It is several years after OEDIPUS was banished from Thebes, the city he once ruled. The play begins in the GROVE OF THE FURIES at Colonus, which is close to and ruled by the great city of Athens. Oedipus is now a sorry sight, blind and hobbled, dressed in rags, led by his daughter ANTIGONE. OEDIPUS tells ANTIGONE that acceptance is the lesson taught by his suffering. He then asks Antigone to find a place for them to rest, and wonders where they are. Antigone recognizes Athens in the distance, though
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“Who knows? In the world below perhaps such actions are no crime,” (lines 795-96) Antigone retorts when Creon labels her brother as ‘evil’ for fighting against Thebes. Throughout the play, good and evil-right and wrong, influence many of the character’s words and actions. Likewise, as the plot progresses, Creon is educated on a sense of justice not known by many kings; righteous justice. And through his interactions with Antigone, the king is informed of the sense of justice he had overlooked for
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Antigone’s actions are mainly plausible through the direct action in which she exploits to bring justice to her deceased brother. After Antigone buries Polynecies the guard describes the direct action as “The corpse- someone hath just given it burial, and gone away,- after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh, with such other rites as piety enjoins” (Sophocles 10). Antigone decides to
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State control A well established theme in Antigone is the right of the individual to reject society's infringement on her freedom to perform a personal obligation,[14] obvious in Antigone's refusal to let Creon dictate what she is allowed to do with her family members. She says to Ismene about Creon's edict, "He has no right to keep me from my own."[15] Related to this theme is the question whether Antigone's will to bury her brother is based on rational thought or instinct, a debate whose contributors
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shows the opposition between human and divine laws that people are forced to choose between. What the reader witnesses in this play is not only a conflict of personalities, but also a clash of principles. Creon, Antigone’s uncle, is also the ruler of Thebes. Creon is viewed as a practical man as he distances himself from the tragic purpose and goals of Oedipus. He states his only interest is in political and social order. Creon represents a political ideal and loyalty to his city. He has organized a
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suicide. Creon rules the country of Thebes. His hierarchy is fragile and his system is corrupt. His two nephews, Eteocles and Polyneices, went to battle against each other. Eteocles fought for Creon and Polyneices fought against him. Since Creon's hierarchy is already so fragile anyone who acts as a threat to his crown is considered a traitor and an outcast. Both Eteocles and Polyneices end up killing each other during their battle. Eteocles is given a proper burial ceremony, but Polyneices is left
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a traitor because Polynices brought in troops to attack Thebes. Creon does not feel he deserves a proper religious burial; He forbids anyone to burying Polynices. Creon thinks his body should just rot instead. Burial was very important in this time because they believed a proper burial was essential for afterlife. Antigone thinks her brother deserves to be buried and she will not let anything stop her from giving Polynices a proper burial. Antigone is following her moral compass and disregarding
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Ismene: The Good of Her Kingdom Sophocles’ play Antigone tells the story of the struggle of Antigone, a princess of the city of Thebes, who buries her brothers despite going against the law. Her sister, Ismene, warns her against going against the law that states no one on Polyneices army is allowed a burial. This is set because Eteocles and Polyneices, brothers to Antigone and Ismene, went to battle for the throne while Eteocles reigned. Antigone does not see the harm to the city if she buries
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traitor to Thebes. Antigone, who is sister to Polynices, defies Creon, and gives him a proper burial. When Creon becomes aware of her betrayal he sentences her to death. Antigone’s pride, is expressed in her unwillingness to admit that her actions were unjust, in the burial of her traitor brother. Even with the promise of death, she did not falter in voicing her disapproval of the King’s proclamation, to Creon himself. She felt, traitor or not, her brother deserved the same burial as
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From 550 BC to 220 BC, the theatre of Ancient Greece blossomed. The god Dionysus was honored in a festival called Dionysia – from which the dramatic genres of tragedy, comedy and satyr were born. In this essay I will focus on Greek tragedy, with reference to Antigone, by outlining the basic use of dramatic style, staging including the use of masks in costume; as these features are typical of Greek theatre, but in particular I have chosen to illustrate the developments and changes in the genre of
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