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Ismene reacts with fear. She wants Polyneices to be given an honorable burial as much as Antigone does, but she is far too terrified to do it herself because of the death penalty that Creon has imposed for anyone who attempts to bury Polyneices. Out of fear, she refuses to help Antigone bury Polyneices. However, later on, she attempts to die alongside her sister for the crime that Antigone committed by herself.

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Q: How does Ismene react to what Antigone wants to do with Polyneices?
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How does Ismene feel about what Antigone wants her to do in 'Antigone'?

Very scared is the way in which Ismene feels about what Antigone wants her to do in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone wants to break a royal edict by burying her brother Polyneices. The crime carries the death penalty. Antigone is not afraid of breaking the law or facing the punishment, but her sister Ismene is.


Who refuses to help Antigone bury the body in 'Antigone'?

Ismene refuses to help Antigone bury the body in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene is the younger sister of Princess Antigone and of twin brothers Eteocles and Polyneices. Eteocles and Polyneices kill each other, and Eteocles receives a below-ground burial and proper funeral rites, both of which are denied to Polyneices. Antigone wants to bury Polyneices and will have to do so alone since Ismene refuses to help.


What is the effect of Ismene's reply to Antigone's appeal in 'Antigone'?

An ever strengthened desire to do the deed is the effect of Ismene's reply to Antigone's appeal for help in burying their brother Polyneices in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Creon, King of Thebes and uncle to the Princesses Antigone and Ismene, refuses to honor god-given guarantees of proper burials and funerary rites to all Thebes. One of the Thebans so affected is the princesses' disloyal dead brother Polyneices. Antigone wants to go ahead and bury Polyneices, Ismene tries to talk her out of it, and Antigone becomes ever more determined to do the deed and to insult Ismene for having a different opinion.


What does Antigone want Ismene to do in 'Antigone'?

Help her bury their brother is what Antigone wants Ismene to do in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Polyneices' body is denied its divinely guaranteed right to below-ground burial and funeral rites. Princess Antigone, Polyneices' younger sister, decides that she will brave the royal edict of non-burial of the disloyal dead in the recent civil war over the royal succession. She asks for help from her sister Ismene in the hopes of giving Polyneices a below-ground burial. Without Ismene's help, she will have to give Polyneices a partial burial, whereby the body is left above ground but covered completely with a layer of dust.


Why does Antigone refuse to permit Ismene to share responsibility for burying Polyneices in 'Antigone'?

That it is a lie is the reason why Antigone refuses to permit Ismene to share responsibility for burying Polyneices in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Antigones asks her sister Ismene to help give their brother Polyneices' body a proper below-ground burial. Ismene refuses out of fear of the death penalty for breaking one of their uncle King Creon's laws. Antigone seeks capture for giving Polyneices a partial burial under a layer of dust because the royal law contradicts divine will and Theban traditions. She wants to make a statement in suffering the consequences and not to have anything to do with a sister whom she considers base.

Related questions

How does Ismene feel about what Antigone wants her to do in 'Antigone'?

Very scared is the way in which Ismene feels about what Antigone wants her to do in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone wants to break a royal edict by burying her brother Polyneices. The crime carries the death penalty. Antigone is not afraid of breaking the law or facing the punishment, but her sister Ismene is.


Who refuses to help Antigone bury the body in 'Antigone'?

Ismene refuses to help Antigone bury the body in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene is the younger sister of Princess Antigone and of twin brothers Eteocles and Polyneices. Eteocles and Polyneices kill each other, and Eteocles receives a below-ground burial and proper funeral rites, both of which are denied to Polyneices. Antigone wants to bury Polyneices and will have to do so alone since Ismene refuses to help.


What is the effect of Ismene's reply to Antigone's appeal in 'Antigone'?

An ever strengthened desire to do the deed is the effect of Ismene's reply to Antigone's appeal for help in burying their brother Polyneices in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Creon, King of Thebes and uncle to the Princesses Antigone and Ismene, refuses to honor god-given guarantees of proper burials and funerary rites to all Thebes. One of the Thebans so affected is the princesses' disloyal dead brother Polyneices. Antigone wants to go ahead and bury Polyneices, Ismene tries to talk her out of it, and Antigone becomes ever more determined to do the deed and to insult Ismene for having a different opinion.


What does Antigone want Ismene to do in 'Antigone'?

