Antigone By Sophocles

Antig unitary - Tragic Heroine or dupe of PrideOutlineAntigone - Tragic Heroine or Victim of PrideThesis : Antigone was the genuine sad wedgein of the job in her passageions she was valet de chambreoeuver by her moral and religious beliefs and not by her conceitIntroductionA . Antigone - the trine of the Theban sum upsB . Dramatic Signifi arsece and interpretingComposition of the catastropheA . LanguageB . Themes3 . The sad whiz of the nobble - Antigone or CreonA . contributionistic of Creon as a tragic heroB . Antigone as the genuine tragic heroinConclusionSophocles wrote Antigone around 441 BC , this was the third of his Theban gos , notwithstanding in reality it was written basic . This play is as well as prominent among different Greek trage discloses as the auditory modality could see the intimate setting of the palace , but deaths happened inside and re primary(prenominal)ed unseen . Very often critics compargon the sentry of Antigone with those in Shakespeare s plays , as here the sentry was rather unusual , he spoke in a simple natural terminology as distinct from the other characters of the play and their stylized rhyme languageThe p carve up basis in the play is the collision of determine amongst Antigone and Creon : the main heroes can not bewilder to matching conclusion what is to a greater extent important , either family demands or the laws issued by the govern work forcet . As a result thither were a lot of disputes concerning the title of the tragic hero , whether it should become to Creon or to Antigone . Actu each(prenominal)y the calamity is the reflection of the valet , where Sophocles lived , of the world , where women were keep down and forced to play the role sole(prenominal) of silent spectators , whereas men were looking for business office and authority (Stothard , 47 . Antigone , however , didn t belong to the vast majority of women , she was a staunch defender of the forebode laws and , remaining devoted to her beliefs , she managed to influence the course of Thebian historyIn reality the catastrophe is also relevant nowadays to a certain extend , as the theme of compromises surrounded by divinity , family and government issues is rather actual . As C . Warren Hollister so articu tardilyly states , Sophocles .probed with majestic dignity the fundamental relationships of kindity and its gods , the problem of sleaziness in a refineeous universe and the terrible consequences of riotous pride (Steiner , 5Sophocles built his tragedy corresponding to the characters of the main heroes . al raise from the real beginning from the chat between Ismene and Antigone audience became cognizant of the decisive character of Antigone , which according to the chorus she inherited from her find The chorus very often mentioned the curse of the Oedipus s family however it was not the basis for the plot of the tragedy . Determination and strength of principal of Antigone were the main motivating forces in her struggle against Creon s downright regulate and were the basis for the tense events of the play . Creon s interrogation of Antigone plays a very important role for the written material of the tragedy . After the dialogue between Antigone and Ismene in prologue the audience could easily foresee the igneous reliance of Antigone in her foe with Creon Each explicate express by Antigone at the same time intensified Creon s desirous petulance , and contributed to ontogenesis of the tension between the heroes . Trying to destroy Antigone s obstinacy Creon utilize such comparison Well , allow her know the stubbornest of willsAre soonest bended , as the hardest ironO er-heated in the go up to brittlenessFlies soonest into fragments , shivered through (Sophocles ,13Through the speech of the main heroes audience was fitting to make conclusions some emotional unbalance of the heroes , they talked with short remarks and phrases . The attached scene of conversation between Antigone and Ismene was also vivid and glowing Antigone started to upbraid her sister and then switched to persuading her to take actions togetherHaemon s role in the tragedy is significant because in reality he was apply by Sophocles as expression of his own ideas and political views For the composition it was also important , as with his appearance Creon s wrath reached its highest flow and he ed to bring Antigone , think ofing to kill her in count of HaemonThe climax of the tragedy was the monologue of Antigone before her execution . Antigone s course as well as her courageous opposition towards all-powerful Creon , her comparison of her fate with that of Tantalus s daughter intensified the dramatic gist and evoked deep beneficence of the audience towards the young cleaning ladyThis was the final scene before the disaster itself took place . Later Creon macrocosm ready to channelize his decision , didn t deprivation to accept the presage active the death of all his family , but it was too late . Creon blamed himself for the death of his son and his wife he was overwhelmed with despondency , which then gave place to self-destruction . There was nothing odd of the majestic and self-assured king , sort of a deplorable wretch (Sophocles , 38The singing of the chorus is closely related to the scenes of the tragedy , however had no influence upon it . The chorus supported the ideas of Antigone , showed sympathy and exclaimed at her courage , at the same time verbalised utter solicitude near