Haemon

Would you consider a judge a murderer for sentencing a criminal to death? Would you love a man who killed your family? Would you attack the only person dedicated to protecting you? These are the questions that today face the jury, as they decide whether or not they will stand by Creon, the king of our city, and his actions on that fateful day. We all remember what happened on that day. One week ago, Creon set forth the law that no person could bury Polyneices, in an attempt to preserve the honor…

In the Sophocles’ plays of Antigone and Oedipus the King, power plays a central role. In Antigone the power and corruption of King Creon dominate the play. Likewise, in Oedipus the King. Oedipus was also corrupted by power during his kingship. Both these kings were tyrannical, specifically when others would disagree with him or disobey their orders. In these Sophocles plays power inevitably corrupts leaders, as seen in both Antigone and Oedipus the King. The tyrannical nature of Creon during…

Women have endured centuries worth of the constant ebb and flow of society’s perceptions of the role they should play. In earlier times their spot at the bottom of the societal food chain has transcended into literature. Female characters constantly being written into narratives as prizes to be won is no surprise when one takes into account the fact that even from the earliest periods of human history this has been accepted as commonplace. As time goes on and the world matures so does the idea…

In Sophocles’ Antigone, we are introduced to a plethora of different viewpoints regarding character and judgment. The main conflict that is brought to light in the play centers around the treatment of Polyneices’ body after he perishes. The individuals who take up this conflict, Antigone and Creon, are locked into a debate that discusses the concept of justice. Antigone uses familial ties and divine reasoning in her case, while Creon argues that protecting Thebes takes precedence over the family…

The intricacy of the character of Antigone is well developed through the course of the play by Sophocles. Being a lead role in the play, Sophocles evidently intended for her character to be perhaps one of the most difficult to understand. Antigone plays a more masculine role, the laws of the city are being defied by her and no one seems to acknowledge the laws of the gods, which she feels, should be acknowledged more. Her temperament is the same in terms of her rebelliousness against Creon…