Antigone Works Data Sheet

Major Works Data Sheet

Name: Alison Page Date: November 20, 2013 The numbers in parentheses represent the point values for each requirement.

AP Literature

Biographical information about the author:

Title: Antigone Author: Sophocles Date of Publication: circa 440 B.C. Genre: Tragic Drama Historical information about the period of publication:

Considered one of the 3 greatest playwrights of classical Greek theater, Sophocles was a respected citizen who held political and military offices in 5th century BC Athens. Wrote more than 100 plays. Best known for his 3 Theban plays. Credited with changing Greek drama by adding a 3rd actor, reducing the role of the chorus and paying greater attention to character development

Classical period. Greek authors drew material from a cycle of 4 epic poems, the Theban Cycle, which was very familiar to audiences Sophocles used this common story but made Oedipus a contemporary character to represent many of the ideals of Athenian leadership. Antigone was performed sometime around the year 441 B.C.E., just before Athens fought a campaign against the revolt of Samos. Sophocles was selected to be one of nine generals in that campaign. These historical events are relevant because some of the play’s central issues are the appropriate use of power by the state, the possibility of justifiable rebellion, and the duties of citizens to obey the laws of their government. A long-held tradition suggests that the popularity of Antigone lead directly to Sophocles’s election as a general.

Characteristics of the genre:

Tragedy Tragic Hero Tragic Flaw (Hubris) Prologue, Parados, Episode, Stasimon, Exodus

Plot summary: Antigone's Twisted Family Tree:A brave and proud young woman named Antigone is the product of a really messed up family.Her father, Oedipus, was the King of Thebes. He unknowingly murdered his father and married his own mother, Queen Jocasta. With his wife/mother, Oedipus had two daughter/sisters and two brother/sons.When Jocasta found out the truth of their incestuous relationship, she killed herself. Oedipus was pretty upset too. He plucked out his eyeballs. Then, he spent his remaining years wandering through Greece, being led by his loyal daughter Antigone.After Oedipus died, his two sons (Eteocles and Polynices) battled for control of the kingdom. Eteocles fought to defend Thebes. Polynices and his men attacked the city. Both brothers died. Creon ( Antigone's uncle) became the official ruler of Thebes. (There's a lot of upward mobility in this city-state. That's what happens when your bosses kill each other.)Divine Laws Vs. Man-made Laws:Creon buried Eteocles's body with honor. But because the other brother was perceived as a traitor, Polynices's body was left to rot, a tasty snack for vultures and vermin. However, leaving human remains unburied and exposed to the elements was an affront to the Greek Gods. So, at the play's beginning, Antigone decides to defy Creon's laws. She gives her brother a proper funeral.Her sister Ismene warns that Creon will punish any who defy the law of the city. Antigone believes that the law of the gods supersedes a king's decree. Creon doesn't see things that way. He is very angry and sentences Antigone to death.Ismene asks to be executed along with her sister. But Antigone doesn't want her by her side. She insists that she alone buried the brother, so she alone will receive punishment (and possible reward from the gods).Creon Needs To Loosen Up:As if things weren't complicated enough, Antigone has a boyfriend: Haemon, the son of Creon. He tries to convince his father that mercy and patience are called for. But the more they debate, the more Creon's anger grows. Haemon leaves, threatening to do something rash.At this point, the people of Thebes, represented by the Chorus, are uncertain as to who is right or wrong. It seems Creon is starting to feel a little bit worried because instead of executing Antigone, he orders her to be sealed inside a cave. (That way, if she dies, her death will be in the hands of the gods).But after she is sent to her doom, a blind old wise man enters. He is Tiresias, a seer of the future, and he brings an important message: "Creon, you made a big stupid mistake!" (It sounds fancier in Greek.)Suspecting the old man of treason, Creon becomes infuriated and refuses Tiresias' wisdom. The old man becomes very cranky and predicts bad things for Creon's near future.Creon Changes His Mind (Too Late):Finally scared, Creon rethinks his decisions. He dashes off to release Antigone. But he's too late. Antigone has already hanged herself. Haemon grieves beside her body. He attacks his father with a sword, misses completely, and then stabs himself, dying.Mrs. Creon (Eurydice) hears of her son's death and kills herself. (I hope you weren't expecting a comedy.)By the time Creon returns to Thebes, the Chrous tells Creon the bad news. They explain that "There is no escape from the doom we must endure." Creon realizes that his stubbornness has led to his family's ruin. The Chorus ends the play by offering a final message:"The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with mighty blows of fate." . (www.plays.about.com)

