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Antigone
The play 'Antigone' is at least 2,440 years old. Still timely nevertheless are its main concerns over what to do about a bad law and how far to go for the sake of love or justice. Contributors typically ask and answer questions about the play's author, characters, imagery, literary devices, plot, and relationship to other plays of the same themes or time period.
3,361 Questions
Who has the tragic reversal in 'Antigone'?
The most tragic reversal in the play 'Antigone' happens to Theban King Creon. He loses everything that gives his life meaning. His wife and his son choose to commit suicide rather than spend one more minute above ground under his dictatorial, insensitive, selfish rules. He loses the friendship and respect of Teiresias the blind prophet. It in fact is Teiresias who bails the King out with his insightful advice and his prescient predictions. And he loses his job. He no longer has the kingly position and powers of which he is so proud throughout most of the play. He no longer has the love and respect of his relatives or his people. He's headed for a miserable, beggarly existence in exile.
How much do you think Creon is to blame for the suicides of Antigone and Haemon and Eurydice?
Creon is to blame for everyone's suicides. Creon places Antigone and Haemon in a situation where they only way they saw to get out of was to commit suicide. When Eurydice found out that Haemon had committed suicide due to Creon she went to her room, where she cursed Creon before taking her own life.
If Creon had not be so stubborn and not placed Antigone in the cave no one would have died. But it is a greek tragedy, so the ending must of course be tragic. :]
Does Antigone recognize her error and accept the tragic consequence?
Yes, Antigone accepts the tragic consequences of her acts. In the play 'Antigone', the main character of the same name always is aware of the consequences of disobedience to manmade laws and compliance with god-given justice. No, Antigone doesn't recognize her acts as erroneous. She indicates that she may have been able to replace husbands and children. But she has no choice in regard to Polyneices. For both her parents are dead, and so a dead brother may not be replaced with another.
Is Antigone accused of burying the body of Polyneices?
Yes, Antigone is accused of burying the body of her brother Polyneices. The accusations come from the direct observation of the Sentry and from Theban King Creon's acceptance of the Sentry's testimony as true. The accusations also come from the very proud confession of the crime's commission by Antigone herself.
Why does jocasta commit suicide in Oedipus Rex?
Jocasta commits suicide in Oedipus Rex because she realizes that the prophecies have been fulfilled, and that she has married her own son. In essence, her kids with Oedipus are also her grandchildren.
All of the grief associated with this realization makes Jocasta's will to live go away. She kills herself because she doesn't want to deal with reality.
For breaking divine and human laws, Jocasta commits suicide in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta disrespects the gods by trying to thwart a horrible prophecy about her child and her husband. Subsequently and albeit unknowingly, Jocasta compounds the matter by marrying her own son Oedipus and having children with him. Incest is an offense against the gods, who can consort with whomsoever they please; and against mortals, who are considered blasphemous when they ape the gods. A mortal committing suicide is acceptable to the gods, who consider taking one's life an admission of and apology for misbehavior
In Greek mythology she was the mother of Oedipus by Laius. After Oedipus killed Laius and married her she was the mother of Antigone, Eteocles, Polynices and Ismene by Oedipus. Of these, only Eteocles and Polynices were male.
What was Creon's view of government?
Theban King Creon had an absolutist and elitistview of government. He thought that the only opinion that counted was his own as ruler of Thebes. He supported government for the enforcement of law and order, to consolidate his rule and that of his direct family line. He didn't feel that power needed to be shared. In fact, he considered the powers and responsibilities of government as belonging to him alone. He didn't believe in consulting the people. He wasn't aware of or affected by the happiness and welfare of his people.
Who is Oedipus' brother-in-law?
Theban King Creon is Theban King Oedipus' brother-in-law.
Specifically, Creon is the brother of Theban Queen Jocasta, wife and mother to Oedipus. So Creon also is Oedipus' uncle. But not one of the three sovereigns realizes that the three are linked other than by the marriage of Oedipus and Jocasta and the blood relationship between her and Creon.
What does Creon say that Apollo said must be done to cure Thebes of its pollution?
At the shrine of Apollo, Theban King Creon learns that Thebes can be cured of its plague. The plague will end as soon as the city deals with the pollution of its space and of all life within its confines. The end to the pollution requires the identification of the perpetrators of the unsolved killing of the city's previous king, Laius. Once identified, the perpetrators are to be executed or exiled.
Why does Oedipus want to find Laius' murderer?
Theban King Oedipus wants to find his royal predecessor's murderer in order to end the suffering of his people. The Delphic Oracle says that Thebes is visited by a plague, for not having tracked down the murderer of their previous sovereign, Theban King Laius. The Oracle says that any perpetrator of that heinous offense must be identified and brought to justice. Otherwise, the suffering of the city and its people will continue unabated.
