Themes in Antigone Essay

The Greek hero Bellerophon was trying to ascend to Mount Olympus to join the Gods when Zeus punished him for his hubris by startling his steed, Pegasus, throwing Bellerophon off to plummet to his death. While the downfalls of Antigone and Creon in Sophocles Antigone are not quite so literal, they are just as tangible. The central theme of pride resulting in downfall is shown through both Antigone and Creons actions throughout the course of the play.

Antigone tries to conceal her pride through noble actions, but her true intentions manifest themselves her words. In the very beginning of the play Antigone asks her sister Ismene if she will help her with the task of burying their brother, Polynices, knowing full well her sister would balk at the idea of breaking the law; she then tells Ismene Even if you should have a change of heart, Id never welcome you in the labor, not with me (lines 82-83) and that even if [she dies] in the act, that death will be a glory. (line 86) Antigone is proud of the fact that she will be the sole rebel in the city, the only one a woman no less who would dare defy the kings decree. If she truly only wanted to give her brother his divine right to burial, she wouldnt tell Ismene to shout [her crime] from the rooftops tell the world!(lines 100-101) so that Antigone wont suffer [anything] as great as death without glory.(line 112) Later, when Antigone is indicted for her crimes she brutally spurns Ismene, even when her sister would die with her; after all Who did the work? (line 610) Ismene did not share the task with Antigone, even though as previously stated Antigone would never let her anyway. She goes further to say Never share my dying, dont lay claim to what you never touched. (lines 615-616) Antigone will not split the triumph of her death with anyone; no martyr drags their sister to the grave along with them, but for all her talk of glorious death, her downfall comes in the form of being imprisoned in a rocky vault (line 873) located down some wild, desolate path never trod by men. (lines 870-871) She wanted a public death and instead she is forced to rot in an unknown tomb, forgotten by all. Even though she tries to change her situation by committing suicide, her death is shadowed by the consequential deaths of Haemon and Eurydice; her last resort failed, Antigone dies in near anonymity.

Creons pride is a bit more prominent than Antigones, his can be divided into three major types of pride: rulers pride, mans pride and hubris. As the new king of Thebes, Creon sits at the reins of the city with no other able to pass judgment on his decisions but only to follow them. He starts out reasonable, wanting his citizens to follow [his] orders closely(line 240) and to never side with those who break [his] orders (line 245). Only a madman would when the death is the price (line 247), which is why Creon is baffled when he hears knews that someone has broken his first law: what man alive would dare (line 281) to provoke the wrath of Creon in such a fashion? His belief that that man the city places in authority, his orders must be obeyed, large and small, right and wrong (lines 748-751) illustrates Creon does not care whether he is even right or wrong, only that his orders are always right simply because the words sprang forth from his mouth as the king. He remains steadfast in this principle even when trading words with the trusted seer Tiresias; when Tiresias prophecy casts Creon in a less than flattering light, Creon accuses him of slander and asks him whether [hes] aware [hes] speaking to the king (line 1173) as if the fact of Creons position would make a difference in a God-given divination. Alongside his rulers pride, Creons mans pride is first made apparent when he finds out the criminal who buried Polynices was Antigone, claiming while [hes] alive, no woman is going to lord it over [him]. (lines 592-593) Creon is so upset over being slighted by a member of the lesser sex that he sentences her to death, [robbing] his son [Haemon] of Antigone (line 657) who is his betrothed; without thought to a bond as close as theirs (line 643) but only his own wounded pride. When arguing with Haemon, who was trying to reason with his father over this decision, Creon dictates to never be rated inferior to a woman, never. (line 760-761) However, Creons greatest crime of self-glorification stems from his hubris, he believes that he can transcend the laws set forth by the Gods and strip people of their rights to proper funeral rites: he forbade Polynices from being [dignified] with burial (line 228) and Antigone dead or alive will be stripped of her rights here in the world above.(lines 976-977) All of these examples of egotism result in the loss of everything that Creon loved, his wife and his son, because his pride forced Antigones hand and then sentenced her to death.

Both Creon and Antigones vainglorious lives end in ruin, losing all that they desired. Their fates could have been prevented if theyd shown some humility and listened to their voices of reason: Haemon and Ismene respectively. And so the mighty words of the proud are paid in full with might blows of fate. (lines 1468-1469)