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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
How does Oedipus plan to solve the mystery of Laius' death?
By requesting the name of the slayer and then consulting with the blind prophet Teiresias Theban King Oedipus plans to solve the mysterious death of his predecessor, Theban King Laius.
Specifically, Oedipus believes that someone among his Theban subjects must know something about the identity of his predecessor's murderer. That information will be handed over to Teiresias. The blind prophet has been protecting Thebes since its founding by Oedipus' ancestor, King Cadmus. Teiresias therefore will know how to proceed no matter how scanty the clues.
What do the people of Thebes say about Antigone's sentence?
They thing it is unjust, but nobody will say anything because they fear Creon
What news does the sentry bring Who does Creon think is responsible?
The sentry brings news that the body of Polyneices has had dust spread over it so that it may pass safely through to the underworld. Creon is overtaken with rage and tells the messenger that if he doesn't find who did this than he would be killed.
What is the rising action in 'Antigone'?
The rising action is what builds up to the turning point in a story. The turning point in the play 'Antigone' is the sprinkling of the dust, and the anointing with oil, over the dead body of Polyneices by Antigone. The rising action therefore is the non-burial of the dead from the Argive enemy and their Theban collaborators.
Why does Creon suffer the most in 'Antigone'?
Theban King Creon suffers the most, because he's the most guilty, the most responsible for the dark turns in the play 'Antigone'. For example, he refuses to honor the enemy Argive and Theban dead with proper burials. He mocks his son Haemon's choice of a bride. He insults Teiresias when the blind prophet tries to warn of the consequences of such disrespect to the gods, and such cruelty to the Theban people. He ignores the suffering of his extended family and of his people in seeing the corpses of loved ones exposed to the elements, dogs, and birds. He denigrates the feelngs of his niece Antigone over the fate of her brother Polyneices, who also is the King's own nephew. Ultimately, the King suffers the most, because he does the most harm to his family and his people. In fact, at the top of the Theban political order, he has the most to lose.
Which of Oedipus's children was mentioned in the play?
All four of Oedipus' children were mentioned in the play 'Antigone'. Oedipus and Jocasta, who was both his mother and his wife, had twin sons named Eteocles and Polyneices. The twins were named as the kings who killed each other, because they couldn't agree to alternate years of rule. Oedipus and Jocasta had two daughters named Antigone and Ismene. Ismene was a survivor, whereas Antigone was a terminal risk taker.
Whom does Oedipus believe to be his parents?
King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth are those whom subsequent Theban King Oedipus believes to be his parents. But they actually are his adoptive, foster parents. They're childless, and desperately want an heir.
One of the Corinthian royal couple's shepherds works in Thebes. He's given the infant Oedipus by a fellow shepherd who can't bring himself to carry out a royal order. By that order, the three day old Oedipus is to be left on a hill to die from exposure to the weather and wildlife.
Oedipus is given his death sentence because of a prophecy that he'll grow up to kill his own father. In ancient Greece, it's seen as far more heinous to kill one's father and sovereign than to kill a child. So the Theban and Corinthian shepherds believe that such a fate is outsmarted by removing Oedipus from the scene instead of killing him. But little do they realize how the free will choices and actions of the grown up Oedipus will lead to the very fulfillment of hs horrendous fate.
What explicit argument does the chorus make against Antigone's resolve to bury her brother?
The chorus cautions Antigone about the intensity of her resolve to bury Polyneices, her disloyal brother. The concern of the Theban elders is the recklessness of the princess' pride and passions. The elders express concern over the illegality of her act in terms of the laws of Thebes, but the legality of that same action in terms of the will of the gods. They point out that she does nothing other than worsen her precarious status by her disrespectful words and treatment of her uncle and her sovereign, Theban King Creon. According to them, Antigone needs to learn how to get her own way without her typical complete disregard for the opinions and positions of others.
What are Antigone's character traits?
She is headstrong, willing to die for her beliefs, quick to react, loyal to her family above anyone and anything else, and overall sure of herself.
-She refuses to go by the rules laid down by Thebean King Creon, and buries her brother, Polyneices.
-When she is caught in the act, she tells Creon that if she has no friends in this world, death is a welcome companion.