Help her bury their brother is what Antigone wants Ismene to do in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Polyneices' body is denied its divinely guaranteed right to below-ground burial and funeral rites. Princess Antigone, Polyneices' younger sister, decides that she will brave the royal edict of non-burial of the disloyal dead in the recent civil war over the royal succession. She asks for help from her sister Ismene in the hopes of giving Polyneices a below-ground burial. Without Ismene's help, she will have to give Polyneices a partial burial, whereby the body is left above ground but covered completely with a layer of dust.


What is Antigone's motive for saying Ismene can prove what she is in 'Antigone'?

To try to get Ismene to help her bury their brother Polyneices is Antigone's motive for describing the act as a way for Ismene to prove what she is in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone wants to break a human law that makes a proper burial the privilege of the few instead of the right of all Thebans. Her motivation is her uncle Creon's denial of that right to her brother Polyneices, who dies a traitor to his hometown. She needs help in giving Polyneices a below-ground burial. She says Ismene will show herself nobly born or basely behaved depending upon whether or not she helps.


Why does Antigone refuse to permit Ismene to share responsibility for burying Polyneices in 'Antigone'?

That it is a lie is the reason why Antigone refuses to permit Ismene to share responsibility for burying Polyneices in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Antigones asks her sister Ismene to help give their brother Polyneices' body a proper below-ground burial. Ismene refuses out of fear of the death penalty for breaking one of their uncle King Creon's laws. Antigone seeks capture for giving Polyneices a partial burial under a layer of dust because the royal law contradicts divine will and Theban traditions. She wants to make a statement in suffering the consequences and not to have anything to do with a sister whom she considers base.


Why does Ismene want to help Antigone?

At first, Ismene doesn't want to help her sister Antigone bury their brother Polyneices. But she changes her mind once Antigone is caught in the act. Ismene wants to support her sister, even die with her, and give honor to the dead. Additionally, she says that life without the living presence of Antigone holds no charm.


What is Antigone's reaction to Ismene's help in 'Antigone'?

Antigone believes that Ismene is a traitor to her family becausy she doesn't want to help Antigone bury their brother Polynieces. Ismene cares more about herself thatn her brother's afterlife.


How is it ironic that Antigone is captured the second time she buries Polyneices in 'Antigone'?

That it is because she comes back that she is arrested, tried and sentenced is what is ironic about Antigone's capture while attempting to bury Polyneices the second time in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene says that if her sister Antigone is going to disobey their uncle Creon's law of non-burial to his enemies, she must do so in secret. Antigone says that she wants her disobedience to be common, public knowledge. The first attempt at burial indeed is done in secret since there are no witnesses. But the second attempt becomes public knowledge because of the guards that Creon stations near the unburied body of Polyneices, Creon's nephew and Antigone's brother.


What does Antigone want to do with Polyneices in 'Antigone'?

Bury him and give him proper funeral rites is what Antigone wants to do with Polyneices in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Polyneices' body is being denied its rights as a Theban's corpse to a below-ground burial and Theban-style funeral rights. With help, Theban Princess Antigone, Polyneices' sister, can give him a below-ground burial. Without it, she can cover him with a layer of dust and anoint him with liquid from a special ewer.


What do each of the main characters want in 'Antigone'?

Antigone wants justice for her dead brother, Polyneices. Her sister Ismene wants security, from any possible humiliating repeats of the miserable fates of her parents, King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Her cousin and fiance, Haemon, wants love and marriage with Antigone. Her uncle and sovereign, Theban King Creon, wants obedience. Her aunt, Queen Eurydice, wants grandchildren and the safe carrying on of the royal bloodline through her only surviving child, Haemon. And her city's blind prophet, Teiresias, wants respect for the laws and the will of the gods.


What does Ismene want to do?

Ismene has two main appearances in the play 'Antigone'. One is in the very beginning, where she wants to be in compliance with the manmade laws of her uncle, Theban King Creon. She therefore wants to leave her brother Polyneices' corpse above ground and exposed to the elements, dogs, and birds. The other main appearance is the audience with the King. In this second instance, she wants to be sentenced in the same way as her sister Antigone. She falsely claims to have helped Antigone give Polyneices' corpse its god-given rights to proper funerary rites. But Ismene is a survivor. Given the brief glimpses of her personality, it's difficult to believe that she wants other than to live and hold her position as the daughter and relative of Theban kings; and as the descendant of Cadmus, who founded Thebes in about 2000 B.C.E.* At the end of the play, therefore, she alone is the last of the four children of Theban King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta to be alive. *Before the Christian Era.