Antigone by Sophocles

Overview
In the battle for the throne of Thebes, Antigone's brother Eteocles has died defending the city, while her brother Polyneices has died attacking it. Creon, the king of Thebes, has sworn that although Eteocles has been given a soldier's funeral, Polyneices' body will remain unburied. Antigone defies the decree and buries her brother, even though her sister, Ismene, refuses to help her. Creon then condemns both Antigone and Ismene to death. He changes his mind about Ismene, but locks Antigone away in a stone vault. Later, after the blind prophet Teiresias predicts doom, Creon decides to free Antigone, only to find that she has committed suicide. Antigone's death leads to the suicide of Creon's son, Haemon, who was betrothed to her, and then to the suicide of Creon's wife, Eurydice.

Discussion Questions- We will use these to guide our discussion. Be prepared to answer these each class.
Antigone Questions Prologue/Parados:

1. Why does Antigone feel it is her duty to bury Polyneices? Why doesn't Ismene?
2. Compare Antigone and Ismene. Simply put- how are they similar? How are they different? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
3. What is the purpose of the Parados? Summarize


Antigone Questions: Scene 1
1. Explain the metaphor Creon uses in his opening words? What does it mean?
2. What values and principles help to characterize Creon? Does he possess any character flaws? Cite evidence to support.
3. Is Creon justified when he commands that no one should bury Polyneices? Why?
4. What does the Chorus (in the Ode) say about human greatness? What does the Chorus say about human weakness or limitation? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Antigone Questions: Scene 2


1. What metaphor does the Sentry use to describe Antigone? What is the purpose of this metaphor?

2. What two types of laws conflict in this scene? What does Antigone believe about these two types of laws?

3. Explain what Antigone means when she says “Words are not friends.”
4. How do the themes in Ode 1 differ from the themes in Ode 2?

Antigone Questions: Scene 3

1. Why is Creon intent on harshly punishing, even family members, for their foul deeds.

2. What does Haimon claim is God’s crowning gift to man? Why does Haimon bring up The City?

3. Explain what Haimon conveys through the use of the tree and sailing analogies.

4. How is the Chorus’ allusion to Aphrodite appropriate?

Antigone Questions: Scene 4

1. Explain how Antigone’s use of allusions is appropriate for her situation.

2. Does Antigone take responsibility for her situation or are others accountable?

3. Analyze Creon’s final decree before Antigone is taken away. What does it reveal?
4. Summarize the Chorus’ thoughts.

Antigone Questions: Scene 5

1. What does Teiresias claim to be the Gods’ reaction to the offerings? What does this reveal?

2. How does Creon react to Teiresias, and how does he justify his actions? Cite text evidence.

3. To what do the Choragos make their appeal to Creon?

4. Analyze all of the appeals people make to Creon throughout the play. How are they different, and what do his reactions to them say about Creon’s character?

Antigone Short Answer Questions

To be completed after the play in 3-5 complete sentences. Use your notes on Aristotle’s concept of the tragic hero and your understanding of the play to answer the following questions.

1.  What does Ismene mean when she says, "We are only women; we can't fight with men?" How does this statement relate to Antigone's saying her crime is holy? What is the implication?

2.  Teiresias tells Creon, "The only crime is pride." What does he mean by this? How can pride lead to faulty judgment? Can poor decisions be rectified? How?

3.  "Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other." -- Carl Jung
To what extent is this quotation related to King Creon and his regime? Does this statement about power justify Creon's actions?

4.  "A right is not what someone gives you; it's what no one can take from you." -- Former Attny General Ramsey Clark
Discuss the significance of this statement as pertaining to the relationship between Antigone and Creon.

5.  Regimes must value the continuance of their power above the happiness of their people in order to create a stable society. Using examples from Antigone, defend, modify, or refute this statement.

6.  By the end of the play, the Chorus determines that "wisdom is by far the greatest part of joy". Is the Chorus right? Determine which values/traits are most important to human prosperity.

7.  Is Creon a tragic figure? Do you feel sympathy for him at the end as someone who initially tried to do good yet was overwhelmed by circumstance, or do you believe that he is a bullying, misogynistic control-freak who gets what he deserves? Try to come up with arguments for both sides. Could the play have been called Creon instead?

8.  Conversely, what, specifically, makes Antigone a tragic figure? Think about what exactly you mean by such words as "tragedy" and "tragic."

Antigone-Themes and Essay Questions. Write a 500-700 word essay on one of the following topics.

Loyalty or obligation to family: Throughout the text, there are numerous cases where the value of loyalty and obligation to family is tested. In the end of this text, nearly all family ties have been broken for one reason or another. Why is it important to the characters in this text? How and why are these family ties tested and broken? What does it teaches us about the importance of family?
Obedience to civil law: Creon states that anarchy is the greatest of evils, and that good lives are made through discipline and lawfulness (3:42-47). How does this line of thinking explain Creon’s judgments? Discuss how Creon’s emphatic support of this value is a positive and negative quality as a leader.
Observance of religious law: Antigone was originally written by Sophocles to be performed at a religious festival. How does this relate to author’s intent and the text’s treatment of the importance of observing religious law? Provide specific examples from the text to defend your answer.
Protection of Personal Dignity: If “personal dignity” is defined as “an individual’s own self-respect,” many characters in Antigone work to maintain theirs. Conflict occurs in the play when one character’s personal dignity interferes with what another character thinks is right. Keeping this in mind, explore what the play teaches us about the importance of protecting not you’re your own personal dignity but that of others as well?
Freedom: Some people say freedom is a state of mind. Other people say that freedom is the right to choose actions for yourself. Still others say freedom is a basic human right. Keeping these things in mind, examine the topic of freedom using Antigone as your guide. Be sure to look at the words and actions of particular characters to see what we in the 21st century can learn from this ancient text.
Protection of Community or Nation: Thebes has undergone an extremely stressful time before the play begins. Oedipus’ family seems plagued by the gods. The city has been in the state of civil war since Etocles would not surrender the throne to Polyneices as promised. Creon comes to the throne untested, and he rules with “an iron fist.” Explore how effective Creon’s rule of Thebes is keeping in mind the gains and losses he, his family, and the city have experienced.