Antigone  

He refers to her as “woman” and he is stating she is lesser than him and is meant as an insult that she has no power.  

This reveals Antigone's family loyalty towards her brother and her strong will. Shows her devotion to natural law above other things and going against Creon's wishes for what she believes is right.  

“did you know of the proclamation forbidding this?” this shows that Creon gives her the chance to say she mistakenly buried her brother without knowing the consequences.  

“I know I must die”. This shows she knows the consequences of burying her brother and she is still going forward with it.  

It is divine law because the theme here is civil disobedience and is going against the laws that the king put in place.  

The Chorus says It is clear; the girl is the violent child of a violent father. She does not know how to yield in misfortune. They basically say that Antigone doesn’t know when to stop and when ‘enough is enough’? 

He doesn’t. As usual, he jumps to conclusions and must be right about if she is guilty or not. 

Antigone proclaims that there is no shame in honouring her own blood. Meaning that she is proud to have buried her brother and given him his rights. 

I think Antigone is displaying unselfish pride because she is putting her sister before herself 

11.  What does the Chorus reveal about the future of Oedipus’ children on page 45? What literary device (term) is Sophocles using here?  

“the ruin never leaves them but creeps on through generations of the family” this is a metaphor explaining the family's fate is a disaster.  

 

 
 

 

Haemon comes to Thebes to warn Creon about the consequences of sentencing Antigone to death. Haemon states “You have good judgement, and the orders you give me I shall follow”, demonstrating that Haemon wants the best for his father, although at times he questions his choices.  

 

 Creon believes that the sons should obey they should be obedient they should harm to their father's enemy's and honour his friends as he does.  

 

Quotes  

 

Creon believes it is best that Haemon doesn’t marry Antigone because he has deemed her as an evil woman because she has wronged him and shown civil disobedience. In line 611-616 Creon states to Haemon ‘My son, never abandon your good sense to pleasure, for a woman; remember that what you embrace turns cold in your arms, an evil woman sharing your bed and home. And what wounds more deeply than a loved one who is evil? Spit her out like an enemy, let this girl marry someone in hades. Which clearly tells us as the readers that she is evil and she cannot be trusted, in his eyes at least.  

 

He cares so much about the safety of the city that he ignores what Haemon has to say and ignores his warning about how the citizens of Thebes are siding with Antigone. He puts the safety of the city and his belief in man-made laws above everything else. 

 

Citizens should obey the state in most matters. However, in Antigone’s case, she should not be sentenced to death for burying Polyneices because she had positive intentions and buried him because he was her brother.  In lines 618-19 Creon states “Let her sing hymns to Zeus who protects the family”. This means that traditional law would support Antigone’s decision to bury Polyneices, because she was protecting and honouring a family member.  

 

Creon's attitude toward women is one resembling any other individual in ancient Greece, regarding women as weak and 'worthless' individuals who serve nothing but a distraction to the more significant issues a man is preoccupied 

 

 

He won't allow himself to be beaten by a woman, and because of his pride he tells Haemon that it is better to die than be bested by a woman. 

 

       Throughout page 50 Haemon tries to reason with his egotistic father Creon, he tells Creon that ‘I cannot say that you are not right to speak as you do, and I would not know how’ continuing, ‘ It is not you nature to pay attention to everything that people say or do or find to criticise’ he then tells his father that his very own city, ‘I can hear under the cover of darkness how the city mourns for this girl’ and lastly ‘ She did not allow him to be torn apart by scavenging dogs or birds; does she not deserve a golden prize, of honour’. 

 

Antigone was obeying the law of the gods by burying her brother Polyneices, but because of the law that Creon had put up about no one being allowed to bury Polyneices she was breaking a civil law. In the eyes of Creon, she did something unforgivable, but in the eyes of the gods and the citizens of Thebes she was doing a good thing. 

 

In this argument, Haemon is being rational, and Creon is being irrational. Creon argues that he is the ruler of Thebes and is disappointed in Haemon for siding with Antigone. Creon says, “By Olympus, you can be sure you will regret your taunts and insults!” and this statement is ironic because Creon is the one who has said insults, not Haemon. Creon is blind to see the damage his words have, because he is so focused on obtaining the laws set by state.  

 

 In his anger Creon declares that Antigone should be sealed in a tomb while alive, so she can starve to death, which is what he calls “natural causes”. 

 

The line doesn't correspond with the third episode  , could you please clarify this with us  

 

Creon’s rage is like a child’s temper tantrum because it is all based on him not getting his way, his behaviour exhibits a tyrannous leader because he is unfair and unjust, he also enforces his law by punishment, and he expresses his authority in an oppressive way. He chose to choose a cruel form of punishment as the action to his temper tantrum. 

 

 

Sophocles uses rapid dialogue (stichomythia) to show Creon’s blindness, because he refuses to accept Haemon’s advice which is that Creon doesn’t respect the power he possesses as King, especially when he “tramples on the God’s honour”. Creon is too blinded by his pride of his state (his hubris) that he doesn’t see what Haemon has to say and later regrets his decision to kill Antigone.  

Creon believes he is always right, and he is blinded by his own pride so much that the won't listen to his own son  

 

 

In the stanza they use antithesis which is the opposite to show the difference between love and she is going to die. 

 

 

In the stanza they use antithesis which is the opposite to show the difference between love and she is going to die. 