-When she hears of Creon's rule to not allow burial of Polyneices, she doesn't even blink in hesitation when deciding that she is going to bury her brother anyways.
-She is so sure of herself that she doesn't realize what could be the consequence of her actions until it is too late. This is also one of her tragic flaws, because her belief that she is right gets in her way.
-Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, that she feels it is her duty to bury their brother because he is their brother.
What events take place first in 'Antigone'?
The first event to take place in the play 'Antigone' is the conversation between the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, in proximity to the royal palace. Second is the special conference to which Theban King Creon calls the elders. At the conference, he indicates that proper burial procedures only are to be followed regarding the loyal Theban dead from the recent struggle with the Argive invaders and their Theban collaborators. Third is the meeting of the King and the guard, who reveals that proper burial procedures are evidenced on the corpse of Polyneices. Fourth is the guard's presentation of Antigone as the perpetrator of the act. Fifth is the meeting of King Creon with his nieces, Antigone and Ismene, about the unlawful burying of their brother Polyneices. Sixth is the conversation between the King and his son Haemon over the fate of the latter's first cousin and fiancee, Antigone. Seventh is the procession of Antigone to her final resting place in a remote cave whose entrance will be walled up. Eighth is the interpretation of the blind prophet Teiresias to the King about the causes of, solutions to, and consequences of the plague in Thebes. Ninth is the report, to Queen Eurydice, by the messenger of the suicides of Antigone and Haemon. Tenth is the presence of King Creon at the dead body of his son. Eleventh is the messenger's news, to the King, regarding the suicide of his wife, Queen Eurydice.
creon was mad when the messenger told him that somone had tried to bury polynecies.
How does Oedipus react to Tiresias's refusal to speak?
He accuses Tiresais of conspiring to the murder of Lauis.
Why does Creon share power with Oedipus?
Theban Kings Creon and Oedipus share power, because of the way in which the previous rule was thought to have ended. Their royal predecessor was Theban King Laius, who was Creon's brother-in-law. Laius died unexpectedly, and without heirs, at the hands of person or persons unknown.
It was thought that there were no surviving children from the marriage of Laius to Creon's sister, Theban Queen Jocasta. The throne of Thebes had to be occupied by individuals who were in the direct line of descent from the city's founder and first king, Cadmus. Sister and brother Jocasta and Creon filled the bill. Jocasta's first husband also had been a direct descendant of Cadmus. So Jocasta had the additional claim of being the reigning queen.
Oedipus was thought to be a non Theban born stranger from Corinth. But he was allowed to participate in the joint power sharing arrangement as Jocasta's second husband. It was a popular move, because Oedipus had saved the city from a Sphinx who terrorized the city's inhabitants and visitors.
What angers Antigone at the beginning of the play?
Creon has decreed that her brother, and all of the other rebels, are to be left to rot on the battlefield without proper burial.
What decree has Creon issued regarding Antigone's brothers?
He said one of them could be buried, and the other couldn't. In order to maintain order he was attempting to show a clear winner and loser so that the conflict would end.
Did Creon from antigone learn something from his mistakes?
Yes, Creon learns many things from his mistakes, but not until it is too late and he is exiled!
In antigone who brings news that someone has tried to bury the body?
I don't think so because she buried it.
Who is the writer of 'Oedipus Rex'?
Sophocles [496 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.] is the writer of 'Oedipus Rex'. Interestingly, he was born and spent his early life in Colonus, where Oedipus was supposed to have died. Sophocles' family had lived in the area for generations.
Many think that the tragic story of Theban King Oedipus is complete fiction. One explanation is the lack of its telling anywhere else. But the fact of Colonus-born Sophocles' telling the tale itself may be an indicator of its authenticity.
As to why the story isn't found elsewhere, the very subject matter may be the explanation. Oedipus is perceived as an albeit unknowing committer of abominations. One of those abominations is mother-son incest. According to the ancient Greeks, such an act is completely unacceptable by mortals. Yet at the same time, such an act isn't that rare among their gods.
So the story also may not have become widespread, because the subject was seen as blasphemous. Oedipus doesn't intend to do so. But he in essence does what gods are allowed to do, not humans.
Whom does Antigone blame for her terrible misfortune?