the state issues concerning its security and eudaimonia . On the Antigone s death the chorus commented as a retaliation for her father s sinOne of the themes in the tragedy was the rivalry of the two sisters - Antigone and Ismene . Sophocles presented an absolute contradiction between them : Ismene was an obedient , timid , calm lady friend , very beautiful and womanly . Antigone , on the contrary differed a lot from other young girls , she was intractable , resistant , seedy . Antigone hated the idea that she was born woman , she was deprived of the womanish qualities for attracting attention of men and becoming the object of men s craving However later , Antigone revealed her knockout , but according to Ismene this beauty was not usual , belonging to a different world , the kind of beauty that turns the heads of small children - be it in reverence , awe , and otherwise (Sophocles , 13 .Some critics stated that Antigone was a trope between two deaths , meaning her death as human being and the death of her demise (Bradshaw , 165 . Her tomb also turned out to be her bridal bed , as she didn t die there alone , but Haemon also died thereThe main theme of the tragedy as it was already mentioned is the opposition between Creon and Antigone and their convictions . When science started to develop in Ancient Greece , the contradiction between Gods and heaven issues and the field of science grew . This resulted also in growing conflicts between old religious issues and new moral ideals The tragedy Antigone was written exactly during this period of changes The controversy of the heroes of the tragedy was in reality the controversy of the Greek ideals of rightness and wrongness . The nuzzle of Antigone was much heavenly , when she was captured she said to Creon I do not think your edicts strong enough to overrule the unwritten inalterable laws of God and heaven , you being only a man (Lines , 18 whereas attitude of Creon was mundane . Antigone was deeply religious collect to this she couldn t remain indifferent to the fact , that her buddy wouldn t be interred in a proper way of breeding and thus the way to heaven would be closed for him . This fact supports the idea that Antigone chose to act in this way not because of her pure pride , but because of her intrinsic motivationIn general in Ancient Greece a lot of people reckond that the laws produced by the government , were to support the religious beliefs . base on this , Antigone turned the law of Creon to be a betrayal of this article of belief . She told him Yea , for these laws were not ordained of ZeusAnd she who sits enthroned with gods belowJustice , enacted not these human lawsNor did I deem that thou , a mortal man (Sophocles , 13Antigone , as a strong personality with will power , was ready to die , but not refusing from her beliefs and principles . When she was sentenced to death , she had not doubts nigh her rightness , she said I go , his prisoner , because I honoured those things in which honour truly belongs (Sophocles , 11 . Through this phrase Antigone s attitude to Creon is evident , namely her disdain towards his unfairness and low-cal decisions , besides she underlined that this was only his decision , in reality not supported by other people . She was right as most of the population supported Antigone but they didn t dare to come out with their ideas . The sympathy of the Thebes citizens was evident from the words of Haemon : and I digest heard them , muttering and whispering .They say no woman has ever , so unreasonably , died so shameful a death for a generous act (Sophocles , 13 . This meant , that Creon used his political power and restricted her religious freedom Antigone for certain didn t want to die , to leave the world , which could promise so much happiness and joy for her . She was sorry not about the events that took place , she was sorry about her dying youth and about people who would not mourn over her , realizing that she would never be able to be a wife and a go , would never see the sun light . Her heart and reason were eager to expose out love and tenderness instead of hatred Her only error was that he dared to oppose a powerful man , who placed his own will higher up everythingThe ideals of Creon are absolutely different from those of Antigone , for him Man is the measure of all things (Segal , 85 . He was sure , that in to show appraise for the city of Thebes , he had to issue a law that the physical structure of the country s enemy should not be buried , a person , who tried to conquer the city , could not be buried there . For Creon nonobservance of his laws would mean first of all opposition to state welfare , as a dictator he could accept only implicit obedience to his will and laws , including the cases when he was wrong . The opposition between Antigone and Creon remained valid throughout the undivided play . The arguments from the both sides are strong and unflinchingOther characters of the tragedy : Ismene , Haemon , apology appeared occasionally , mostly in to emphasize the features of the main heroes . As for example the weakness of Ismene served as contrast to firmness and oppositeness of Antigone , cowardice and stupidity of the Guard - to selfless determination of the heroin . Thus minor heroes supplemented the characters of Antigone and CreonFirst of all it is necessary to mention that there is no agreement among researchers and critics about the real tragic hero in this play .

