigone Line 65). Ismene prefers safety by obeying the current authority, and would rather ask for forgiveness later. However, Antigone is more concerned about the afterlife than burying Polyneices.