Theban King Oedipus wants to find the murderer of his royal predecessor, Theban King Laius. His motive is his desire to end the plague He wants to stop the suffering of his people who are seeing their own numbers reduced as quickly as those of his livestock and as fast as the volumes of his harvests.
No one is Theban King Oedipus' brother. Oedipus is an only child from the first marriage of Theban Queen Jocasta to Theban King Laius. But there are children from her second marriage to her son Oedipus. So his daughters Antigone and Ismene, and his sons Eteocles and Polyneices, are also his half-sisters and half-brothers.
Does Creon have a recognition scene in 'Antigone'?
Yes, Creon has a recognition scene in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, a recognition scene allows a character to face up to accidents, commissions, mistakes and omissions. It is foreshadowed by Theban King Creon's relenting on the non-burial of his nephew Polyneices and the capital punishment of his niece, Princess Antigone. It actually takes place when Creon acknowledges how everything that makes his life worth meaning is lost through his own stubbornness, poor choices and offensive acts.
Which of Antigone's brothers does Creon kill in 'Antigone'?
Neither one of Antigone's brothers is killed by Creon in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone has two twin brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices. Her brothers kill each other in the final battle of the first civil war over the Theban royal succession. Her uncle Creon supports Eteocles but is not involved in the final duel between the brothers.
What does Tiresias add to the play Oedipus the King?
The character Tiresias adds an element of symbolism, as he is blind, but is the only one who actually "sees' the truth.
How is power a major theme in 'Antigone'?
The question of ultimate authority is the way in which power is a major theme in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, authority figures can be gods or kings. Kings govern as the representatives of the gods on earth. But their rule has to harmonize with and validate divine will. It must not conflict, which is what Theban King Creon's edict does in regard to divine will and cherished Theban tradition.
What two characters face each other in the major conflict in 'Antigone'?
Antigone and Creon are the two characters that face each other in the major conflict in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Creon issues a royal edict against burial of the disloyal Theban dead. The edict leaves exposed to wether and wildlife the body of Polyneices, Princess Antigone's beloved brother. Antigone questions the legality of Creon's edict, which contradicts divine guarantees to all Thebans of below ground burials and proper funeral rites.
That a traitor does not deserve a hero's burial is the reason that Creon gives for his ruling concerning the bodies of Eteocles and Polyneices in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Eteocles dies defending his hometown of Thebes. Polyneices dies defending his legitimate claim to the Theban throne against the usurping rule of his twin brother Eteocles and his uncle Creon. Divine will and Theban tradition make both brothers as Thebans born and bred automatic recipients of below ground burials. But Creon reverses divine will and Theban tradition by respecting those rights for Theban loyalists such as Eteocles and denying them to Theban traitors.
What even was happening when Oedipus was confronted by the drunk in Corinth?
Do you mean the chariot thing before Oedipus became king of Thebes? If so, the drunk guy was his actual father Laius. Because Oedipus wouldn't get out of Laius' way, Laius ran over him with his chariot. Oedipus got mad and killed him. But, since Oedipus didn't know who Laius was, he had no idea that he had killed his father (since he thought his Corinthian adoptive father Polybus was his biological father). Ironically, he was leaving home so he wouldn't kill his father. I hope that helps :)
Who dies after Antigone in 'Antigone'?
Haemon and Eurydice die after Antigone dies in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone hangs herself in the walled-up cave to which she is sentenced to be buried alive. Prince Haemon, her first cousin and groom-to-be, stabs himself with his own sword when he finds Antigone's dead body. Queen Eurydice, Haemon's mother and Antigone's intended mother-in-law, stabs herself with a knife when she hears of the two suicides.
Why does the sympathy of the chorus change in 'Antigone'?
That the gods are angry is the reason why the chorus' sympathy changes in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the chorus is made up of Theban elders. The members therefore express loyalty to and sympathy for Theban King Creon. But they change their sympathy during the scene between Creon and Teiresias the blind prophet. They cannot accept Creon's actions resulting in the pollution of sacred altars and the inability of priests and prophets to interpret divine will through the reading of ritual sacrifices.
Example of alliteration in the play antigone?
Yes, there is alliteration in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, alliteration refers to a literary device whereby at least two words in succession begin with the same letter. Any example from the play is dependent upon the particular edition or language being used. But one early example from one of the English translations of the original Greek text has Theban Princess Ismene describe her sister, Princess Antigone, as having a "hot heart for chilling deeds" in the Prologue.
Did the Delphic oracles come true or did Oedipus kill his mother in 'Oedipus Rex'?
The Delphic Oracles came true, and Theban King Oedipus didn't kill his own mother, Theban Queen Jocasta. It was predicted that Oedipus would become a killer of his own father and a sex offender with his own mother. Albeit unknowingly, he indeed killed his father, Theban King Laius. Albeit unknowingly once again, he wedded and bedded his own mother. Years later, when Jocasta realized the true identity of her second husband, she killed herself.
