Preview

Sophocles 'Antigone And Euripdes' Medea

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
350 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sophocles 'Antigone And Euripdes' Medea
In Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripdes’ Medea, the minor female characters Ismene and the Chorus determine the protagonists’ actions and fate. Ismene serves as the compassionate but rational and prudent counterpart to Antigone's headstrong style of decision-making with no regard for consequence. In the beginning of the play, Antigone starts off on the wrong foot. She defies the order set by Creon to not bury Polynices, her brother. She starts to perform the burial rituals on Polynices and resolves to honor her brother at all costs when Ismene laments that while she too loves her brother, her disposition does not allow her to defy the state. She feels like “[she] has no choice – [she] must obey the ones who stand in power” or they both will
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Foil In Antigone
    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Foil In Antigone

    In addition, when Sentry brings her to Creon saying it was her who buried Polyneices, she proudly admits it was her doing (2.53). As Creon tells her she will receive execution, she showed no signs of weaknesses and instead agreed. Contrary to Antigone is Ismene. Unlike her sister, she only thinks of the consequences to decisions. She is…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Antigone and Thelma
    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Antigone and Thelma

    Similarly, both women's decision and actions starts their tragic path. Antigone is decided to bury her brother, Polynices, being aware that disobeying will lead to death. While talking to her sister, Ismene, she said "he has no right to keep from my own"60. Antigone believes that as the woman of the family is her responsibility to bury her brother and it's the law of god which should overrule the law of state. She doesn't fear confrontation and admits to Creon that it was her who bury his body at the time of accusation. Antigonie says "give me glory! What greater glory could I win than to give my own brother decent burial?"561 She believed her death was her glory. Her pride and ambitious way to be remembered made her fearless of death.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Polyneices In Antigone
    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Polyneices In Antigone

    Antigone and Ismene also show different characteristics in the story. Firstly, Antigone is strong, loyal, kind, and determined. She is determined and strong because she went alone to bury her brother Polyneices. She went to bury Polyneices because she said that he deserves it and she didn't want her brother to rot and be eaten by the ants. Secondly, Ismene is timid and follows the rules. For example, when Antigone asked her if she would come and help her bury their brother Ismene immediately said no. That shows that she follows the rules…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Multilayered Motives In Antigone
    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Multilayered Motives In Antigone

    Despite what or who Polyneices was fighting for or against, Antigone feels that he should be honored for the simple fact that he her “blood brother”. Due to such a strong belief that the Creon’s law is wrong and unethical. Antigone even insisted that her sister Ismene was kind of like a traitor because using her her logical judgement of cause and effect she could not bring herself to agreement with Antigones plan. Ismene knew that if she would help in the criminal act of burying her brother, she would be sentenced to death and death was not what she hoped…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone vs Ismene by Sophocles
    • 556 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Antigone vs Ismene by Sophocles

    one another as tempered steel is from a ball of cotton. One is hard and resistant; the…

    • 556 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pinches Essay
    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pinches Essay

    To begin, if Antigone was a man he or she would not have had the obligation to bury the body. Back then, women were not treated as equally as men and women had very few rights to their name. One of their rights however, was having the obligation to bury the deceased family member’s body. When Creon, the king, declared it illegal to bury Polyneices he was not only letting Polyneices soul suffer, but taking away the only right Antigone had. If Antigone was a man, it would not have been her/his duty to bury her brother but Ismene’s since, “He is my [Antigone’s] brother and your [Ismene’s] brother too” (Sophocles 191). So it would have been Ismene’s job to bury the body since Ismene would be the only sister to three brothers. This would change Antigone’s because Ismene would have died trying to bury her brother and protecting her rights to do so.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone (Full Play)
    • 9222 Words
    • 37 Pages

    Antigone (Full Play)

    Listen, Ismene: Creon buried our brother, Eteocles, with military honors, gave him a soldier's funeral, and it was right that he should--but Polyneices, who fought as bravely and died as miserably—they say that Creon has sworn no one shall bury him, no one mourn for him, but his body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure for carrion birds to find as they search for food. That is what they say, and our good Creon is coming here to announce it publicly; and the penalty--stoning to death in the public square! There it is, and now you can prove what you are: a true sister, or a traitor to your family.…

    • 9222 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Medea vs. Antigone
    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Medea vs. Antigone

    Both plays begin with providing the audience with the history and the consequences of certain situations that the characters were involved in. It also brings the audience to the present time, in which the play occurs. This enables the audience to have a clear and refreshed image of what aspect of the legend the play emphasizes or if any alterations were made. In Medea, the nurse is the first character who enters the play and reminds the audience of the legend of the Golden Fleece, and the love between Jason and Medea, from beginning to the end. She also brings them to the present state Medea is in, which is of complete despair and depression after Jason remarried. “And she hates her children now, and feels no joy at seeing them.” (Oates, 292). In Antigone, one of the purposes of the chorus is to provide history to the audience. Although, Sophocles did change the structure a little. The first to enter the play are Antigone and Ismene, who are engaging in conversation over defying the edict forbidding their brothers burial, which brings the audience to the present time. Shortly after, the chorus enters and recounts the reasons for the battle and death of Polyneices and Eteocles, brothers to Antigone and Ismene. The chorus appears every scene to serve as the voice of the culture, and counsels to the characters. “…Save those two of cruel fate, who, born of one sire and one mother, set against each other their twain conquering spears, and sharers in a common death.” (Oates, 192).…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Theme
    • 794 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Antigone Theme

