1. RAYAT SHIKSHAN SANSTECH S.M.JOSHI COLLEGE HADAPSAR M.A.-II (TERM:-III)
Subject:-Drama in English
TOPIC NAME:-Antigone drama themes
And summery
Mr.Suresh.Bhosale
Dept of English

2. Antigone: Introduction
Greek playwright Sophocles wrote the last play in the Theban Trilogy,Antigone,
around 442 B.C. The Theban Trilogy consists of Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, but the play
considered the last of the three was, ironically, written first. Only seven of Sophocles's one hundred-twenty-three tragedies have survived to the modern era—with the trilogy surviving the ages intact. These three plays are perhaps the most famous of the seven, with Antigone performed most often.

3. Antigonetells the story of the title character, daughter of Oedipu(the former king of Thebes, who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, and who renounced his kingdom upon discovering his actions), and her fight to bury her brother Polyneices against the edict of her uncle, Creon, the new king of Thebes. It is a story that pits the law of the gods—"unwritten law"—against the laws of humankind, family ties against civic duty, and man against woman.
Many playwrights in Ancient Greece used mythological stories to comment on social and political concerns of their time. This is what Sophocles may have intended when he wrote Antigone. Based on the legends of Oedipus, Sophocles may have been trying to send a message to the Athenian general, Pericles, about the dangers of authoritarian rule.

4. Antigone: Sophocles Biography
Sophocles lived from c.496 to c.406 B.C., during the Golden Age of Athens ( B.C.), the Greek city-state of which he was a citizen. He was an active citizen, participating in the city's infant democracy. He was involved in the war against the Samians and during the war became friends with Athens's popular general, Pericles. He founded the Thiasos of Muses (a society for the advancement of music and literature), and was an ambassador to many foreign countries throughout his lifetime. He was also a priest of the healing god Amynos and kept the sacred snake representing the god Aeschulapius while his temple was being built. He was a very well-rounded citizen, not only leading an active political and religious life but also writing one hundred and twenty-three tragedies, of which only seven remain intact for modern readers.

5. Antigone:-Themes
Thematic Overview:-
Antigone was written over two thousand years ago, in a land that is still considered the birthplace of democracy. Sophocles was a part of this democratic movement, but custom, tradition, and the rules of the gods also played an important role in Greek life. This is reflected in the themes present in the play: choices and their consequences; custom and tradition; gods and religion, and betrayal. These issues make Antigone constant in terms of its relevance to audiences of all times, as these issues represent some of the fundamental challenges faced by humankind.

6. Choices and Consequences:-
Just as in life, choices in Antigone have their consequences. From the outset, Antigone's decision to bury Polyneices seals her fate. Her refusal to obey Creon's edict to leave her brother's body to be consumed by wild animals leads to her capture and to her death. Similarly, Ismene's refusal to help Antigone ends her relationship with her sister. When Antigone is caught, Ismene is refused the honor of sharing her fate and instead is forced to live on alone, tortured by a loss of family and the knowledge that she may have made a cowardly choice.
Sophocles may have wanted to show that choices made for apparently logical reasons—Antigone's burial of her brother according to "unwritten law," Creon's need to keep order after a civil war, and Ismene's following of the traditional role of women—can have terrible unforeseen consequences. Though all three characters make the choice that seems right to him or her, the results are disastrous. Antigone dies, Creon loses his family and power over the state, and Ismene is doomed to live the rest of her life alone, knowing that she did not try tohelp her family.

7. Custom and Tradition:-
The Ancient Greeks were polytheists, which means that they believed in many gods, and each god represented a specific aspect of life. Zeus, however, was the king of the gods, and he ruled over all. Antigone invokes the name of Zeus several times in the play as she defends her burial of Polyneices. Greek custom and tradition dictated that the women in the immediate family of the deceased should carry out the burial rituals, which meant that Antigone and Ismene were responsible for the burial of both of their brothers. When Creon orders Polyneices left unburied, Antigone felt she was acting according to the "unwritten laws" of Zeus by burying him. To her, all dead should have the honor of burial, no matter what they did in life, and she felt she was justified in fulfilling this custom and obeying the law of Zeus.

