Post #11: Greek Tragedy Festival

Open Question

  In the Greek Tragedy Antigone, Sophocles represents Antigone’s troubled upbringing as her motivation for her rebellious independence and her view that true family loyalty is compromising desires to preserve valued relationships. The loss of Antigone’s brother, Polyneices tormented her throughout the play. Due to Polyneices’ attack on Thebes, Kreon, another of their kin, decided he could not have a proper burial. Antigone’s decision to go against the king of Thebes and bury Polyneices showed her priorities are with her family, not her city. Once news of Antigone’s actions made its way to Kreon, Antigone was ready to accept the consequences, as she felt they were justified. The death of Antigone's brother negatively impacts every single relationship she has. Kreon’s treatment of Polyneices caused Antigone to develop a disdain for her uncle. Her relationship with Ismene, her sister, crumbled as Antigone was sickened by her initial disinterest in helping bury Polyneices properly, and was later manifested when Antigone refused Ismene’s help. Not because she wants her sister to live, but because she doesn't want Ismene to have any credit for Antigone’s selfless actions, since her newfound interest in helping Antigone is coming from a place of selfishness. She now sees Ismene as weak and disloyal. Her brother’s death also affects her relationship with her fiancee, Haimon, the son of Kreon. Kreon wants his son to have no part in their marriage due to his judgemental opinions toward Antigone.He believes his son can do better alluding, "there are other plots for him to plow" when asked why he would take away his son’s love. All the pain and suffering caused Antigone to take her own life. She wanted people to feel her pain as she did. The curse set upon the family Antigone is punished by Kreon for standing firm in her belief that siding with your family trumps following the orders of man. Even after the curse of her family, death of her brothers, and betrayal of her sister, her strong-will carries her through with her statement that she would rather die than dishonor her family in hades and the gods who watch all. Sophocles creates a common theme of family and loyalty in Antigone. The death of her brother supports this theme by providing an example of a tough situation that Antigone has to go through. It adds to the overall meaning of the text: stay loyal to those that are close to you no matter the consequences, and you will be proud of your actions.

 Prose Essay 

 In Antigone’s struggles, Sophocles’ displays the loyalty Antigone shows to her brother in opposition to Kreon’s control. Antigone’s ability to remain unphased by all Kreon does to change her desire of a traditional burial for her brother exemplifies a life of both free will and fate. Through Sophocles’ use of dismissive diction, foreshadowing and syntactical arrangement, Sophocles’ tells that through Antigone’s devotion, she shows true loyalty falls with that of family value over loyalty to the authority of Kreon. From the opening lines, tension is evident between Antigone and Kreon. Sophocles’ starts the scene with Kreon asking Antigone if she is ashamed of her defiance to him and the city through staying loyal to her brother. Antigone proves she doesn’t follow what she doesn’t believe in when she responds to Kreon saying, “I’m not ashamed of reverence for my flesh and blood,” (l. 511). The continuous structure of the conversation being back and forth questioning highlights the personal persuasion each character is trying to place on the other. The accusation Kreon makes of Antigone favoring one brother over the other allows the audience to conclude that the pride of his power clouds his understanding of loyalty. Through Antigone’s defiance to Kreon, she warns him of the false assumptions Kreon makes through clouded pride about the real want of the Gods, a proper burial. The imagery created through Antigone asking consideration of Kreon is a sign of maturity in her trying to tell what is “faultless down below,” (l. 522). She speaks against Kreons contrasts of “good and bad” (l. 520) and instead shows how much she is willing to overcome as someone who “joins in friendship, not in enmity,” (l. 523). Antigone ends with the last question in the exchange between her and Kreon, signifying not only the contrast in views the characters have, but also are seen foreshadowing each of their fates through the structure of the conversation established. Antigone continues to demonstrate pride in her extreme opinions and her brothers legacy. Sophocles uses foreshadowing to allude how extreme pride and loyalty can possibly lead to harsh consequences. Antigone is verbally arguing with Ismene, frustrated with the fact Ismene wants to take away from the significance of her death. Antigone is planning to kill herself in order to prove her loyalty. Ismene doesn’t want to feel guilty about not helping so she decides she wants to die alongside Antigone. Antigone has pride in her actions and doesn’t want it shared, she wants the attention so people will feel the suffering she’s been through. She expresses to Ismene, “Don’t try to share this death with me. Don’t claim as yours a deed you did not touch. My own death will suffice.”(l. 547) The planning of one’s own death because of loyalty can only lead to harsh consequences. People will suffer and will feel guilt all because of loyalty. Continuing the discussion of loyalty and focusing more on Antigone’s negative attitude towards Ismene, Sophocles shifts to a new interaction between Ismene and Antigone using a spiteful tone to depict the disdain that Antigone now carries towards Ismene. This attitude is further represented through a polyptoton, paradox and critical diction. “Take heart! You are alive, but my soul has long since been dead, that I might offer help to those who died,” (l.559,560). This paradox places emphasis on Antigone’s views, she’s showing how she came to the conclusion that her noble act was the best decision. She’s felt like her soul has been dead this entire time, and because of that she has no issue helping those who have passed, even if it means creating consequences for herself. Sophocles also uses the paradox “If i do laugh it’s because of grief.” (l. 551) to emphasize Antigone’s frustration with the way Ismene is interpreting her words. Ismene doesn’t truly understand her sisters’ actions and Antigone is becoming frustrated because of it. Critical and harsh diction is added to aid the depiction of Antigone’s disappointment in her sister. By using the words “Wretch” (l. 554) and “begrudge” (l. 553), it shows the emphasis of the idea that Antigone is disappointed by her sister and sees her as weak and disloyal. Despite Ismene’s claim of newfound loyalty, Antigone sees through Ismene’s declaration and has no desire to allow her sister to join in on the implications of her noble act because of Ismene’s past actions and views. This shows how your past actions can affect someone’s attitude towards you. This attitude towards Ismene represents Antigone’s respect and dedication to the act of loyalty and her disdain for Ismene’s inability to understand the true meaning of loyalty by not standing with Antigone and her brother. It’s also shown in her defiance against Kreon, as his pride keeps him from sympathizing with Antigone. Through strong syntactical arrangement, creative diction, and foreshadowing, the audience is shown how Antigone values family over her individual life, and how she values loyalty above all else. The foreshadowing Sophocles creates through the question answer format with harsh diction.