    The play begins with the debate between the sisters Antigone and Ismene about which law comes first, human law or divine law. Antigone invites Ismene to join her in burying their brother Polyneices, though the king, Creon, has forbidden his burial. Ismene reminds Antigone that burial is against the king’s law. She says, “I yield to those who have authority” (line 67). Antigone denies that Creon has authority in the matter of burial, since it is a sacred duty she feels bound to fulfill. She protests, “He has no right to keep me from my own!” (line 48). She explains she is willing to die to do her duty to Polyneices, for “I have to please the dead far longer than I need to please the living; with them, I have to dwell forever” (lines 74-76). Antigone knows that when she enters the afterlife she must answer to them for the rest of eternity and therefore believes it is in her best interest to please them rather than please the king. Though Ismene does not agree, Antigone fears the wrath of the gods far more than the wrath of Creon and decides she will give up her life if it means…

    • 794 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Sophocles Theban Plays, Oedipus, And Antigone
    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sophocles Theban Plays, Oedipus, And Antigone

    Sophocles' The Three Theban Plays (King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone) are three tragedies depicting a shift beyond the beliefs of predetermination to the liberties of choice. Throughout the plays, the tragic hero, Oedipus unveils the truth behind the murder of his father, King Laius and the penalties that follow; consequently, Sophocles capably applies human characteristics to Oedipus to appeal at a broader spectrum. Sophocles utilizes vibrant imageries throughout these plays that uncover Oedipus’ humanisms. By illustrating Oedipus as a human, Sophocles sheds light on the truth of Oedipus’ inability to control his future. For this reason, Sophocles’ distinction behind Oedipus’ choices from his altercations symbolically show human…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Women In Antigone And Things Fall Apart
    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Women In Antigone And Things Fall Apart

    Antigone, the eponymous character, is apart of the royal family in Greek society. Her uncle and interim king, Creon, decrees a rule that no one shall bury the body of her brother, Polyneices, as he is considered a traitor of Thebes. Despite the decree, Antigone still plans to bury her late brother. When asking her sister, Ismene, if she will join her in burying the body,…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sophocles - Antigone
    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sophocles - Antigone

    Antigone is a story about two people who choose to make choices that each are passionate about and the consequences that follow. I can argue that the choice made by Antigone was noble and honorable because she was standing up for what she believed in. Antigone was trying to do what she felt was the right. She was standing up for her family. I think that many people would feel the same way in her situation. Antigone wanted to offer her brother the burial that she felt he deserved. Although it did not seem as though she agreed with what her brother had done she did believe in family loyalty.When Antigone approached Ismene with her proposal, Ismene said no. She justified her decision by telling Antigone that they were already punished and that there was no need to make matters worse for the two of them by defying Creon’s law.…

    • 1482 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Minor Character
    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Antigone Minor Character

    The play Antigone tells the story of one of Oedipus’ daughters standing up to the law in order to honor her brother. The story begins after Polyneices and Eteocles have killed each other and King Creon issues an edict forbidding the burial of Polyneices. In the prologue Antigone’s sister Ismene is introduced. Ismene while a minor character serves a great purpose in the play.…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Creon And Haemon Character Analysis
    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Creon And Haemon Character Analysis

    Using the evidence from the play, it is clear that the characters in the story have realized what they have done wrong and they have broken the cycle of family violence. Throughout the play, the family members spit insults at each other and abuse each other emotionally. The first to do this is Antigone when she tells her sister “you will make me hate you, and the hatred of the dead by all rights, will haunt you night and day”(108-110). Ismene wants her sister to be safe and not make rash decisions but when she tries to help Antigone treats her like an enemy. Ismene loves her no matter what so she does not spit insults back at her. She is the only character who doesn’t act violently in the play and that is why she stays alive by the end of the…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Life's Many Ups and Downs Leads to Many Options
    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Life's Many Ups and Downs Leads to Many Options

    Ismene was the other sister of Antigone and Polynices. She however, did not think that her family was important to her. Antigone told Ismene, "is he not my brother, and yours, whether you like it or not?, I shall never desert him, never," (1.1.39) but still Ismene didn 't want to help. Well, maybe she did but she refused to help Antigone bury their brother because she didn 't want to sacrifice her life. She didn 't like the idea of going against her uncle 's orders like as she says here " you cannot mean....to bury him? Against the order," (1.1.38). That showed that she didn 't have enough courage to go against the orders. However, towards the ending of the story she wanted to be a…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics