EDITED:
Today we read the sequel play to Oedipus Rex, Antigone. This play deals with the family of Oedipus after Oedipus exiles himself.
The play starts with the two daughters of Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene. Their brothers have both killed each other in war, and Antigone wants to bury one of them, even though the king has told everyone not to. She calls her sister weak for not helping her and gets locked in a cave by the king. Everyone tells the king he is in the wrong for criminalizing a religious ceremony so he decides to change his stance. But it's too late, because Antigone has killed herself. The king's son then kills himself because he loved Antigone, and the queen kills herself because she loved her son.
While I found symbols in this play similar to Oedipus Rex (The king, Creon, was very similar to Oedipus), I found its meaning is much easier to discern. The character Antigone repeatedly provides moral soliloquies and monologues which clearly convey the point of the play. The play is a warning to not put yourself above gods and to stand up in your beliefs. In Creon's case, his stubbornness in his choice leads to the loss of his son and wife. On the other hand, Antigone chooses to remain firm in her choice to bury her brother and this leads to a noble suicide. I gave Antigone much more sympathy than Creon because she was sticking up for her morals rather than sticking up only for her pride's sake. To put it in her own words
"But I will bury him; and if I must die,
I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down
With him in death, and I shall be as dear
To him as he to me."
Unlike Creon's fault, which is a matter of pride, Antigone's is holy and thus noble.
I enjoyed this play. I agreed with Antigone's choice to remain in the right even though it meant her death and found myself hating Creon for is stubbornness and idiotic laws.
Here's the link to the play.
Today we read the sequel play to Oedipus Rex, Antigone. This play deals with the family of Oedipus after Oedipus exiles himself.
The play starts with the two daughters of Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene. Their brothers have both killed each other in war, and Antigone wants to bury one of them, even though the king has told everyone not to. She calls her sister weak for not helping her and gets locked in a cave by the king. Everyone tells the king he is in the wrong for criminalizing a religious ceremony so he decides to change his stance. But it's too late, because Antigone has killed herself. The king's son then kills himself because he loved Antigone, and the queen kills herself because she loved her son.
While I found symbols in this play similar to Oedipus Rex (The king, Creon, was very similar to Oedipus), I found its meaning is much easier to discern. The character Antigone repeatedly provides moral soliloquies and monologues which clearly convey the point of the play. The play is a warning to not put yourself above gods and to stand up in your beliefs. In Creon's case, his stubbornness in his choice leads to the loss of his son and wife. On the other hand, Antigone chooses to remain firm in her choice to bury her brother and this leads to a noble suicide. I gave Antigone much more sympathy than Creon because she was sticking up for her morals rather than sticking up only for her pride's sake. To put it in her own words
"But I will bury him; and if I must die,
I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down
With him in death, and I shall be as dear
To him as he to me."
Unlike Creon's fault, which is a matter of pride, Antigone's is holy and thus noble.
I enjoyed this play. I agreed with Antigone's choice to remain in the right even though it meant her death and found myself hating Creon for is stubbornness and idiotic laws.
Here's the link to the play.