 Choral Ode

 In Antigone by Sophocles, the chorus sings regarding the full power gods have over humanity due to common mistakes. In the ode, the story of Oedipus’ cursed family is being told as the last of the family meets their unfortunate fate. The Chorus’ use of visual figurative language, harsh connotative diction, and imagery, creates the story of a family illustrating the way humanity is prone to doom. Throughout the ode, harsh diction is used to enforce the merciless yet unavoidable actions of the gods to humankind. This communication can be seen between the two groups through natural destruction. An allusion to the people representing the powerless is in place to contrast the level of damage their lives face through causes of natural destruction. Sophocles’ references what mortals consider to be uncontrollable as the actions used by the gods to control the fate of each individual. By using verbs like “tossed” and “surging” a sense of helplessness is shown in a family whose carefree life has been “... tossed by the gods,” (383). Feeling trapped in “the murky darkness beneath,” (l. 588) elicits the feeling of fear that comes from helplessness. Extended similes through the comparison of fate to nature depicts the terror that can come from beauty. As doom goes from being described as “surging wave of salt sea,” (l. 586) that runs over “murky darkness beneath,” (l. 588). What the audience views themselves as is expected to differ through the truth the chorus believes in the doom being the beauty in the people who represent a “murky darkness.” In contrast to the natural destruction willed by the gods, the motivation towards the downfall is seen as materialistic wealth. The chorus says “no vast thing moves into a mortal lives without doom,” (l. 614). Through choosing to use “vast” as a means of humanity’s obsession with the idea with the more you have, the more wealthy you are, and the higher you’re authoritative status. With authoritative power, “he burns his foot in the hot fire,” (l. 619). Those with wealth and power become a higher value than civilians, and therefore believe they have a status they can name themselves. Someone who burns their feet in the fire stepped onto what they had no control over, and believed to be indestructible against. But no matter what wealth is held, doom is destined to happen. Sophocles creates a shift of authoritative power to specifically focus on Zeus by describing the weakness that everyone below him, mortals and gods alike, share . Sophocles creates a visually pleasing picture of Olympus by describing it as a “dazzling splendor” (l. 610, 611), what is viewed as heavenly. To aid with the emphasis of Zeus, Sophocles uses multiple examples of personification to bring attention to the weakness of the transgressions of men. He uses “Sleep that conquers all” (l. 606), and “tireless months” (l. 608) to depict how Zeus is not weakened by things that would usually overpower men. By using these techniques, it shows how nothing and no one can overpower the potentate that Zeus is. Throughout the choral ode,the visual imagery of doom in contrast to the lighter tone in Olympus foreshadows a fate of humankind. Sophocles emphasizes the dark power the gods have in their ability to “strike (l. 597)” generations of a family down “with no release”(l. 598). But despite what seems barbaric by the audience is justified by Sophocles in the way that humans faults lead them to their own demise. The way the “hope shone forth” (l. 599) was “cut down”(l. 601) with “senseless words”(603) demonstrates that the opportunity of an alternate ending was never able to happen from the mistakes that came from the own mortals mouth. Sophocles proves that humanity is prone to a doomed fate. Through visual imagery, various types of figurative language, and contrasting tones between the mortals and the gods, he proves that the gods alone control the fate of humanity. But with that, humanity is responsible for their actions that lead to their unfortunate downfall.