Examples Of Foil Characters In Antigone

Foil characters are described as two characters who have opposite characteristics, they are similar in some way, but for the most part their ideas and personalities are different. In the play “Antigone” written by Sophocles, the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, are perfect examples of foil characters because although they were raised by the same parents, in the same kingdom, their attitudes contradict. Antigone is not afraid to speak up to Creon, but Ismene begs Antigone not to break the law because she fears King Creon. Ismene believes that she should follow the men’s orders even though her brother did not receive a proper burial, however Antigone is willing to become a criminal if it means putting Polyneices’ soul at rest. As you can see,
the two sisters of Thebes do not often agree, but they are still family and love each other unconditionally. In addition, we know a lot about Antigone’s personality and decisions, so she is a round character, but the author supplies few details about Ismene, so she is a flat character. Antigone can also be described as a static character since her opinion on burying Polyneices does not change throughout their e story. On the other hand, Ismene is a dynamic character, because she did not want to take the risk of burying her brother at the beginning of the story, but soon after Antigone went through with her crime, Ismene regretted not helping her, and wanted to take the blame if it meant lessening her sister’s consequences. Antigone and Ismene’s foil characteristics are represented with words and symbols on masks like the ones that were used in Ancient Greek theater.