After reading the fourth episode, it was clear that the mood was sombre and almost depressing. The mood was set as Antigone has just realised and begun to think about the consequences of her actions. At first, Antigone took the action to bury her brother without reservations, but it is clear, that only now she understands that she will not marry or have children and miss out on the experiences of life. While Antigone feels this way, the chorus want Antigone to remember the reasoning of her actions, the Gods natural law. They state, “Do you not depart glorious and with praise to that deep place of the dead?” (line 768-769). This shows that they believe that Antigone can die with honour and gloriously because she is doing it, to please the Gods.

2.       On page 61-63, in what lines does Antigone reveal the tragedy of her punishment? What is the significance of her language?
 “No wedding songs have hymed me” (line 766)
  “Fate puts me to sleep just like her [Niobe]” (Lines 786-787
  “How I go unwept by loved ones” (line 804)
  “With no home among mortals Nor a corpse among corpses” (lines 809-810)

“Going on my last journey, looking at the sun for the last time, as I never will again.” (line 759-761)

“Give her no respite, but wear her away, as below her ever-weeping brow." (line 782-784)

“Wretched as I am, my fate is unwept, and no loved one, mourns for me”. (line 850-854)

 In this episode Antigone has a bit of a change in character. She seems to have finally feeling sad about dying. She is questioning whether the Gods will accept her when she dies and that no one will miss her when she’s gone. She is not as confidant as we have seen her before, she is made to be the ‘classic emotional woman’. Before finally returning to her strong-willed character who has ‘won this reward’. 

Antigone is referencing the curse, which was placed upon her father, which she belives has been placed on her. She thinks that because of her father's actions, her whole family was cursed and doomed since birth. As she has strong belief in the Gods, Antigone feels that her fate has been set by the Gods who also placed the curse and reflects on the possibility it is not the God’s wishes for her to die, but a punishment.

4.       Why doesn’t Creon have Antigone stoned rather to be ‘shut her in the covered tomb, that I [he] proclaim[s]’? Is he obeying divine law or civil law?

Creon would rather put her in the tomb as it would mean that he is ‘guiltless’ in her death. He decreed that she would be put in the tomb as he wanted to ill her but didn’t want to be plagued by the curse because of it. By putting her in a tomb she will technically die of ‘natural causes’. At this point he is obeying divine law. He knows about the way pollution could come to this city so he tried to avoid this by ridding himself of blame for Antigone’s death.

5.       In regard to this punishment, what is the significance of her ‘living burial’ in contrast to the earlier refusal to bury the ‘dead’ Polynicies. How might this symbolism impact the public of Thebes and their view of Antigone/Creon?

Episode 4 and Stasimon 4 demonstrates to the audience the contrast between the fact that Creon would rather bury someone who is alive and possibly doing a just act than to bury a soldier who died in a battle. This makes Creon look irrational and stupid to the Thebes. Whereas Antigone is now held in a higher regard by the Thebes because she is suffering a tragic death by their questionable dictator. 

6.       What new ties to family do we learn of Antigone in lines 871-80, what is strange about her justifying her own sacrifice (use notes on P66). Find at least four quotes.

In lines 871-80, Antigone says that she would not have buried a husband or child, as she believes they are replaceable. In her logic she can “have had another husband if one had died” (lines 874-875). She could also have “a child from another man, if I had lost one” (lines 875-876). It is strange that Antigone would say this as it is ‘dramatically inept and confuses our perception of Antigone’s motivation’. It is confusing for Antigone to have a different motivation from one relative to another. She may have said it, so she can justify that burying her brother was the right and worthwhile thing to do. Antigone's also contradicts her motivation when she says she “would never take on this task against the city’s will” (lines 873-874) when before this she was willing to do anything to fulfil the needs of the Gods.                        

7.       As Antigone is led away by the guards, what does she reiterate was her motivation for breaking human, or civil law?

The quote, “See what I suffer, and at whose hands, because I respected reverence.” (Line 907-908) demonstrates that her motivation was to follow the laws of the Gods and that she was happy to sacrfice anything in order to please them.

8.       In Stasimon 4/ Fourth Choral Ode , the chorus refers to “untiring destiny”. What is meant by this common theme in Greek tragedy?

I think what this means is that fate in inescapable. Our destiny (which is determined by the Gods) can not be escaped. Destiny will always catch up with us, it cannot be avoided. In Greek theatre destiny is almost like karma, no matter what you do , it will come for you. Antigone doesn’t try to avoid her destiny, she runs head-first into it. 

The messanger tells euridyce that he took Creon to polyniecies’ corpse, they prayed for mercy from the gods and they blessed him with his holy rites. Then they went to the tomb that held Antigone, they heard loud voices and the messenger went to inspect only to find Haemon crying loudly over his lost love who had hung herself. Creon then came in and tried to seperate his clinging son from his dead niece, Creon didn’t say anything to his father, expect spitting at him and then falling on his own sword before Creon could stop him. Haemon died clinging to his love.

5. What is Eurydice’s reaction to her son’s death?
After hearing that her son had died, she says that she “fell back in terror” (line 1144). She is obviously distraught at the news, as any parent would be. After hearing the details of how Haemon dies, she leaves without saying anything. She goes back to her room with no other reactions and we don’t know what happens to her.

6. What does Creon say he hopes will come quickly following his wife’s death p.99?

 He says he wants to be struck through the heart with a two-edged sword. He wants to be punished for what he has done as he has realised everything he has done.

7. Creon’s final line in the play reveals his tragic flaw. What is his tragic flaw?

In his final line Creon acknowledges that his pride has left him with nothing and now he has no one to look to or cry to because his family is dead and everyone hates him.

8. Translate Choragos’ final line into your own words (lines 1320-1326)
To be wise is the best way to ensure happiness. Respect the Gods. If you are cocky you will be punished by the gods. With age, learn and collect wisdom.