Antigone makes one direct and two indirect accusations of blame for her terrible misfortune. The direct accusation is placed upon her dead brother Polyneices. For example, she sighs, 'Alas, my brother, ill-starred in thy marriage, in thy death thou hast undone my life'. She also specifies, 'And now, Polyneices, 'tis for tending thy corpse that I win such [deadly] recompense as this'.
Her uncle, Theban King Creon, issues a decree that contradicts the will of the gods and the traditions of Thebes' citizens. He refuses to allow proper funerary procedures for those Thebans who in dying betray their city. Antigone therefore is faced with the sorrowful decision of whether to see that the corpse of the disloyal Polyneices gets the same god guaranteed funerary treatment as that of his loyal twin brother, Eteocles. But equal treatment of loyalists and traitors carries an automatic death sentence.
Indirectly, Antigone also blames her family background and the underworld gods. For example, she suggests that her miserable fate may be linked to her descent from the god cursed Theban King Labdacus whose granddaughter and great granddaughter she is. She likewise suggests a cursed fate due to her incestuous descent from Theban King Oedipus, who is her father; and from Theban Queen Jocasta, who is both her mother and her grandmother.
Antigone blames too the will of the gods. She finds irony in her passionate defense of god given rights and rituals. Specifically, she describes herself as being sentenced to death precisely because she refuses to disrespect the underworld realm of the gods of death, in Hades.
Why does Jocasta not want Oedipus to find out his true identity?
Theban Queen Jocasta realizes that Theban King Oedipus is her only son by her first husband, Theban King Laius. Oedipus is told to identify and punish Laius' killer[s], in order to end a pestilence that ravages Thebes' birth rates, harvests, and livestock. In the course of his investigation, Oedipus learns that Laius was killed at a crossroads and that he resembles Laius. Oedipus is warned of a future killing of his own father and wedding of his own mother. Laius was warned of a future death at the hands of his own son.
Jocasta puts the pieces of the puzzle together before Oedipus does. The fact that her beloved first husband was killed by her son, whom she subsequently marries, is too much for Jocasta to bear. She gets ready to go off and commit suicide. She only hopes that her beloved second husband, who was her beloved son by her beloved first husband, never sees himself as the father killer, king killer, and sex offender that he unknowingly is.
What kind of character was Creon?
Theban King Creon and his niece Antigone have provocative personalities and therefore reactive characters. It almost is impossible for the reader or the viewer of the play not to have strong impressions and consequently equally strong opinions of them. The King is dictatorial, in an unenviable situation. He wants to consolidate his rule and his succession. He does so as the royal successor to the scandalous branch of his family into which his sister marries. For he and his sister descend from Pentheus, who is a grandson of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes in about 2000 B.C.E.* Queen Jocasta takes as her second husband Theban King Oedipus, who unbeknownst to her is her son by her first husband, Theban King Laius. Laius descends from Cadmus' grandson, the cursed Labdacus. The twin sons of King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta power-share, and then kill each other over, the Theban throne. And so King Creon seeks law and order in a city where his family's scandals still must be the latest sources of gossip and jokes. *Before the Christian Era.
Who is the sentry in 'Antigone'?
The term 'sentry' refers to those Thebans who are under orders from Theban King Creon to watch the unburied dead from the recent war with Argos. It's their thankless duty to carry out the equally recent law against proper burial of the dead Argive enemy and their dead Theban allies. One of their members, who is named simply 'Guard', has to tell the King of the burial of Polyneices, who is supposed to be left above ground for having fought alongside the Argive enemy. The 'Guard' also must tell the King of the identity of the violator, who is none other than Polyneices' sister Antigone.
Subsequent Theban King Oedipus kills Theban King Laius. Oedipus is Laius' son. But neither one of them knows them when they get caught up in a fatal street brawl over the right of way at a crossroads between Delphi and Thebes.
What songs relate to Sophocles' play 'Antigone'?
Within the play 'Antigone' itself, the sections in which are found the parados and the odes are meant to be sung. There also is the opera 'Antigone' by Arthur Honegger [March 10, 1892-November 27, 1955], with libretto by Jean Maurice Eugene Clement Cocteau [July 5, 1889-October 11, 1963]. And there's the musical setting 'Antigonae' by Carl Orff [July 10, 1895-March 29, 1982].