Major Works Data Sheet

Page 2

Describe the author’s style: (2.5) Sophocles writes with an eloquence that gives this play and very refined tone. His imagery and use of figurative language creates a poetic tone about the context of the plot. The ease between lines contrasts greatly with the action of the story’s plot, giving each event a greater meaning in the eyes of the reader.

Identify an example passage that demonstrates the style. Explain the example if necessary. (Please include a page number): (2.5) “A mother bird came back to a stripped nest, heard/ Her crying bitterly a broken note or two/ For the young ones stolen. Just so, when this girl/ Found the bare corpse, and all her love’s work wasted,/ She wept, and cried on heaven to damn the hands/ That had done this thing” (1357).

Significant Quotes (5) (Choose at least five and include page numbers. Quotes should demonstrate the range of the entire work.) Quote

Significance

“I will suffer nothing as great as death without glory.” (Antigone, lines 112-113)

1. Antigone holds love and honor towards her brother above any punishment that may result from her burial of him. This proclamation reveals not only her strong sense of familial ties, but also her bravery when standing up for what she believes in.

“Whoever thinks that he alone possesses intelligence, the gift of eloquence, he and no one else, and character too..such men, I tell you, spread them open – you will find them empty.” (Haemon, 791-794)

2. Haemon is foreshadowing Creon’s eventual downfall as the result of his pride in this passage. The underlying theme is that those who show excessive self-righteousness are actually the most weak, and Sophocles will later use the deaths of all of Creon’s loved ones to reveal the importance in valuing family and people over principle (even if in a position as powerful as a king).

“I have longer to please the dead than please the living here: in the kingdom down below I’ll lie forever.” (Antigone, 88-90)

3. This passage reveals the cultural context of the story’s plot; faith in the Greek gods and in an afterlife motivates people living on earth to do what they can to please the gods, and therefore, ensure a promising eternity. Antigone prioritizing her fate after death above judgment by other people reveals the magnitude of strength she holds in her beliefs. Sophocles is developing the theme that self worth should not be shadowed over by expectations of outward sources.

“Take me away, quickly, out of sight. I don’t even exist – I’m no one. Nothing.” (Creon, 1445-1446)

4. Creon finally realizes the fault in his previous convictions at this point, marking a dynamic change in his character. By realizing his lack of worth without his loved ones around him, Creon has lost his superiorly intimidating demeanor. By asking to be taken away “quickly, out of sight”, Creon’s weakness is revealed to the reader in a pitiful tone. He is embarrassed of his ignorance and, as a result, can no longer accept himself.

“The mighty words of the proud are paid in full with mighty blows of fate, and at long last those blows will teach us wisdom.” (Chorus, 1468-1470)

5. Sophocles is communicating a common theme of the weakness in pride in this final conclusion of the Chorus. By using the alternative viewpoint of the Chorus to validate the moral lesson learned, the reader is able to understand Sophocles’ intentions; the direct proclamation of the theme gives it a much more definite tone in comparison to an expression through the actions of characters. The influence of the Chorus gives the reader a clearer understanding of the plot because of the absence of any limited viewpoints as employed through the active characters.

