All About Antigone

1. All About Antigone Plot ‘n Stuff

2. Background • Oedipus, Antigone’s father has blinded and banished himself after accidentally killing his father and inadvertently marrying his widowed mother. Ew. • His sons, Eteocles and Polyneices first agree to share the throne, but then Eteocles says “um no” and refuses to give up power. • Polyneices teams up with his pals from Argos and attacks his own country. (SO, umm, who is the bad guy here? Hard to say.)

3. Prologue • Antigone (sister of Eteocles and Polyneices) is devastated that the new ruler, her uncle Creon, refuses to give burial to Polynieces (being that he is a traitor and what not) • She tries to convince her sister Ismene to help her, but Ismene is all about the law. Ismene and Antigone are foil characters, and Antigone is REALLY BITTER that Ismene won’t help her.

4. Parados First entrance of the chorus • Here, the chorus sings about the battle from the night before. • We get insight that Thebans believe the gods are on their side. • We also find out that the two brothers kill each other, and that the battle was sibling rivalry more than anything else. • PS. There are a ton of figurative and sound devices in the parados. This is mainly because it is made to be sung.

5. Scene 1 • Creon talks with the Chorus (Theban elders), and he justifies his law that Polynieces be left to rot. GROSS!! • After the chorus agrees to honor the law, a super afraid sentry enters with bad news, there is a dusting of dirt over the body, as if someone has completed a makeshift burial. • Of course, Creon goes into crazy angry mode on the sentry. The sentry must now find the guilty party or be accused himself.

6. Ode 1 (Ode is a lyrical poem) • Here the chorus interrupts to sing for a bit about the power of man. • The only thing that gets in the way of his power is death. • The final paragraph speaks about Creon, and it makes the claim that anarchic man unwelcome in Thebes. Clearly the chorus sides with Creon.

7. Scene 2 • The sentry returns with Antigone. He explains how he caught her burying Polynieces a second time. • She confesses, defending her actions by citing a higher law. (God’s law) • Creon also attacks Ismene, even though she refused to help Antigone. Graciously she accepts fault. • Both sisters are condemned to death.

8. Ode 2 <- again the chorus interrupts • We open up with a theme! YAY! “Fortunate is the man who has never tasted God’s vengeance” • The chorus then talks about the curse of Oedipus’s family, and how his children still cannot escape fate. • The final lines “fate works most for woe/with Folly’s fairest show” means that when things are going good, they can go bad in a flash.

9. Scene 3 • Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigone’sfiance/cousin acts like he agrees with his dad, but he is really buttering him up. He actually sides with his love, Antigone. • He claims that Antigone’s sympathy is an honorable quality. • Finally, he angrily threatens that Antigone’s death will lead to the death of others. foreshadowing much?

10. Ode 3 (more Chorus interruption) • This ode personifies love as unconquerable. This could be in reference to Haemon’s love for Antigone. • The chorus claims that love is stronger than the bond between a father and son. • The ending “merciless Aphrodite” blames the negative consequences of love on the meddling goddess.

11. Scene 4 • Antigone isn’t stoned to death. Instead, Creon decides to lock her in a vault where she will die slowly. • As she is led away she regrets the loss of her life, and she tries to convince Creon that he is being unjust. He (being our fab tragic hero, doesn’t listen). • When he doesn’t give in, Antigone again asserts that what she’s done is right.

12. Ode 4 **Lots of allusions here • Danae: princess imprisoned by her father b/c the prophecy said her son would kill him; Zeus ended up having a son with her who did kill him. • Dryas’ son, King Lycurgus was driven mad and eaten by horses for refusing to worship the Greek god of wine. • The 9 sisters (muses) who once mad were impossible to appease. • King Phineas myth – he imprisoned his first wife, and allowed his new wife to blind his sons because she hated wife #1 so much. ** The final lines “fate found means to build a tomb like yours for all her joy” refer to the fact that Antigone never stood a chance. Fate had plans for her death all along.

13. Scene 5 • The blind prophet Teriesias warns Creon about the danger of leaving Polyneices unburied. • Creon insults Teriesias and wastes a bunch of time. Later he relents and goes to free Antigone. • Unfortunately, the two lovers have killed themselves, and later (in the exodus) he finds his wife Eurydice, despairing, has done the same.

14. Paean(a hymn that asks the gods for help) • The chorus appeals to Dionysus (son of Semele and Zeus) (Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes) and cites locations in Thebes (“Dragon Field” etc.) • The chorus essentially asks for help to avoid the plague and drama Oedipus brought. Cadmus was said to have civilized Greece and created the modern alphabet.

15. Exodus (last episode in a play) • Allusion: Amphion’s citadel is Thebes; Amphion built a wall around Thebes by charming stones to place with music • A messenger explains that Creon is a “walking dead man” who has lost everything. He tells Eurydice of the suicides. Haemon committed suicide in front of his father. • Creon realizes “his own heart has brought him…to darkness” • The burden grows when Creon realizes that Eurydice left to kill herself. • Final chorus quote: “There is no happiness where there is no wisdom”