Antigone Greek Tragedy

Key Terms for Antigone  Greek Tragedy: A drama where the main character is brought to ruin, usually through tragic flaw  Dramatic Irony: The audience knows something characters don’t  Hamartia: tragic flaw that causes the hero to fall  Hubris: excessive pride  Peripeteia: Great reversal of fortune from good to bad  Deus ex Machina: “God from the machine”; gods intervene to solve a problem  Catharsis: Moral or spiritual renewal; relief from tension or anxiety

Oedipus Rex  plague in Thebes  The Oracle says that the plague will end when King Laius’ killer is caught and expelled  Oedipus vows to curse and drive out the murderer  The blind prophet, Tiresias, tells Oedipus that Oedipus killed Laius, but Oedipus doesn’t believe him

 Oedipus’ wife, Jocasta (Lauis’ widow) - the Oracle prophesied Lauis would be killed by his son  They cast their baby out of Thebes, and Laius was killed by a band of thieves  The description of the murder sounds familiar to Oedipus  He says he may be Laius’ killer

 When he was growing up in Corinth, the Oracle of Delphi prophesied that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother  He fled from Corinth  Oedipus eventually realizes that he is the son Laius and Jocasta got rid of years ago.

 Jocasta hangs herself.  He gouges out his eyes and asks Creon to exile him and take care of his daughters, Antigone and Ismene.

 Anti- = “against”  gone = generative; reproduction  The name Antigone carries the idea of being against reproduction, or motherhood  What can we guess about Antigone’s character?

 A = Antigone and Haemon  B = Creon and Ismene  C = Chorus (strophe), Teiresias, and Eurydice  D = Chorus (antistrophe), Guard, Messenger, and 2 nd Messenger

Match each word with its definition  Peripeteia  Hamartia  Hubris  Catharsis  Deus ex Machina  Moral or spiritual renewal; relief from tension or anxiety  Great reversal of fortune from good to bad  “God from the machine”; gods intervene to solve a problem  Tragic flaw that causes the hero to fall  Excessive pride