The Law That Goes Sideways
Will the gods reward Antigone for her courage and loyalty to her brother in the afterlife, or will she face consequences? In Sophocles’ Antigone (441 b.c.), Creon’s monologue secures the attention of the reader through the use of rhetorical devices, attempting to persuade him into believing that the law he created is crucial and must be upheld even if his people disagree with it. After Creon supersedes the previous king and Antigone is caught trying to bury the Polyneices’ body, Creon jails her, and haemon, the son of creon, tries to protect her because they were engaged to be married. Creon utilizes rhetorical devices to further develop his argument and persuade his people and son to make what he believes to be the right choice, following his new rule that forbids the burial of Polyneices after Antigone attempted to thwart his plans.
By appealing to pathos, Creon conveys his feeling of anger, want of power, and his pride, making his argument more emotional, and therefore, more convincing. Creon asks Haemon irately, “do you want me to show myself weak before my people?” (line 26). This quote shows that Creon wishes to feel reassured about his absolute power over his people and thus, his desire to save face. The question and the circumstances in which it was asked also reveal his hubris. Creon reasons …show more content…
For example, on line 47-48, Creon says “If we must lose, Let’s lose to a man, at least!Is a woman stronger than we?”, the statement says that losing to a woman is not noble and that laws are not meant to be broken so easily. The rhetorical question appeals to pathos which gives the statement a more emotional appeal knowing that Creon doesn’t want to lose to Antigone and letting her get away with what Antigone had done by the burial of Polyneices. Finally, that statement refers to Haemon being weak and depressed and he would preclude anything from happening to
Will the gods reward Antigone for her courage and loyalty to her brother in the afterlife, or will she face consequences? In Sophocles’ Antigone (441 b.c.), Creon’s monologue secures the attention of the reader through the use of rhetorical devices, attempting to persuade him into believing that the law he created is crucial and must be upheld even if his people disagree with it. After Creon supersedes the previous king and Antigone is caught trying to bury the Polyneices’ body, Creon jails her, and haemon, the son of creon, tries to protect her because they were engaged to be married. Creon utilizes rhetorical devices to further develop his argument and persuade his people and son to make what he believes to be the right choice, following his new rule that forbids the burial of Polyneices after Antigone attempted to thwart his plans.
By appealing to pathos, Creon conveys his feeling of anger, want of power, and his pride, making his argument more emotional, and therefore, more convincing. Creon asks Haemon irately, “do you want me to show myself weak before my people?” (line 26). This quote shows that Creon wishes to feel reassured about his absolute power over his people and thus, his desire to save face. The question and the circumstances in which it was asked also reveal his hubris. Creon reasons …show more content…
For example, on line 47-48, Creon says “If we must lose, Let’s lose to a man, at least!Is a woman stronger than we?”, the statement says that losing to a woman is not noble and that laws are not meant to be broken so easily. The rhetorical question appeals to pathos which gives the statement a more emotional appeal knowing that Creon doesn’t want to lose to Antigone and letting her get away with what Antigone had done by the burial of Polyneices. Finally, that statement refers to Haemon being weak and depressed and he would preclude anything from happening to