Introduction
Antigone is a dreadful tragedy written around 441 BC by the Sophocles. It was the last of the Theban plays but chronologically written first. The other pieces of Sophocles have attracted more controversy and nothing has inspired people more than Antigone (Lewis, p. 35). It is an outline of achievements of man, modern in its tone deceptively, has impressed many, and most probably, it is said if it is attached with, choral odes would turn to this poem. It was written at a time of a national intensity or fervor. When the play was performed, Sophocles was known to be appointed as one of the ten generals to carry out an expedition against Samos. At the peak time of imperialism Antigone was such a prominent play with little propaganda of politics, zero origins of passionate apostrophe, except the right of a daughter to continue the lineage of a dead father. The defensive arguments against anarchy also had no major direct or indirect reference to Athens.
Apart from being bottlenecked with the crises of that time Antigone remains absorbed into its characters and the themes of the play. However, it exhibits all the dangers of a tyrant ruler in the character of Creon to who very less could open up or share their true opinions and feelings who therefore made the most critical error of condemning Antigone. Later, at the end of the play he sympathizes on this act and regrets it the most noticed from the final lines of the script. Athenians who are proud of their tradition of democracy would have figured out this error in a lot of lines and dialogues, which analyzes that the people of Thebes knew he was in denial and completely wrong but have no courage or voice of an opinion to mention him. Athenians would recognize the lack of good sense in tyranny.
Discussion
In the introduction of this dreadful tragedy, they showed two brothers against each other in the Thebes’ civil war died fighting for the throne. Now the new ruler of Thebes decided that Eteocles would be honored than Polyneices (Honig, pp. 29-68). Now the rebel’s brother body was given the hardest punishment with his body lying unburied on the battlefield until worms and vultures feed on it. Antigone and Ismene are showed as sisters of these two characters. Antigone wants to bury the body of Polyneices against the will of the Tyrant king. Ismene scared of death penalty refuses to help her gets disowned by Antigone who goes alone on her own to bury the body of her brother without any consent of Creon. The chorus of Theban elders support Creon with this edict over the burial of Polyneices’ body, they all back his decision until Creon gets the news of a proper burial already been done with the funeral rites and thin sheath of earth covering the body. Creon orders to get the culprit to his court or face death themselves. Later after a while, Antigone was brought to the king until the time Chorus sang in honoring the gods. Antigone was caught by the security guards and brought before performing the further funeral rituals. Antigone was seen bravely arguing with Creon defending her state of morals in her actions and the level of morality in the edict.
Ismene was brought forward too but unlike her sister who confessed the truth also falsely confessed the crime and both were temporarily imprisoned. Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiancé’ gently tried pleading to his father for Antigone’s release by claiming 'under cover of darkness the city mourns for the girl' was also badly turned down by Creon (Jones, pp. 6-17). Creon spares Ismene but Antigone was made to be buried alive in a cave. She was brought down and taken away to her tomb given one last time to defend all her actions while the Chorus played a sorrowful song in sadness of what might happen to her. Tiresias, the blind prophet enters the scene, warning Creon for a quick burial of Polyneices as it is displeasing the gods. He warned Creon that rejection of orders will cause a death of his own son, “A son of his own lions.” for the crimes of Polyneices burial and Antigone’s improper punishment of keeping a human life underneath the earth.
He mentioned that the whole Greece despises him and the gods will not be accepting any prayers of Thebes. This shook Creon and he agrees to right all his wrong doings. He was told by the messenger that Antigone as killed herself where he found Haemon bewailing over the dead, who hung herself. In attempt of stabbing his own father for the tyrannical actions, Haemon stabs himself dies at the spot (Crane, pp. 103-116). Creon carrying Haemon’s body realizes the power of his faulty actions learns the lessons of blaming himself for all the events caused even with the news of the Queen. Eurydice, who dies cursing her husband, proved Creon that even though he was a king but his values against the gods which he protected so much lead to the loss of his own blood, his wife, and his son. The chorus ended that, “Although the gods punish the proud, punishment brings wisdom.”
The important issue is that which is still debated is the second burial related problem. Sophocles’ Antigone cascaded dust over her dead brother, fulfilled the burial rituals on her own, and completed her duty towards him (Tripathy, pp. 26-30). Proper burial shows that Polyneices’ body soul has progressed to the afterworld with or without the removal of dust over the dead body. Now followed by this when his body was uncovered Antigone went back again to cover it and perform the religious burial ritual but this act seemed meaningless and motiveless by any other meaning but just the necessity of the plot so that she could be shown in an act of disobedience, leaving with no signs of her guilt.
Many commentators suggested that the first burial was taken place by the gods if they cited the security guards’ description and the observations of Chorus. Arguments on the stubbornness of Antigone proved that she was not very much fond of the act of keeping her brother covered. It does not take much to understand why Antigone had to go for the second burial when the first one would have been justifying all the obligations of religion with her stubborn attitude it was just an act of defiance towards Creon and a respect for her brother demonstrating her love for him. She was an unfortunate, tragic and a wretched character who was overwhelmed with impulsiveness and emotions seeing her brother uncovered that could be seen that she went right away to cover him without thinking of the importance of her action or the consequences regarding her safety and protection. Therefore, Antigone is actually a dreadful tragedy written by the Sophocles.
