Antigone 8
In Sophocles' play "Antigone" he writes about the same themes as in "Oedipus Rex" and places different characters into almost the same horrible, chaotic situations. Sophocles writes strongly about his most important key theme, the exploration of human limits. He also touches on the themes of discovery of self, wisdom through suffering, and the struggle between individual conscience versus the state. Sophocles two plays, "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone", share many characteristics yet also contrast each other in many ways. He changes some of his themes in the two plays as well as some of the characters attitudes, mainly Creon. No matter how much the two plays differ from one another they have one thing that is the most common between the two, suffering. Sophocles depicts the suffering of each character throughout both of the plays. He also changes the opening scenes of the play to show the way the play will be laid out.During the whole play of "Antigone" the key theme is individual conscience versus the state whereas in "Oedipus Rex" it is the undying search for truth and discovery of self. "Antigone" Sophocles depicts a political, conscience led woman who is in an unending struggle over right and wrong with her uncle, Creon,
Creons emotions change dramatically along with his character. In "Oedipus Rex" Creon plays a very calm and subtle role yet in "Antigone" his anger plays a key role. Like Oedipus, Creon thinks that everyone is out to get him and everything is a big conspiracy against him. Creon also thinks that he has the right to judge who gets to live or and who gets to die a major sin against the Gods. Creon, threatens to torture the guard just like Oedipus threatened to torture the shepherd. In "Antigone" Creon's reign is surrounded by bribery, conspiracy, and corruption. In "Antigone" Creon finds himself in the same situation as Oedipus. Just like Oedipus Creon is unable to handle all the pressures around him and winds up alone with much acquired wisdom through suffering. The two main scenes of Sophocles two plays are the opening scenes. The opening scenes in both of these plays set the structure for the rest of the play. In "Oedipus Rex" the opening scene shows Oedipus perched high above the people of Thebes on his pedestal. In "Antigone" the opening scene shows two sisters whispering to each other and having a very secretive conversation on the same balcony where Oedipus made all hi speeches. The opening scene of "Antigone" shows a litany of two sisters personal suffering. It is the mirror opposite of "Oedipus Rex". The privacy of the conversation plays a significant role during the beginning of the play. The opening scene of "Antigone" shows Antigone voicing her reaction to Creon's edict to her sister, Ismene. Sophocles shows an intrusion to Antigones grief and poses the question on whether or not the state has the right to intrude on personal matters between relatives. During this secret conversation Antigone tells her plan to bury their brother to her sister, Ismene. Ismene's reaction is one of fear and Antigone, always polarizing things, disowns her. In her disownment of her sister Antigone shows some of the same characteristics as Creon. Sophocles wrote "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone" from two different perspectives. The two plays are structured very differently. Sophocles shows the chorus to be a very important role in both plays. The roles that the chorus plays in "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone" contrast. In "Oedipus Rex" the chorus begged Oedipus to think and knew their limits as mortals yet in "Antigone" they praise man in an ode and
Some common words found in the essay are:
Oedipus Rex, Rex Antigone, Rex Creon, Oedipus Creon, Rex Sophocles, Rex Oedipus, oedipus rex, Antigone Antigone, Ismene Sophocles, Oedipus Antigone, Gods Antigone, oedipus rex antigone, rex antigone, oedipus rex creon, wisdom suffering, plays oedipus, plays oedipus rex, rex creon, play antigone, people thebes, sophocles depicts, oedipus rex oedipus, rex oedipus, scene oedipus, scene oedipus rex,
Approximate Word count = 1596
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
