Summary:

Antigone is chronologically the third part of the Oedipus Rex Trilogy which tells the story of Antigone,
the daughter of Oedipus, after her father's death. The story opens at the end of a battle between
Antigone's brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, for control of Thebes. Both brothers died in the battle, but
Creon, the new king of Thebes, has declared that while Eteocles should be buried with honors
Polyneices body should be left unburied. This is a severe punishment for Polyneices since the Greeks
believed that one could not go to the afterlife unless one's body was properly buried. Since she loves
both of her brothers, Antigone decides to bury Polyneices in spite of Creon's order and tries to enlist her
sister, Ismene, in the task. Ismene refuses to break Creon's law. Antigone says the law of the Gods is
more important than mortal man's law. It is ironic that just as Antigone is burying her brother, Creon
comes on stage declaring that anyone caught doing so will be put to death.

When Antigone is caught burying her brother, shemakes no apology, declaring that she is only doing
what is right. Creon is a proud man and no amount of convincing will make him change his mind. The
plot thickens as it comes out that Creon's son Haemon is engaged to marry Antigone. He tries to use
reason to convince his father that killing Antigone for burying her brotherwill make him unpopular and
hurt his rule. Creon accuses his son of disloyalty and sends Antigoneto be locked in a cave with only
limited food and water thus sending her to her death. Finally, Teiresias, the blind prophet who foretold
the tragedy of Oedipus, arrives and manages to convince Creon to change his mind by foretelling of the
deaths that will come from this Creon's action, but it is too late. When they get to the cave, Antigone is
already dead, a suicide. Haemon also commits suicide and upon learning of her son's death, Eurydice,
wife to Creon, follows her son's example. Creon is left with nothing but his kingship He had put his pride
and his power ahead of his family and angered the gods. Although he kept his kingship it was poor
consolation for losing both his son and his wife.

Literary and Critical Analysis:

Literary and critical analysisis a close-up look at a text. It involves examining different elements of the
text including genre and cultural context. This lesson uses literary and critical analysis to get a close-up
look at the Greek tragedyAntigone.

Genre inAntigone
First, what is the genre ofAntigone?Genreis the type of text, or the form that the text takes. Some
examples of genre include plays, short stories, and novels.Antigoneisa Greek play written by Sophocles
around 441 BC. Because it is not only a play, but a Greek tragedy, the elements of the Greek tragedy
genre can help you to understandAntigonebetter.Imagine yourself in the audience of a Greektragedy in
ancient Greece. You would see acast of actors, all wearing masks. You would also notice that in addition
to the main characters, in this case Antigone and Creon, there would also be a group of actors called the
chorus. The purpose of the chorus is to comment on the events of the play through song and chant. The
chorus inAntigoneis supposed to be a group of Thebian elders. You may notice that the chorus speaks
instrophesandantistrophes, the first and second parts of a poem. Almost like a narrator, the chorus
helps the audience to understand certain themes, motives, and important plot points.Cultural Context
forAntigoneAntigoneNext, what is the cultural context forAntigone? The cultural context
forAntigoneexplains why Antigone's loyalty was a valued quality; why bad things happened to Antigone,
her siblings, and her father; and why Antigone's burial of her brother was so important to her.

Loyalty and Obedience

In ancient Greece, loyalty to one's family and obedience to the gods were extremely valued
characteristics. The character Antigone possessed both of these qualities, which she exhibited by loyally
standing by her brother and obediently following the gods by ignoring Creon'sdecree and burying her
brother's body. Burial wassacred to the ancient Greeks and defiling a grave or not properly burying a
body was the highest disrespect and would not allow the dead person safe passage into the afterlife.

Family Curse
Another cultural context forAntigoneis the concept of the curse that befalls Antigone's family. The
reason why bad things happen to Antigone and her family stem from a curse that was placed upon her
grandfather, Laius. Laius kidnapped the son of two people who had been kind enough to take care of
him and for that sin, Apollo cursed him, telling Laius that his son would kill him. Eventually Antigone's
father, Oedipus, did slay Laius (although he did not knowat the time that Laius was his father). Her
grandfather was killed by his own son, her father ended up blind and exiled, and Antigone hangs herself,
all a continuation of the curse.