The chorus in antigone essay

The contrast between what the audience knows and what the characters know sets up the tension, the dramatic irony. These added events serve to intensify the play. Although the last play in the Oedipus trilogy, Antigone was written first. The play won for Sophocles first prize at the Dionysia festival.

Synopsis[ edit ] Prior to the beginning of the play, brothers Eteocles and Polyneices, leading opposite sides in Thebes ' civil war, died fighting each other for the throne.

Creonthe new ruler of Thebes and brother of the former Queen Jocasta, has decided that The chorus in antigone essay will be honored and Polyneices will be in public shame.

The rebel brother's body will not be sanctified by holy rites and will lie unburied on the battlefield, prey for carrion animals like worms and vultures, the harshest punishment at the time. Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the dead Polyneices and Eteocles. In the opening of the play, Antigone brings Ismene outside the palace gates late at night for a secret meeting: Antigone wants to bury Polyneices' body, in defiance of Creon's edict.

Ismene refuses to help her, not believing that it will actually be possible to bury their brother, who is under guard, but she is unable to stop Antigone from going to bury her brother herself.

Antigone's family tree Creon enters, along with the chorus of Theban elders. He seeks their support in the days to come and in particular, wants them to back his edict regarding the disposal of Polyneices' body. The leader of the chorus pledges his support out of deference to Creon. A sentry enters, fearfully reporting that the body has been given funeral rites and a symbolic burial with a thin covering of earth, though no one who actually committed the crime saw this.

Creon, furious, orders the sentry to find the culprit or face death himself. The sentry leaves, and the chorus sings about honouring the gods, but after a short absence, he returns, bringing Antigone with him. The sentry explains that the watchmen uncovered Polyneices' body and then caught Antigone as she did the funeral rituals.

Creon questions her after sending the sentry away, and she does not deny what she has done. She argues unflinchingly with Creon about the immorality of the edict and the morality of her actions. Creon becomes furious, and seeing Ismene upset, thinks she must have known of Antigone's plan.

Ismene tries to confess falsely to the crime, wishing to die alongside her sister, but Antigone will not have it. Creon orders that the two women be temporarily imprisoned. HaemonCreon's son, enters to pledge allegiance to his father, even though he is engaged to Antigone.

He initially seems willing to forsake Antigone, but when Haemon gently tries to persuade his father to spare Antigone, claiming that "under cover of darkness the city mourns for the girl", the discussion deteriorates, and the two men are soon bitterly insulting each other.

When Creon threatens to execute Antigone in front of his son, Haemon leaves, vowing never to see Creon again. Creon decides to spare Ismene and to bury Antigone alive in a cave.

By not killing her directly, he hopes to pay the minimal respects to the gods. She is brought out of the house, and this time, she is sorrowful instead of defiant. She expresses her regrets at not having married and dying for following the laws of the gods. She is taken away to her living tomb, with the Leader of the Chorus expressing great sorrow for what is going to happen to her.

Tiresiasthe blind prophet, enters. Tiresias warns Creon that Polyneices should now be urgently buried because the gods are displeased, refusing to accept any sacrifices or prayers from Thebes. Creon accuses Tiresias of being corrupt. Tiresias responds that because of Creon's mistakes, he will lose "a son of [his] own loins" [2] for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth he does not say that Antigone should not be condemned to death, only that it is improper to keep a living body underneath the earth.

All of Greece will despise Creon, and the sacrificial offerings of Thebes will not be accepted by the gods.The Chorus in Antigone consists of a group of ordinary Theban citizens, people loyal to their state and their gods, to the law and the common human values of family and society.

Through the Chorus, Sophocles is able to represent public reaction to the crises of unfolding events in his play. Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος IPA: [oidípuːs týranːos]), or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around BC.

Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. Sophocles was born at Colonus, just outside Athens, in BC, and lived ninety years. His long life spanned the rise and decline of the Athenian Empire; he was a friend of Pericles, and though not an active politician he held several public offices, both military and civil.

The Antigone chorus is one of the most popular assignments among students' documents. If you are stuck with writing or missing ideas, scroll down and find inspiration in the best samples.

Antigone chorus is quite a rare and popular topic for writing an essay, but it certainly is in our database. The Chorus introduces the players. Antigone is the girl who will rise up alone and die young. Haemon, Antigone's dashing fiancé, chats with Ismene, her beautiful sister.

Though one would have expected Haemon to go for Ismene, he inexplicably proposed to Antigone on the night of a ball.

Table of Contents	Divine Law The play opens with the debate between the sisters Antigone and Ismene about which law comes first—the religious duty of citizens, or the civil duty?
Other Subject Areas	It consists of three parts: Despite its atypical form, the Apology is clearly important for understanding the significance of Socrates for Plato, and it has been remarked frequently that through him the work functions virtually as a foundation myth for the Western philosophical tradition.

Creon is. Sophocles' Antigone - Creon's Flaws - Antigone: Creon's Flaws In the play Antigone, I choose Creon to be the tragic hero because he is the King of Thebes and he looses everything he has.