Mostly the dissent concerns Creon and Antigone , there were and are supporters of the opinion that Creon possessed the genuine qualities of the tragic hero as defined by Aristotle and there are also those , who believe the Antigone was assumed by the author to be the only tragic hero of the play , despite of the fact that female roles of the antiquated society were of lesser importance in comparison to men s roleTo use the rule of contraries , let s start from the other character that is said to be the tragic hero - Creon . The high kindred and noble status of him no doubts correspond to one of the conditions of Aristotle . other important point is neither solely good nor sorry presentation of the character by the author . On the one side Creon signed an odd and foolish law , duologue to his son in way that pushed him to suicide , was marginally unrighteous of Antigone s death . On the other side he cared a lot about the occurrence in Thebes and actually didn t intend to cause any harm to Antigone . Hubris can also be confirmed by Creon s excessive pride , due to which he makes a fatal mistake (hamartia . The anagnorisis of Creon was in his realization and breeding of the lesson which is then followed by peripeteia , unexpected tragic events , that resulted in the death of his son and wife . The only characteristic that we can not find by Creon is nemesis , because it would be not correct to consider his downfall to be his destiny . The situation he found himself in , afterwards all the events , was first of all the consequence of his cruel or groundless decisionsTalking about such an important component of the tragic hero - purge , it is necessary to admit that the audience would for sure feel mildness and compassion with Creon when he remained alone , losing his dearest people and realizing that it was his fault mostly . Thus , Creon was very close to the notion of tragic hero as seen and presented by Aristotle , basically he lacked only one or two of the characteristics Still it is necessary to consider the other challenger - Antigone Some critics state that as the play was bearing her name this could be regarded as the main cheque and proof of the fact that author proposed Antigone as the tragic hero of the play (Lines , 42 . Actually this seems to be weak grounds and there is a number of stronger onesFirst of all Antigone also in use(p) a high social and noble position in Thebes , and moreover she completely corresponded to the idea of Aristotle , who underlined that not political power possessed by the hero was important , but more his social values and virtues . She had a lot to loose after her downfall , she was to become the wife of Creon s son - Haemon and her whole life was in full view for the citizens of ThebesTo the same extend as Creon , Antigone can not be related to either positively or negatively , the author patently shows both sides . To the grownup one belonged her incestuous attitude to Polyneices and her intractable character and behavior . The good side was reflected in her concern about her brother s soul and adhering closely the religious traditions : I intend to give my brother burial . I ll be glad to die in the attempt , - if it is a crime , then it s a crime that God commands (Sophocles , 4 . This also in a way relates to nemesis of Antigone , she could not recede from her credo , her conviction , it was impossible for her to put up with that law in not to bring the disaster upon herselfAntigone s hubris was seen in her unwillingness , to simply hold Creon for permission to bury her brother , as we mentioned already Creon was not absolutely evil and there was a chance that he could refuse from his law , but she never asked . On the other hand we can not evaluate the extend of Creon s egotistical nature and fear of loosing his image of power by allow a girl to break or make him change the lawHamartia or serious mistake made by Antigone appears to be her suicide this precipitate action was followed by the death of two other persons It should be acknowledged that by Antigone we can not find anagnorisis she didn t learn any lessons , she died with strong conviction that she was right , if only not to consider her decision to hang herself as a result of her realization what happened to her life . But no doubts emotionally she was able to influence the audience much more than Creon as her hardships and her fight for moral principles seems more vital than Creon s conceal of fulfillment of his lawsOverall , the play Antigone is very profound and controversial it is in truth hard to make clear judgments and conclusions either by version the actions and ideas of the main heroes . It is clear that Antigone was a tragic heroin of the play she acted guided by her moral beliefs and not by her pride . This was sooner Creon , who used his political power to satisfy his ambitiousness and self-esteemWorks citedBradshaw L . Feminine Identity in Sophocles Antigone . University of Alabama-Huntsville . 2001 , 162-189Greek Tragedy : Sophocles Antigone thick and Research , 2005Harvard Classics , Vol . 8 , Part 6 NEW YORK :.F collier SON COMPANY , NEW YORK : BARTLEBY .COM , 2001Lines. Antigone s Flaw , From HUMANITAS , Volume cardinal , No . 1 , 1999Segal , C . Tragedy and Civilization : An Interpretation of Sophocles (Norman : University of Oklahoma Press , new edition . 1999Sophocles . Antigone (496 BC - 406-5 BC . Translation by F . Storr BAFormerly Scholar of Trinity College , Cambridge . 2000Sophocles . collar Theban Plays . Trans . Robert Fagles . New York : Penguin Books , 1986Steiner , George . The Death of Tragedy . 1961 . New York : Oxford UP 1980 .3-113Stothard .. Change was in the air . The Times , 2004The Drama : Its register , Literature and Influence on Civilization , vol 1 . ed . Alfred Bates . London : Historical Publishing Company , 1906 . pp 112-123PAGEPAGE 6 ...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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