Conclusion
Antigone is a mesmerizing example of a tragic hero with the starting of the tale with Antigone being the daughter of royalty but lead to an inevitable and tragic ending. Despite her downfall and failures, she gave full justice to the spirit of humans, which outshined until the end of the play, marking the whole tale as a true yet tragic story. Creon is destroyed by his own actions and the death of Antigone herself outlines the beginning of defeat, followed by the suicide of Creon’s own true heir as Antigone’s fiancé, after that king, Creon’s wife killed herself and Creon takes all the blame for these events. Therefore, the outcome of the situation is decided and clear, denouement the conclusion so this conclusion of Antigone ends the play giving readers and viewers learn from the suicides of Antigone, Haemon, and Queen Eurydice. The example of the disgraceful King Creon been sent away to exile. Thus, Antigone and Ismene represent both the aspects; one of the innocence of a child and the second her two sided vulnerability, grievous proof of reality. Her courage and decisions appears in contrast to her sister’s timid nature and in tragedy, at least she marked a high moral ground without a doubt. As said in one of the tragedy quotes “In tragedy, it's hard to find a good resolution; it's not black and white: it's a big fog of gray.” Antigone was therefore a complete reference of such a tragic representation.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crane, Gregory. "Creon and the" Ode to Man" in Sophocles' Antigone." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 92 (1989): pp. 103-116.
In Greek Tragedy, the Ode is one of the most ancient of all plays. Before there were plays of individuals speaking and acting to each other but the Greek Theatre assembles the Choral acts meant to commemorate the honor of the gods. It steps out of the circumstances of characters struggling but the Chorus directly relates to the gods and the audience. The chorus played its second ode of the play when the guard reveals to Creon that Antigone has disobeyed the commands of the ruler. The ode primarily refers to as the Ode to Man, which includes the man’s attempt in dominating the Earth. Man, must not “dwell with dishonor,” is cautioned by the Chorus of Theban Elders concluding that he will be otherwise dealt with conservative and pious elders.
Honig, Bonnie. "Ismene's forced choice: Sacrifice and sorority in Sophocles' Antigone." Arethusa 44.1 (2011): pp. 29-68.
This paper was dedicated to the one of the first female soldiers to die in Iraq from Military Intelligence, Alyssa Peterson. Known to take part in interrogations which included torture but she refused but killed herself later on. She was earlier admonished on the bases of showing empathy towards the prisoners. It is remembered that she was always perplexed about how to be two people at the same time one inside the cage and the other outside the wire. She was designated to the base gate where she had to supervise the Iraqi guards, and was sent for suicide prevention training but she was known to shot herself with her own service rifle.
Jones, Kendra. "Approaching Antigoner. A Critical And Performative Analysis Of Sophocles' Antigone, Spurring The Creation Of A New Post-Dramatic Work, No More Prayers." Interdisciplinary Humanities 31.3 (2014): pp. 6-17
For over 2000 years, they have been calling Antigone a political, dramatic, and philosophical myth. The earliest version is from Sophocles’ and it is said that a version Euripides did precede Sophocles. Over time, Sophocles has covered the milestones in contemporary poems and plays who wanted to try his own hand in continuing the inception of this already resonating story with the audiences. Judith Malian stated that Antigone has an ancient voice wherever there is the courage to speak against the conventional constraints and the stiff regulations for the extraordinary potential of humans.
Lewis, R. G. "An Alternative Date for Sophocles'" Antigone"." Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 29.1 (1988): p. 35.
This paper stated the possibility of an alternative date of Antigone rather than being in the late 440’s it could be first made in the late 438. Even though the argument for this does not hold a solid proof depending on interpreting the evidence for a date, which is conventional. This passage as compared to a combination was over amended and textually unable from the ancient Life of Sophocles. This compilation is a late Hellenistic from the layers of many sources accumulated known as mostly rubbish. With the rest of all the evidence over the historical data the research has implications which are inevitable not to our understanding of the play but the sound information and the motives of Sophocles’ views with suggestions offered with full acceptance that there can be differences in opinions.
Tripathy, Jyotirmaya. "Biopolitics In Sophocles's ANTIGONE." Explicator 71.1 (2013): pp. 26-30
Bio politics marks the entry of biological perspective into the area of political dimensions. It is a classic feature of a normalization state. The work states a bio political analysis of Antigone where the complex body of nature has a chaotic relationship with the power of the state. Two conflicting approaches are firstly by Creon and secondly by Antigone. The Theban political community is a body, which grants all the rights and citizenship. Then the other body as Antigone shows the sacred part of the latter approach that is present beyond the state’s principles and disciplinary ideology with virtue of its attributes, which is inseparable from the rights.