Major Works Data Sheet

Page 3 Significant Characters (5)

Name

Role in the story

Significance

Adjectives

Antigone

Daughter (and ½ sister) of Oedipus; buries her brother Polynices, defying law of King

Antigone defies all previously established expectations of the characters by standing up for herself and remaining firm in her personal beliefs

Brave, stubborn, has integrity

Ismene

Daughter (and ½ sister )of Oedipus, sister to Antigone

Refuses to help Antigone bury their brother but wants to stand alongside Antigone in death, Antigone turns her away because her inability to stand tall during the act of courage does not give her any reason to be a martyr

Cowardly, pitiful, sympathetic

King of Thebes

Awareness and employment of his powerful in a benevolent and selfish way is what eventually causes his downfall, lacks the integrity that Oedipus once ruled with

Prideful, conceited, ignorant

Chorus

Citizens of Thebes

Reactions to the plot’s major events gives the reader a clearer perspective on how to interpret the actions of the characters

Omniscient, common, judgmental

Tieresias

Blind prophet; warns Creon of the consequences of his pride

His literal blindness among his clairvoyant gift represents the symbolic blindness of those over which he prophesizes’ weakness in not accepting his advice

Wise, metaphorical, logical

Eurydice

Creon’s wife

Killing herself after Haemon commits suicide marks the final desolation of Creon from a powerful king into an unworthy wretch

Sorrowful, indifferent

Eteocles

Son (and ½ brother) to Oedipus; died in battle defending Thebes after refusing to relinquish the throne to his brother

The honorary way in which his death was treated catalyzed the main conflict of Antigone disobeying the law of the land by going and burying her other brother

Selfish, brutish

Polyneices

Son (and ½ brother) to Oedipus; died in battle, fighting against Thebesconsidered a traitor and denied burial by King

Being denied his rightfully earned position as king caused his death, but the love of his sister gave him the eventual honor of his decision to correct such a corrupt moral outcome

Powerless, explosive, angry

Creon

Major Works Data Sheet Setting and significance (Please list and describe three examples; include page numbers) Unity of time and place

Page 4 Significance of the opening scene (2) Prologue: Antigone and Ismene both mourn their brothers’ combined deaths, however Antigone becomes set on giving her brother, Polyneices, a proper burial. This confirmation sets the premise for her eventual death and marks the beginning of the plot’s rising action.

Place: Thebes Time: One day

Parados: The Chorus glorifies Thebes and belittles the existence of Polyneices because of the devastation he caused their city. This sets the premise of the town’s majority standing against Antigone in her determination to rightfully honor her brother.

Significance of the ending/closing scene (3) Exodus: Creon is brought to an end by his misery upon hearing of his son and wife’s suicides. He denounces his tyrannical ways of ruling and wallows in his loss. The people’s trust in the gods reveals the destruction that can come from an overpowering sense of self-worth.

Significant Literary Devices (such as symbol, foreshadowing, imagery, irony, etc.) that contribute to the themes of the work (List and explain 5; include page numbers) (5)

Motif (suicide)- The commonality of the characters’ deaths at their own hands reveals the influence of the gods’ power over the citizens of Thebes; prophecy never fails to foreshadow the ultimate fate of each character, and those characters’ carrying out that seen future gives the gods a concrete hold over the society (1376). Blindness (irony)- Thiresias’ prophetic abilities amongst his lack of vision ironically outlines the default in the lack of other characters to take his prophecies as valuable information. His link to a greater knowledge of fate reveals the great capacity of the human mind, but also the demise of that knowledge resulting from misuse (1371). Metaphor- Sophocles continually uses metaphor to more deeply interpret the significance of each event throughout the plot. His use of “Our hearths and altars/ Are stained with the corruption of dogs and carrion birds/ That glut themselves on the corpse of Oedipus’ son” (1370) gives a harsher, yet more comprehendible, identity to those betraying the fallen brother. Foreshadowing- the employment of prophetically inept characters as well as input by the Chorus foreshadows the main events of the plot, characterizing the story as Greek tragedy (1370). Imagery- Sophocles’ use of imagery in his writing gives his piece a sensory appeal in addition to creating a personal relationship with the reader. In the passage “I was sitting in my chair of augury, at the place/ Where the birds gather about me. They were all a-chatter,/ As is their habit, when I suddenly heard/ A strange note in their jangling, a scream, a/ Whirring fury; I knew that they were fighting,/ Tearing each other, dying/ In a whirlwind of wings and clashing” (1370) the reaction of the birds is used to show the great magnitude of importance in what their actions were mirroring.

Themes (List five universal topics that the work conveys.) (5)

Blindness vs. Sight Natural Law Citizenship vs. Family Loyalty Fate vs. Free Will Feminist Oppression