Antigone
The play Antigone by Sophocles takes place in ancient Thebes. Two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, fight for the throne. In the final battle the two brothers slay each other and their uncle Creon becomes king. Eteocles had supported Thebes in the battle, so the new king Creon proclaimed that Eteocles would be buried with full rites as a hero. However, his brother Polyneices would be left unburied as a traitor and anyone who defied this edict would die. Antigone was the sister of both Eteocles and Polyneices. She could not let one her brothers be left unburied and so she performs the rites of burial on Polyneices. In the first passage, Creon and his son Haemon had gotten into an argument. Creon discovers that his own son doesn't support him and in anger Creon sentences Antione."I'll take her down a path untrod by man. I'll hide her living in rock-hewn vault, with ritual food enough to clear the taint of murder from the City's name. I'll leave her pleading to her favorite god-Hades. He may charm her out a way to life. Or perhaps she'll learn though late the cost of homage to the dead is: labor lost."(Pg
weakness and cause the city to be in turmoil. Tireseas delivered his judgment because he knew that Creon must pay for his arrogance. at their actions were fair and good. Creon felt that he had to punish Antigone because if he didn't, it would show There are many similarities in these passages that help illuminates the countless themes in Antigone. The first noticeable detail is why both threats were given. Often we think of Creon being the stubborn, power hungry king and Tireseas as the wise, benevolent prophet. The two seem to have nothing in common. We know that essentially Creon was arrogant and that Tireseas merely tried to help Creon but the passages reveals that they do have similar characteristics. Both men are very proud and believe honor is very important. It was not until someone questioned their decisions and honor that either man started making threats. Neither would have made such rash decisions if not provoked. First, Haemon, Creon's son, insulted his father and this caused Creon's rage to speak for him. Then when Tireseas tried to warn Creon, Creon questioned Tireseas's integrity. This caused Tireseas to attack Creon with his words. Another similarity is that both Creon and Tireseas believe th! very prominent theme because good and evil can often be misconstrued. Also, while this may not have been important in ancient times, the treatment of women in society is a very significant factor in this play. Through Creon and Tireseas these themes are exposed and we are forced to analyze are views between right and wrong. is taking a woman down the path, he says no man. In today's society that passage would probably read, down a path untrod by anyone. When Tireseas mentions the sun, he says it will not run his course before you pay. Also, when Tireseas is discussing Antigone's corpse, he says t
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1242
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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