0
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
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].
The play 'Antigone' was written about 443, 441 B.C.E.* It first was performed about 440 B.C.E. Yet no information is given in the play as to Antigone's age or her birth date. But the city of Thebes may have been founded around 2000 B.C.E. The founder was Antigone's great great great grandfather, Cadmus. Antigone represented the sixth generation from Cadmus and his wife Harmonia. Each generation may be guesstimated within a range of 20-40 years. That would mean 120-240 years after the city's founding. So Antigone may have been born sometime between 1880 and 1760 B.C.E. *Before the Christian Era.
Killing each other is the way in which Oedipus' sons die.
Specifically, Eteocles and Polyneices are the twin sons and heirs to disgraced Theban King Oedipus. Because they are twins, Oedipus' sons are expected to inherit the crown and throne of Thebes on a joint power sharing arrangement. But Oedipus curses his sons with the inability to rule harmoniously and with the desire to kill each other. Indeed, Eteocles does not want to share, exiles Polyneices and then must defend Thebes against his brother's legitimate royal claim. The brothers end up fighting each other to the death in the final battle of their civil war over the royal succession.
Who tells Oedipus he will kill his father and marry his mother?
Tiresias a blind prophet tells Oedipus that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
Who were Antigone's grandparents?
Antigone's grandparents were Theban King Laius and Theban Queen Jocasta. Jocasta was also Antigone's mother. Theban King Oedipus was both father and half brother to Antigone, because he was his mother Jocasta's second husband.
How does Creon learn about Antigone's actions?
The guard returns to tell the king after she is found burying her brother.
Why does Oedipus not understand the information Tiresias gives to him?
A complete contradiction of how he sees himself is why Theban King Oedipus doesn't understand the information that Teiresias the blind prophet gives. Teiresias says that Oedipus is the very person that's being sought for the unsolved murder of Theban King Laius. Oedipus thinks that he never met his royal predecessor. So how can he have killed someone he never knew?
Teiresias also says that the life of the royal family isn't as it seems. Oedipus considers himself happily married to Theban Queen Jocasta, whose husband was Laius. He's fated to kill his father and marry his own mother. He thinks that he has won against fate by settling down in Thebes. That's because he thinks that he's a Corinthian, and the son of Corinthian King Polybus and Queen Merope.
But in actuality, Polybus and Merope are foster parents to their adopted, Theban born son. In actuality, Oedipus is the only son of Laius and Jocasta. So the further he runs from fate, the closer he gets to it. He indeed is a murderer and a sex offender. And both offenses are committed against and with the very parents that he thinks to have left far away in time and space.
What style of writing is used in 'Antigone'?
A style of writing is a distinctive manner of expression. Poetry is a manner of expression that's calculated to produce vivid imagery in the mind and to create an emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. The writing style in the play 'Antigone' is poetic. That poetic style of writing definitely is used to call forth vivid mental images and to get readers and viewers to sympathize with the main character, Antigone.
How does the play Antigone end?
After Antigone has been killed, Haemon, Ismene and Queen Eurydice commit suicide.
Creon at last repents seeing that he has caused all this by acting against the gods.
[Actually, Antigone commits suicide, too. She hangs herself rather than slowly starve to death in the tomb in which Creon has had her sealed. Finding her dead is why Haemon kills himself. Finding that Haemon is dead is why Eurydice kills herself: cause and effect.]
Who is Creon's stepfather in 'Oedipus Rex'?
No one is Theban King Creon's stepfather in 'Oedipus Rex'. Neither is Creon the stepfather to anyone in the play. But what does happen is future King Oedipus' adoption by King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth.
How does the Shepard react when the messenger identifies Oedipus as the child they exchanged?
the shepherd reacts with fear and begs the messenger to hold his tongue. Oedipus threatens the messenger with physical violence, and finally the man confesses that the baby was a child of Laius's house. Oedipus reacts with fear and astonishment that the oracle was true after all this time. He couldn't believe that after all this time that he was the son of Laius this whole time. Now the oracle is all clear to him.
Who are Oedipus real parents are?
His birth parents are the king and queen of Thebes, King Laius and Queen Jacosta.
His adopted parents (who he thought were his real parents) are the king and queen of Corinth, King Polybus and Queen Merope.
Where was 'Oedipus Rex' performed?
The first performances of the play 'Oedipus Rex' were in ancient Greece. But the play is considered a classic of literature, a perfect example of tragedy. So by now, it has been performed worldwide.
Who is captured in 'Antigone'?
In the play 'Antigone' Antigone is captured. The sentry discovers that the body of Polyneices is being given proper burial attentions, contrary to a recently enacted law. They wait until Antigone makes a follow-up check of her dead brother's body. Then they apprehend her and bring her to Theban King Creon.
When Creon arrives from Delphi what does Oedipus insist that he do?
Theban King Oedipus insists that his uncle and brother-in-law, Theban King Creon, share in public the news from Apollo the sun god's shrine. He sends Creon to find out what can be done to end the pestilence that affects Thebes' livestock, harvests, and birth rate. Creon prefers to share the news first and in private with Oedipus. But Oedipus wants his people to hear the breaking news.
Why does sentry arrest antigone in the play antigone?
Because the guards saw her burying the body and Creon told the sentry to figure out who had buried the body and defied his orders or the sentry would be the one serving the death penalty.
How do you overcome Oedipus complexs and electra complexs among young children?
Most children outgrow this as they mature into teenagers.
Which character is arrested for burying Polyneices?
Antigone is the character that is arrested for burying Polynices. She asks Creon to arrest her, and at first he refuses.
How long did the performances usually last in 'Antigone'?
It's unknown how long the original performances lasted. Likewise unknown is the length of the play from then on. But it's possible to guesstimate, at around one-and-one-half hours.
Who is the servant who spares the child in 'Oedipus Rex'?
The servant who spares the child in 'Oedipus Rex' is the first shepherd. He also is the sole survivor of the street brawl that kills every other member in the royal party of his sovereign, Theban King Laius. The child is the three-day-old infant, the subsequent Theban King Oedipus.
The servant ends up giving the baby to a second shepherd who's a native of Corinth. That second shepherd later becomes a messenger. In that capacity, he travels to Thebes to tell Oedipus of the death of Corinthian King Polybus. Polybus and his wife, Corinthian Queen Merope, raised Oedipus as their own and as their heir apparent. Upon Polybus' death, the messenger lets Oedipus know that Queen Merope survives and that the people of Corinth want him as their king.
What does Oedipus think about the clue Creon reveals about who murdered king laius?
I don't understand Oedipus... Do you?
No one will understand it! You are not the only one :)