8. God and Religion:-
Creon's edict that Polyneices should go unburied invites disaster on Thebes. Teiresias tells Creon that "the gods reject our prayers and our sacrifices," and pleads with Creon to listen, warning the king that the furies—agents of the god of death—are angered and will seek retribution. Teiresias further tells Creon: "You have dishonored a living soul with exile in the tomb,/hurling a member of this world below./You are detaining here, moreover/a dead body, unsanctified, and so unholy ,/a subject of the nethergods.'' In other words, Creon has infuriated the gods by imposing his own set of laws instead of following the laws that they have set down for humankind to follow.

9. Betrayal:-
The conflict between Creon and Antigone becomes a sort of family versus state conflict that results from thebetrayal each group perceives in the actions of the other. When Polyneices married into the royal family of Argos, Creon felt betrayed that one of his own should seek power in another state (and later fight against The bes in a war), and Creon views Antigone's burial of her brother as another act of betrayal. Antigone isbetrayed both by Ismene's refusal to help her bury their brother, and by Creon's actions when he learns what she has done. Finally, Eurydice expresses betrayal by Creon, who failed to save their son Haemon from suicide and failed to take action to prevent the death of their older son in the civil war that began the tragic course of events depicted in the play. In his introduction to his translation of Antigone, Richard Emil Braun asserted: ''Betrayal of faith and disregard of family bonds are the themes of Creon's reign. Permeated with hate, life lacks cohesiveness; the polar opposite of life, the anti-world of Hades, must then contain love."

10. Antigone: Summary
Scene I Summary:-
Antigone opens shortly before dawn outside of the palace at Thebes, where Antigone meets her sister Ismene. Together they grieve over the losses their family has suffered. First, their father, Oedipus, had unknowingly murdered his own father, ascended the throne, and married his mother. When Oedipus discovered this, he put out his eyes and wandere'd as an exile from Thebes until his death. Then their brothers Polyneices and Eteocles had killed each other in a battle between Thebes and the city of Argos. Now, because Polyneices fought against Thebes, Creon, the new king of Thebes, has ordered that his corpse remain unburied, thus condemning his spirit to roam the earth for one hundred years.

11. Scene II Summary:-
Because Thebes has stood victorious in the battle against Argos, the chorus calls for a celebration. Then, as they begin to wonder why they have been summoned to the palace, Creon, newly crowned as king over the city-state, comes from the palace. He asks the elders to show him the same loyalty they had previously awarded Oedipus. He restates his edict that Polyneices shall not be buried, vowing that no foe of the city shall be his friend. The chorus seems uncertain about administering Creon's edict and ask that younger men perform the task. One of the young men guarding the body of Polyneices comes forward.
The sentry guard tells Creon that someone has sprinkled dust on the body of Polyneices—an attempt at burial that violates Creon's decree. An elder suggests that the act is the work of a god. Creon disagrees and warns the old man against such foolish proclamations. It is base, he argues, to defy the state, not the glorious act of a god. The king suspects that money has provoked someone to attempt Polyneices's burial.

12. Scene III Summary:-
The chorus praises the wonder that is man and the cunning by which he can capture all of nature, or, conversely, escape nature's snares, all, that is, except death. Then the guard returns bringing Antigone as his captive. The guard reports that just after they had removed the dust from Polyneices, Antigone was caught trying to bury her brother a second time. When questioned by Creon, Antigone admits to both attempts at burial. Creon condemns her; Antigone asserts that she has done a noble deed by honoring her family and following the "unwritten law."
Creon suspects that, due to her odd behavior earlier, Ismene may be an accomplice in her sister's crimes.When she comes forth, the chorus of elders recognizes that Ismene is innocent; her tears are not of guilt but sorrow for her sister. Yet Creon demands her confession, and she gives it.

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